Issue - meetings

Members will recall that on 22nd May they held a scrutiny day to examine a wide range of integrated transport solutions for the East of Bath.  Your recommendations were considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 13th July.  This report outlines Cabinet’s response to these recommendations.

Councillor Clarke – Cabinet Member for Transport – introduced the report. He thanked the Panel for the Scrutiny Inquiry Day that he felt was very productive.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Bull asked if the Alliance figures have been analysed. Peter Dawson – Group Manager Planning Policy Transport – explained that a Park and Ride would not be planned if it was thought that nobody would use it, the Council plans to create thousands of new jobs in the city and a lot of these new workers would live outside Bath. He explained that the Mott McDonald study shows there is a demand for Park and Ride in the future and we want the city of Bath to be accessible from all directions. He stated that he is confident in the need for a Park and Ride to the East of Bath and other Park and Ride sites are well used.

Councillor Bull stated that the Alliance say that Park and Rides are only 50% full by 9am and if this is the case then we would be providing for shoppers. The officer stated that the Council is planning for economic growth and people will not travel a long distance by bus.

Councillor Carr asked about the appendices to the Mott McDonald report. The officer explained that the forecast report is on the website and he will send a link.

Councillor Butters asked about rail, he stated that he did not think that all avenues are being pursued regarding rail. The Cabinet Member stated that he is keen on improving rail and it is strongly on the agenda but he did not think that rail can provide a significant improvement in the next 5 years. The officer added that he is not sure if it is known what solution the railway can give us.

Councillor Turner asked what information is needed now for a decision to be made on the Park and Ride. The Cabinet Member explained that the decision depends on the availability of land, issues around visual impact and ecology. He explained that the application will need to have planning permission.

Councillor Carr asked what analysis has been done regarding the smaller sites. The Cabinet Member explained that all of the smaller sites are on the A4 which misses out the population coming down the valley and also with some small sites there is a problem with turning the buses around.

The Chair asked when a decision will be made. The Cabinet Member explained that a final matrix would be presented at the September Cabinet meeting with a view to the planning application in October.