Birmingham City Council Report to Cabinet
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Birmingham City Council Report to Cabinet 17th December 2019 Subject: A34 Walsall to Birmingham Sprint – Full Business Case Report of: Interim Director, Inclusive Growth Relevant Cabinet Councillor Waseem Zaffar – Transport and Environment Member: Councillor Tristan Chatfield – Finance and Resources Relevant O &S Councillor Liz Clements – Sustainability and Transport Chair(s): Councillor Sir Albert Bore – Resources Report author: Philip Edwards - Assistant Director, Transport and Connectivity Tel: 0121 303 6467 Email: [email protected] Are specific wards affected? ☒ Yes ☐ No – All wards If yes, name(s) of ward(s): affected Perry Barr, Birchfield, Aston, Lozells, Newtown, Nechells, Ladywood (also parts of Walsall MBC and Sandwell MBC) Is this a key decision? ☒ Yes ☐ No If relevant, add Forward Plan Reference: 005054/2018 Is the decision eligible for call-in? ☒ Yes ☐ No Does the report contain confidential or exempt information? ☐ Yes ☒ No If relevant, provide exempt information paragraph number or reason if confidential: Not applicable 1 Executive Summary 1.1 This report details the proposed A34 Walsall to Birmingham Sprint scheme on the Perry Barr corridor, to be delivered by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) on behalf of West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and seeks authority for the City Council to approve highway measures within the city boundary in its capacity as Highway Authority and to enter into legal agreements with WMCA for the delivery of those works. The estimated capital cost of the project (excluding vehicle costs) is £50.300m, of which approximately £16.000m is for highway works within the Birmingham boundary covered by the proposed legal agreements. Page 1 of 11 1.2 The scheme is scheduled to be delivered before the Commonwealth Games in 2022. A separate Cabinet report has been developed in respect of a proposed Enhanced Partnership (EP) between TfWM, the City Council, other local authorities and the bus operators. The EP Report is also scheduled for Cabinet on 17th December 2019 and should be read in conjunction with this report. 1.3 The procurement of the highway works will be carried out by WMCA, and they are also responsible for procuring a network operator and suitable vehicles, along with bus shelters, ticketing and passenger information systems. The City Council will take responsibility for ongoing maintenance resulting from the highways works. The maintenance of other Sprint infrastructure will be the responsibility of TfWM. 1.4 The City Council will deliver Bus Lane Enforcement (BLE) measures at an estimated cost of £0.100m using capital funding from WMCA. The City Council will be responsible for the on-going operation of the enforcement activity. 2 Recommendations 2.1 Acting on behalf of the City Council in its capacity as Highway Authority, notes the route of the A34 Walsall to Birmingham Sprint scheme and associated measures and approves the Full Business Case as set out in Appendix A, and authorises the Assistant Director Transport and Connectivity in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment to agree the final detail of the scheme with WMCA who are acting in their capacity as project promoter and funder. 2.2 Subject to WMCA having the necessary approvals and funding in place, approves the City Council entering into legal agreements with WMCA to allow the works to be carried out on the public highway within Birmingham, and for the legal agreement to be made without a bond being required from WMCA as detailed in paragraph 7.3.2. 2.3 Approves expenditure of fees and other costs up to a value of £0.650m for the City Council to complete design reviews, legal agreements, traffic regulation orders and site inspections, and agrees to the City Council being reimbursed by WMCA based on actual costs rather than a fixed fee percentage, subject to an agreed cap on overhead rates. 2.4 Notes that following implementation the City Council will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance resulting from the highway works at an estimated cost of £0.024 per year. 2.5 Notes the proposed supply and installation of up to four BLE cameras at an estimated cost of £0.100m to be funded by WMCA, as set out in Appendix A, and delegates award of the contract for the cameras and associated equipment to the Interim Director Inclusive Growth in accordance with the procurement strategy set out in Section 7.4.1. Page 2 of 11 2.6 Notes that following completion of the scheme the City Council will be responsible for the on-going operation of the BLE activity and the resultant income and expenditure including future maintenance obligations. Further details are given in Appendix A. 2.7 Authorises the discharging of Petition No. 2087 presented to the City Council by Councillor Morriam Jan on 6 November 2018 from residents of Perry Barr in relation to the removal of Perry Barr flyover and the proposed Sprint route, and that Councillor Jan and the first-named petitioner be informed accordingly. 