Public Document Pack
Councillor Sandra Macdonald, Chair; Councillor Peter Argyle and Dr Margaret Bochel, Vice Chairs, and Councillor David Aitchison, Councillor Philip Bell, Councillor George Carr, Councillor John Cox, Councillor Michael Hutchison and Councillor Avril MacKenzie; and Mr Gerry Donald, Mr Ian Ross and Mr Colin Allanach.
Aberdeen City Council Substitute Members:- Councillors David Cameron, Ross Grant, Ryan Houghton and Ian Yuill.
Aberdeenshire Council Substitute Members:- Councillors Martin Ford, Ian Mollison, Gillian Owen and one vacancy
Please note that a substitute member may only participate in the meeting when a substantive member is absent.
Should you require further information regarding the Agenda, please contact Rab Dickson 01224 346680
NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP
(This Meeting will be held virtually utilising Teams. A recording of the meeting will be available from the Nestrans website as soon as is practical.)
Please note that an RTS Workshop will be held for Board Members and Substitutes at 14:30
WEDNESDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2020 at 2.00 pm.
AGENDA
1 Housekeeping
1 Housekeeping
1.1 Declarations of Interest
1.2 Minute of Board Meeting of 4 November 2020, for approval (Pages 3 - 10)
2 Budget Matters
2.1 2020/21 Budget Matters (Pages 11 - 14)
3 Strategy
3.1 Director's Report (Pages 15 - 24)
3.2 Covid-19: Interim Assessment of Changing Travel Patterns and Attitudes (Pages 25 - 32)
3.3 Draft Nestrans Annual Report 2019/20 (Pages 33 - 100)
3.4 Review of Code of Corporate Governance (Pages 101 - 104)
4 Publ ications and Consultations (Pages 105 - 112)
5 Information Bulletin (Pages 113 - 116)
6 Conferences and Presentations (Pages 117 - 118)
7 Pending Business and Reports for Future Meetings (Pages 119 - 120)
RTS Workshop will be held for Board Members and Substitutes at 14:30
Should you require any further information about this agenda, please contact Mark Masson, email [email protected], or telephone 01224 522989
Agenda Item 1.2
NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP
Minute of Meeting of the North East Scotland Transport Partnership Board
Aberdeen, Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Present: Councillor Sandra Macdonald (Chairperson); Councillor Peter Argyle and Dr Margaret Bochel (Vice Chairs); Councillors David Aitchison, Philip Bell, George Carr, John Cox, Michael Hutchison and Avril MacKenzie; and Colin Allanach, Gerry Donald and Ian Ross.
In Attendance: Rab Dickson (Nestrans Director), Jenny Anderson, Kirsty Chalmers, Paul Finch, Nicky Laird, Lucy Johnston and Tricia Howden (Nestrans), Gale Beattie, Lisa Christie and Mark Masson (Aberdeen City Council), Councillor Mollison, Chris Smith and Ewan Wallace (Aberdeenshire Council).
Apologies: Stephen Archer.
Please note that if any changes are made to this minute at the point of approval, these will be outlined in the subsequent minute and this document will not be retrospectively altered.
VALEDICTORY
1. The Chairperson advised that George Mair (Advisor to the Board) had submitted his resignation. She suggested that on behalf of the Board, she would write to George to thank him for his efforts over the many years he has been contributing to the Board’s work and to wish him a happy retirement.
The Board resolved:- to concur with the Chairperson.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
2. There were no declarations of interest intimated.
MINUTE OF BOARD MEETING, 16 SEPTEMBER 2020
3. The Board had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 16 September 2020, for approval.
The Board resolved:- to approve the minute as a correct record.
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NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP 4 November 2020
2020/21 BUDGET MATTERS
4. The Board had before it a report which provided an update on the Partnership’s 2020/21 monitoring and forecast outturn position and sought consideration of any budget or monitoring issues that may arise.
The Board heard Chris Smith provide an overview of the report.
The report recommended:- that the Board – (a) note the monitoring position and forecast presented in Appendix 1; and (b) approve the virements presented in Appendix 2.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendations.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
5. The Board had before it a report which provided an update on liaison with other RTPs, the Scottish Government and other organisations.
