Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Aafaq Butt and Councillor Tyler Hawkins.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 30^th August 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 30^th August 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

The Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interests.

No interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

All items were considered in public.

The Panel will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

A deputation was received from Mr Chas Ball, Chair of the Kirklees Cycling Campaign in relation to the Kirklees Climate Action Plan.

The Panel were advised that the Kirklees Cycling Campaign known as Cycle Kirklees had attended the Economy and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel in 2018 and 2020 to discuss issues concerning active travel. Funding from the Place Partnership had since been abolished in May 2022 and Mr Ball requested that this be considered at a future meeting of the Panel.

Mr Ball advised the Panel that he was in support of the Kirklees Climate Action plan and the proposals on transport but felt that the proposed actions were not fully comprehensive, and that there was a disconnect between the proposed actions and the targets agreed. Referring to point 4.3 of the report ‘City Connect’ Mr Ball advised that the information only presented a partial picture of what was happening with regards to actions relating to active travel, in particular, there was no mention of walking issues which should be included, and also work with schools and expanding traffic free routes were also part of the current actions.

Mr Ball shared that there needed to be a paradigm shift to be able to meet the interim targets which had been set by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for 2027 and the longer-term climate change targets for 2038. Mr Ball felt that the plan was missing the energy and interests of the public, businesses and communities to deliver on issues in relation to safer streets, improving air quality, and tougher parking controls and requested stronger leadership a clearer sense of delivery against the targets in partnership with other organisations and better techniques of engagement in order to make progress.

Councillor Will Simpson responded to acknowledge the comments and concerns raised by Mr Ball and agreed a paradigm shift was needed in relation to transport to be able to meet the decarbonisation targets locally and nationally.

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the deputation and Cllr Will Simpson agreed to encourage Kirklees Cycling Campaign to work alongside the Council to deliver a supportive environment for active travel in Kirklees.

The Panel will hear any questions from the general public.

No questions were received from the public.

The Panel will consider the draft Kirklees Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) ,the draft Cabinet report and the proposed next steps.

Contacts:

Shaun Berry – Operations Manager Air Quality, Energy, Climate Change

Robert Green - Environment Officer for Climate Change

The Panel considered the draft Kirklees Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) presented by Robert Green, Climate Change Officer. Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees was also in attendance. Robert Green shared the presentation and highlighted that:

·       Kirklees Council had declared a climate change emergency in 2019 and had set an initial target to become net zero by 2038.

·       In 2019 a climate emergency working party was established to identify practical measures for emission reduction and more comprehensive action planning.

·       Phase 1 of the plan identified the immediate actions to be taken and 113 of these had been completed or were on-going.

·       The scope of the CCAP was district wide and contained actions for the Council, Key Partners, and the wider community.

·       The plan was structured by 8 action areas, Buildings, Energy, Natural Environment and Biodiversity, Sustainable Food and Agriculture, Transport, Waste, Water and Cross-Cutting.

·       The Council reported annually to the CDP and the results were expected mid-November 2022.

·       The CCAP adhered to the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) and the results were expected early 2024 for year 2022.

·       It aligned with guidance set out in the Climate Change Emergency Scorecard for best practise approach to action planning.

·       The plan was the first step in the Council’s action planning journey and would be followed by a more detailed action plan of firm commitments.

·       The CCAP set out a list of actions to achieve net zero by 2038 and was centred on evidence and public engagement.

·       The plan was not the only action plan within the Council; other organisations had their own action plans, which the CCAP would complement.

·       The Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CCRVA) would be published at the same time as the action plan to ensure the CCRVA and the net zero assessment were in alignment.

·       The CCRVA was a key piece of work that informed the action plan and demonstrated climate leadership by the Council

·       The CCRVA was designed to identify key hazards that could lead to associated climate change risks across 2030, 2050 and 2080 using the latest Met Office projections.

·       The CCRVA also informed decision making and enhanced the resilience and adaptability of organisations.

·       A total of 206 actions were identified for both adaptation (52) and mitigation (52), with 72 actions addressing both areas’ simultaneously, and would be prioritised in the next steps of the programme.

