Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the Travel Plan at appendix 2 be approved as a statement of strategic intent up to September 2019; and the Action Plan appended  to it as a series of projects to be investigated and implemented where appropriate; and

2.    authority be delegated to the Managing Director Place and Economic Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member Corporate Services and the Joint Liaison Forum, to deliver the strategy and consider additional actions in support of the strategy where appropriate.

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services introduced the report which presented a Travel Plan for the Municipal Offices. He explained that it had been developed in discussion with the Joint Liaison Forum. The Staff Parking Levy reserve stood at £33k. It was intended to be used to encourage modal shift in favour of sustainable and active travel and to reduce the need to travel associated with the Council’s operations, in order to reduce environmental impacts and encourage healthy lifestyles.

He explained that various initiatives were being explored highlighting the contract with Stagecoach to offer discount bus tickets to staff and over time reducing the need to travel by promoting home working and exploring the potential for staff to work some of the time at an office local to them.

The Leader welcomed the positive initiatives in the report and stated that via the Business Improvement District (BID) in which the Municipal Offices was located, staff would be offered a 20% discount on bus travel.

A question was raised as to whether electric cars and electric bikes had been considered. The Cabinet Member Corporate Services invited the Townscape Manager to address Cabinet. He explained that electric vehicle charging points had been installed in Town Centre East car park funded by the LSTF and the staff levy. This was available to the public outside of the normal working day. He emphasised that the list of initiatives was not exhaustive. The Cabinet Member Corporate Services highlighted his intention to investigate the car pool system and undertook to look into electric bicycles. One Member suggested that the council look into seeing whether there could be a requirement within planning permissions for new properties/developments to be equipped with electric car charging points.

The Townscape Manager undertook to look at the suggestions in more detail.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the Travel Plan at appendix 2 be approved as a statement of strategic intent up to September 2019; and the Action Plan appended  to it as a series of projects to be investigated and implemented where appropriate; and

2.    authority be delegated to the Managing Director Place and Economic Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member Corporate Services and the Joint Liaison Forum, to deliver the strategy and consider additional actions in support of the strategy where appropriate.