The report recommended:- that the Board note progress on liaison arrangements with other RTPs, the Scottish Government and others and the arrangements for future meetings.
The Board heard the Director provide an overview of the report and (a) advise that in relation to the Bus Alliance Board, a replacement Chairperson will be sought due to George Mair’s resignation; and (b) made reference to the final conference of the Civitas Portis project chaired by Gale Beattie, which was held virtually on 23 September 2020 with the Lord Provost welcoming all those in attendance.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendation.
COVID-19 UPDATE AND STATUS
6. With reference to article 7 of the minute of the previous meeting of 16 September 2020, the Board had before it a report which outlined Nestrans’ continuing operational and strategic response to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, and reported on key transport trends and activities.
The report recommended:- that the Board – (a) note the changes to the operation of the Nestrans’ Executive due to restrictions imposed by Covid-19;
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NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP 4 November 2020
(b) note the key changes to the operation and use of the transport network outlined in this report; and (c) note the examples of how the work of Nestrans continues to adapt during this period.
Paul Finch highlighted the key issues from the report and responded to questions from members.
It was suggested that officers include the month to month travel activity graph previously presented to the Board in future reports. In response, Gale Beattie indicated that she could circulate Aberdeen City Council’s weekly report to members on request.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendations.
DRAFT REGIONAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY 2040: RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION
7. With reference to article 8 of the minute of the previous meeting of 16 September 2020, the Board had before it a report which provided details of the consultation on the Draft Regional Transport Strategy and analysis of the responses received, enabling discussion on how the strategy should be amended in response to the consultation.
The report recommended:- that the Board note the comments received on the Draft Regional Transport Strategy.
The Board heard Kirsty Chalmers highlight the key elements from the report including:- a summary of consultation and engagement activities undertaken; responses received (94); issues arising for consideration in the final strategy; and the next steps.
Kirsty advised that there were seven key issues that emerged either through a significant number of responses on the same issue or comments that may affect the overall direction and tone of the strategy, as follows:- (1) Vision, pillars and priorities of the strategy; (2) New road proposals, including dualling the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness; (3) Aberdeen Rapid Transit; (4) Active travel; (5) Rail; (6) The balance of urban versus rural issues; and (7) Demand Responsive Transport, Shared Transport and Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
Kirsty advised that officers will go through each of the responses in detail to identify the specific changes that may be required to the strategy document, which will be considered
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by an Officer/Member Working Group on 24 November 2020, following which a further report will be presented to the Board at its next meeting in December 2020.
The Board resolved:- (i) to approve the recommendation; and (ii) that a workshop to consider the draft strategy be held in conjunction with the next Board meeting on 9 December 2020.
E-CARGO BIKES PROJECT
8. The Board had before it a report which provided information on progress towards using Transport Scotland funding under the Low Emission Zone funds, to procure and manage a series of electric cargo bikes as part of a pilot scheme providing an alternative to vans for local deliveries. The report also provided early results and analysis of lessons learned from the project to-date.
The report recommended:- that the Board note the contents of this report.
The Board heard Nicky Laird provide a summary of the report, including the positive feedback received from those companies who were currently using the bikes and general interest from prospective companies.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendations.
CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTING
9. The Committee had before it a report which provided an update regarding the responsibilities being placed on Nestrans as a public body in respect of their duties in relation to the Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009 and Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 and outlined its annual emissions.
The report recommended:- that the Board note the report and the requirement for Nestrans to report on its activities and policies in respect of Climate Change Duties.
Kelly Wiltshire provided an overview of the report.
The Board resoolved:- to approve the recommendation. RAIL MATTERS UPDATE
10. The Board had before it a report which provided an update on a number of regional rail matters.
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The report recommended:- that the Board – (a) note the update on the derailment at Carmont; (b) note the opening of Kintore Railway Station in October; (c) note the progress on the multi-modal study considering the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk corridor; and (d) note the progress on the Insch Accessibility Study.
Paul Finch highlighted the key issues from the report.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendation.
PROGRESS REPORT
11. The Board had before it a progress report which outlined the status of various activities in support of the Regional Transport Strategy.
