Agenda item

Managing Director Place and Economic Development (no decision required) 6.45

Councillor Holliday arrived at 6.40pm.

The Managing Director of Place and Economic Development, introduced the progress review for the Walking and Cycling STG, as circulated with the agenda.  He accepted that progress had been hampered by a lack of dedicated resource, but he was pleased to confirm that Councillor Wilkinson had been appointed as the member cycling champion and that the walking and cycling group were scheduled to have their first meeting tomorrow evening (21 February).  Cheltenham was ideally suited to develop cycling and members were reminded that the town would be hosting the Tour of Britain in September. Interestingly, a town centre survey about perceptions of Cheltenham identified that the number of people that came to Cheltenham by car (around 20%) was far lower than people perceived the number to be, with the majority of people walking, cycling or using public transport and this, without doing a great deal.  This was positive and indicative that with some momentum, more could be achieved. 

The Managing Director of Place and Economic Development gave the following responses to member questions:

·         Cheltenham had good working relationships with GCC and the NHS CCG but only with more dedicated resources it would be possible to develop partnership working and identify funding streams in relation to cycling and walking initiatives.  This work could also involve local cycle shops.   

·         Members would be aware that a Place Strategy was being developed, which would be the overarching strategy of a number of areas of focus.  The Managing Director had intended to give a presentation on this subject ahead of the last Council meeting but technology had failed and therefore he had been prevented from doing so.  This was now scheduled for the 1 March at 6pm.  

·         Some projects (Cheltenham – Bishop’s Cleeve link) were big and complex, but there were smaller initiatives that could be undertaken within the council’s gift, relatively cheaply, that should also be explored.  This was not to say that the council could not use its influence on the larger scale projects, but again, this was reliant on having adequate resources.

·         A divisional-wide review was currently underway to identify where resources could be reduced, areas where more resource was required and opportunities to increase income; but as a council, decisions needed to be made about priorities.  This was an opportunity to identify cycling and walking as a priority for Cheltenham and to allocate resources accordingly.

·         One of the challenges for any new housing developments was designing something which allowed people to store their bicycles. 

Councillor Hay had supported a motion at GCC to create a budget for pavements which was separate from the overall highways budget, but this had been defeated, though he was sure further attempts to do this would be made. He also commented that many walkers were deterred from walking because of the condition of pavements and the trip hazard they posed and whilst he was not suggesting that paving slabs should be replaced with tarmac, there were other options, such as the surface that had been laid on the high street.      

Councillor Wilkinson accepted that the lack of progress was a result of there not being enough people to undertake the work required and thanked the Managing Director for driving this issue forward.  The first step to doing this would be the meeting of the cycling and walking group tomorrow (21/02) and the group would be discussing how it could influence the local plan and ensure that cycling and walking was a key consideration.  This was a diverse issue with a number of aspects, from the Transport Plan, which had already opened up new shared spaces, to the issue of benches. From his experience, benches were important to some but he urged members not to underestimate the opposition that the installation of a bench could incite.  He also explained that as part of the original task group review, it had become apparent that guard rails often made it difficult for walkers to walk in the most direct route and whilst some were undoubtedly erected for safety, GCC staff had conceded that many guard rails were not necessarily required.

Councillor Payne advised that Bloor Homes had made £70k available from a development in Prestbury and that the cycling and walking group might want to consider applying for some.

The Chairman thanked the Managing Director for an honest appraisal of progress to date and invited a further update in due course.