Minutes:
The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Matt Jenkins, and Cllr Tom Wells.
The motion was moved by Cllr Beverley Nielsen and seconded by Cllr Matt Jenkins who both spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day.
The following amendment was moved by Cllr Mike Rouse and seconded by Cllr Marc Bayliss:
“By facilitating cycle integration with train travel through enhanced cycle parking facilities at train stations, we as County Councillors will, in turn, help to deliver improved modal choice for the travelling public. Council calls on the Cabinet Member with Responsibility to bring a report to Cabinet to outline how County Councillors can support improvements to active travel facilities at train stations, including potential use of their Divisional and/or Highways funding, which can be matched from a range of sources and be deployed in partnership with partners and other organisations for best effect and compliance with prevailing standards, details of which should be included in the report.”
The mover and seconder of the motion accepted the amendment and the motion as amended became the substantive motion. Members spoke in favour of the motion amendment with the following points being made:
· Only approximately 1% of the Council’s budget would be spent on Active Travel. This motion aimed to improve the environment, health and well-being, lower emissions and cases of asthma and cut congestion and ask the Cabinet Member to bring a report to Council. It was disappointing that the amendment did not refer to the Travel England zero Active Travel rating because that reflected the scale of the problem and that reference to councillors driving a modal shift had also been removed
· Travel England had given the Council a zero-rating for Active Travel. It was important to do as much as possible to improve this rating because it impacted on the Council’s ability to seek funding in the future. In particular, the cycle facilities at the county’s train stations were lacking
· The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport explained that the amendment removed hyperlinks and reduced the length of the motion without changing the overall meaning of it. He was happy to bring a report to Cabinet
· A paid-for cycle locker facility had been introduced in liaison with Wychavon District Council at Pershore Railway Station. Members might wish to support similar facilities at their local railway stations
· Local councillors had an important role in supporting active travel using divisional funds, not just in railway stations but across their division
· A lot more work was required to get cycling and rail travel synchronised. However, there were also issues with the integration of bus travel and cycling
· The standard and type of cycle locker facilities at railway stations needed to be reviewed to ensure that they were standardised, fit-for-purpose and safe
· There did need to be dialogue with train operators to improve the experience for cyclists using rail services. Safety was a key aspect in encouraging people to take up cycling.
A point of order was raised and the Monitoring Officer undertook to produce a note for consideration by members about whether the process for dealing with amendments at meetings complied with equalities legislation, especially for members who have neurodivergent issues. A decision would then be taken as to whether a future report to Council was necessary.
On being put to a vote, the substantive motion was agreed.
RESOLVED “By facilitating cycle integration with train travel through enhanced cycle parking facilities at train stations, we as County Councillors will, in turn, help to deliver improved modal choice for the travelling public. Council calls on the Cabinet Member with Responsibility to bring a report to Cabinet to outline how County Councillors can support improvements to active travel facilities at train stations, including potential use of their Divisional and/or Highways funding, which can be matched from a range of sources and be deployed in partnership with partners and other organisations for best effect and compliance with prevailing standards, details of which should be included in the report.”