·       Future steps would continue to be taken to enhance the climate emergency response through the development of place-based measures for carbon reduction and resilience building.

·       Stakeholder engagement with residents and organisations would be undertaken with the aim of a final decision being made on prioritising the relevant climate actions that would best reflect Kirklees.

·       Strategic alignment had been identified with the Transport Strategy and the intention was to work in partnership on the engagement process to reduce duplication.

·       Once the prioritised actions had been agreed a business case would be developed, which would include a greater understanding of the funding and financing, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider a report setting out a progress update and the next steps for the Huddersfield, Heckmondwike and DewsburyBus StationProjects (part of the TransformingCities Fund Programme).

Contact:

Richard Hollinson Headof MajorProjects

The Panel considered a report setting out a progress update on the Huddersfield, Heckmondwike and Dewsbury Bus Station Projects, part of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) Programme presented by Richard Hollinson, Head of Major Projects. Lead Officers from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) were also in attendance. Richard Hollinson shared a presentation which provided a detailed update on each of the Bus Station projects. It was explained that:

·       At a previous meeting of the Panel (approximately 6 months ago), the Panel had requested further information in relation to the bus station projects and their progress.

·       The projects were funded through the TCF which had been incorporated into the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement and was administered through the WYCA.

·       The Huddersfield and Dewsbury bus station projects were project managed by the WYCA, and Heckmondwike bus station and the entrance canopy at Huddersfield Bus Station were project managed by Kirklees Council.

·       The WYCA had an Assurance Framework in place to scrutinise the projects and make recommendations to the West Yorkshire Transport Committee for approval. 

·       The WYCA Assurance Framework was in alignment with the Governments framework for assessing large scale infrastructure projects.

·       There key stages of the projects included:

o   The Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), which allowed for changes to be made.

o   The Outline Business Case (OBC), which was more detailed and identified the preferred options.

o   The Full Business Case (FBC), which outlined the preferred option and would be scrutinised in detail in relation to the delivery, the financial case and the scheme objectives.

o   Delivery and monitoring.

Tim Fawcett, Project Manager, Kirklees Council, provided an update on the Heckmondwike bus station project and advised that:

·       Heckmondwike bus station was a large open space with 4 bus shelters.

·       The proposal was to significantly transform the site to provide increased capacity for buses which included 6 bus stands and a layover bay for drivers.

·       The key issues identified were a decline in bus patronage, insufficient capacity for busses at the station, poor bus user experience and a lack of facilities.

·       Building improvements aimed to achieve an increase in bus patronage, encouraged by an enhanced and inclusive user exsprence, improved journey quality and increased user safety through CCTV and on-site presence.

·       Improvements also included a reduction in congestion, improved air quality and the introduction of solar panels.

·       There were project management issues relating to costs, risks and timescales.

·       The budget was short of five million with over three hundred and twenty thousand ringfenced funds for Carbon Mitigation measures.

·       A Planning application was underway and public engagement and consultation had taken place.

·       The consultation/engagement followed a ‘you said we did approach’ to show the public how they had informed the project.

·       The feedback identified majority support for the projects and highlighted key issues in relation to traffic signals and disabled bays on site.

Duncan Wyche, Project Manager, WYCA, provided an update on the Huddersfield Bus Station project and outlined that:

·       This was a joint scheme between the WYCA and Kirklees  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider the work programme for 2022/23.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel considered the work programme 2022/23 and suggested that bus patronage be added to the work programme as well as highlighting the Air Quality Action Plan that was due to be reviewed Autumn 22.

In response to a question about the deferral of the Road Safety Update, the Chair advised that the item was not time critical and that deferring the item allowed for the Lead Officer to attend the Scrutiny Panel and present the report.

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the work programme 2022/23 and agreed that:

1.    The agenda item relating to bus patronage be added to the 2022/23 workplan.

2.    The Governance Officer and Chair liaise with the Lead Officer in relation to re- scheduling the road safety and speeding enforcement item onto the next Economy and Neighbourhoods scrutiny panel.

3.    The chair liaises with the Lead Officer for the Air Quality Action Plan to determine how the report be shared with the Panel.