2.8 Authorises the Acting City Solicitor to negotiate, execute, seal and complete all necessary documentation to give effect to the above recommendations. 3 Background 3.1 The A34 Walsall to Birmingham Sprint scheme follows the corridor from Walsall to Birmingham via Scott Arms and Perry Barr. The scheme is scheduled to be completed before the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The total length of route within the City Council’s boundary is about 8km, with a further 6.5km within the boundaries of Sandwell and Walsall. See Appendix G for a route plan and Appendix H for scheme drawings within the Birmingham boundary. Works within the Sandwell and Walsall boundaries are subject to separate approvals from those authorities, and if there are significant changes to the scheme as a consequence of those approvals then a further report would be brought back to Cabinet. 3.2 The scheme enhances the links between Walsall, Scott Arms, Perry Barr and Birmingham city centre, connecting to the proposed HS2 station at Curzon Street. The scheme will also support the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, by improving access to Alexander Stadium and the Perry Barr residential scheme, as well as connecting to the A45 Sprint to provide improved access to Birmingham Airport and events at the NEC. 3.3 The Sprint programme is promoted by WMCA through the HS2 Connectivity Package as part of the West Midlands Devolution Deal. The A34 Walsall to Birmingham route is one of the Sprint schemes proposed for accelerated delivery as part of the transport strategy for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The key principles of Sprint and agreement to progress the priority routes for the Commonwealth Games were approved by Cabinet on 24th January 2018. 3.4 A Strategic Outline Business Case was approved by WMCA in July 2017. TfWM completed preliminary design and public consultation in autumn 2018 and obtained their Outline Business Case approval from the WMCA Investment Board on 18th February 2019, allowing release of funds to commence the detailed design stage. TfWM are now preparing their Full Business Case to the funding bodies, and a draft copy is provided in Appendix E. 3.5 WMCA are the scheme promoter and funder, and have responsibility for delivery of the scheme, with the City Council approving the on-street measures within the Page 3 of 11 City Council’s boundary in its capacity as the Highway Authority. These measures will follow the City Council’s project governance and approval processes. This Full Business Case (FBC) also reports on other elements of the Sprint concept as part of the approval to the overall package. 3.6 A separate Cabinet report has been developed to report on a proposed EP between TfWM, the City Council, other local authorities, and the operators of Sprint and other bus services on key routes. This is also scheduled to be taken to Cabinet on 17th December 2019. New articulated vehicles will be specified as zero- emission at the tailpipe under the EP, with an aspiration for all buses on the corridor to meet zero-emission standards in the longer term. Reducing congestion for buses and encouraging use of public transport should also reduce overall emissions. 3.7 Following implementation of the scheme, responsibility for the ongoing maintenance resulting from the highways works will be taken on by the City Council. Further details are given in Section 7.3. 3.8 It is expected that the project will require the removal of around 30 trees. These will be replaced within the wider area as part of the scheme, to the satisfaction of the City Council’s Arboricultural Officer and following the principles of existing guidance including the ‘Birmingham Tree Policy’ report for Overview and Scrutiny Committee in February 2018. The mitigation measures will be designed to ensure a net gain of canopy cover within ten years and the final planting regime will be agreed with WMCA as part of the overall legal agreement for the project. The future maintenance cost estimates contained in this report make an assumption of a net gain of 26 trees overall. 3.9 An initial Environmental Screening has been produced by TfWM and forwarded to the City Council’s Planning Officer for consideration. If this determines that a full Environmental Assessment is required then Planning Consent will also be needed. It would be the responsibility of WMCA to complete these processes if they are required. 3.10 The project is intended to contribute to wider policy objectives towards a mode shift to public transport as part of the climate-change agenda to bring about the City Council’s 2030 carbon-neutral target, and so one of the aims is to see an overall benefit in terms of air quality in the long term.