Councillor Hutchison sought to determine whether there could be an opportunity to extend the consultation period for the new access to Aberdeen South Harbour, specifically in relation to the support measures to improve road access to the port facilities. In response Gale Beattie indicated that she would investigate this and would advise Councillor Hutchison accordingly.
Colin Allanach expressed his disappointment in relation to the recent Aberdeen City Council, City Growth and Resources Committee decision to remove the temporary cycle lane at the Beach Esplanade.
The Board resolved:- to note the content of the progress report.
PUBLICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS
12. The Board had before it a report which provided information on the recent publications and consultation papers of interest and sought to agree a response where appropriate.
The report recommended:- that the Board – (a) note the publication of the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Plan and instruct officers to respond, indicating issues around the proposed Investment Hierarchy; and (b) note the publication of Transport Scotland’s Road Safety Framework 2030 and instruct officers to respond, indicating support for the Framework and its targets.
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In response to a question regarding the Infrastructure Plan, Rab Dickson advised that the A90 to the North of Ellon was not included within the current committed list of projects to be taken forward by Transport Scotland.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendations, subject to the Director including within the response to (a) above, the need to emphasise the case for the A90 to the North of Ellon project and seek inclusion of this within the Strategic Transport Projects Review going forward.
COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE
13. The Board had before it a report which presented for adoption, a formal policy setting out how complaints to Nestrans would be handled.
The report recommended:- that the Board approve the adoption and website publication of the Nestrans Complaints Handling Policy, as presented in Appendix 1 of the report.
The Board heard Paul Finch advise that a periodic review identified that whilst partner councils and other RTPs maintain such policies, none had ever been adopted by Nestrans.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendation.
INFORMATION BULLETIN
14. The Board had before it a report which provided information and updates on a number of matters not requiring decisions.
The report recommended:- that the Board note the contents of this report.
The Director made reference to the following:- Aberdeen Low Emission Zone Options Consultation; Aberdeen City Council Electric Vehicle Framework; and Getabout update.
A summary of Press Enquiries, Media Releases and coverage relevant to Nestrans since the last Board meeting was attached as Appendix A to the report.
The Board resolved:- to approve the recommendation.
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS Page 8 7
NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP 4 November 2020
15. The Board had before it a list of recent and forthcoming conferences, training and presentations of interest to Nestrans.
The Board resolved:- to note the content of the list.
PENDING BUSINESS AND REPORTS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
16. The Board had before it a report which (1) provided information on the progress on pending business and major reports scheduled for forthcoming Board meetings; and (2) provided the opportunity for the Board to add to or amend the scheduling.
The report recommended:- that the Board note the report on pending business and agree the provisional scheduling of major reports to future Board meetings.
The Board resolved:- (i) to approve the recommendation; and (ii) to note that the Director would investigate the possibility of including presentations in relation to the Belfast Rapid Transit Scheme and the Climate Change/Challenge. - COUNCILLOR SANDRA MACDONALD, Chairperson
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Page 10 Agenda Item 2.1
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 DECEMBER 2020
2.1 2020/21 Budget Matters
Purpose of Report
To provide the Board with an update on the Partnership’s 2020/21 monitoring and forecast outturn position and to consider any budget or monitoring issues that may arise.
Background
The Board has requested that a general budget report be submitted to each meeting, monitoring expenditure, identifying any potential budget issues, and reporting on any particular expenditure requests. The reports are prepared jointly by the Nestrans office and Finance officers from Aberdeenshire Council.
Current Revenue & Capital Budget
Appendix 1 to this report sets out a summary budget monitoring statement of expenditure to 30 October 2020. This shows expenditure of £708,089.
Whilst little by way of expenditure has taken place, work programmes are progressing. There is still however a significant risk to the delivery of many projects this financial year due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on working practices. Every attempt is currently being made to present a balanced budget for the year ahead and the situation will continue to be monitored and any known variances will be reported and suggested amendments developed for consideration as necessary.
Discussions are ongoing with finance officers in each Council to consider the implications of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 that now enables Regional Transport Partnerships to hold a reserve and the impact this will have on Nestrans’ financial working practices. It is intended to bring a report to the next Board in February 2021 on this matter in advance of the unaudited statement of accounts for 2020/21 being prepared.
Strategic Transport Fund
The legal challenge successfully quashed The Strategic Transport Fund (STF). The current balance for 2020/21 is £483,198. No repayments have been made so far in 2020/21. There are 16 developments remaining to be claimed.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board:
1. Note the monitoring position and forecast presented in Appendix 1. 2. Instruct the Director of Nestrans to report back to the next Board in February 2021 on the implications of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
Alan Wood Treasurer 26 October 2020
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Page 12 Appendix 1
SUMMARY OF INCOME & EXPENDITURE
Revised Actual to 2020/21 Actual v Description Budget Oct-20 Forecast Budget % Expenditure Core Costs Partnership Office 466,260 233,130 466,260 50% Partner Support costs 79,650 39,825 79,650 50% Board Members Expenses 1,000 0 1,000 0% Other Associated Costs 42,750 12,918 42,750 30% Rechargeable Costs 0 0 0 * 589,660 285,873 589,660 48% Regional Transport Strategy Health & Transport Action Plan 37,000 17,459 37,000 47% Bus Action Plan 140,456 17,047 140,456 12% Rail Action Plan 3,000 0 3,000 0% General 100,000 6,600 100,000 7% Project Feasibility & Monitoring 58,775 4,745 58,775 8% Contingency 5,000 62 5,000 1% Travel Planning 160,570 30,159 160,570 19% Rechargeable Costs 25,000 6,722 25,000 27% 529,801 82,794 529,801 16%
Coordination & Project Development 1,119,461 368,667 1,119,461 33%
Rail 3,248,101 14,517 3,248,101 0% Strategic Roads Capacity 120,000 0 120,000 0% Safety 692,340 20,828 692,340 3% Maintenance 451,000 0 451,000 0% Bus Improvements General Corridors 579,994 19,072 579,994 3% Walking and Cycling Strategic Corridors 769,370 17,220 769,370 2% Carbon Reduction & Air Quality 337,329 0 337,329 0% Various 679,923 0 679,923 0% Inverurie Interchange 0 0 0 * Cycling Development Officer Grant 467,325 0 467,325 0% Insch Station 13,465 0 13,465 0% Laurencekirk to Aberdeen Mulit-modal Study 80,000 19,169 80,000 24% Active Travel 324,219 119,460 324,219 37% Strategic Investment Programme 7,763,066 210,265 7,763,066 3%
City Region Deal 0 94,037 94,037 * Civitas/Portis 0 35,120 35,120 * Total Expenditure 8,882,527 708,089 9,011,684 8% Income Partner Contributions Aberdeen City Council 122,175 61,088 122,175 50% Aberdeenshire Council 122,175 61,088 122,175 50% Scottish Government - Core costs 782,000 391,000 782,000 50% Delay in Drawdown from Reserves 88,034 88,034 0% Local Rail Development Fund 93,465 0 93,465 0% Paths for All 25,000 6,722 25,000 27% Integrated Transport Fund 0 0 0 * Transport Scotland 324,219 119,460 324,219 37% Sustrans 467,325 0 467,325 0% Capital Grant & Use of Balances 6,858,134 0 6,858,134 0% Investment Interest 0 3,584 3,800 * Other Income 0 100 100 * City Region Deal 0 94,037 94,037 * Civitas/Portis 0 35,120 35,120 * Total Income 8,882,527 772,198 9,015,584 9%
Operating (Surplus)/Deficit 0 (64,109) (3,900)
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Page 14 Agenda Item 3.1
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP - 9 December 2020
3.1 Director’s report on liaison between RTPs, and with the Scottish Government and Others
1. Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to update the Board on liaison with other RTPs, with the Scottish Government and other organisations.
2. Background
This report details meetings with other RTPs across Scotland, Transport Scotland and other national transport bodies, highlighting issues of interest across Scotland. It also notes the minutes from Steering Group meetings covering both the Health and Transport Action Plan (HTAP) and the North East Scotland Bus Alliance.
3. Recent Developments
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions, an almost normal schedule of meetings has been going on, all of which have been held online in this period. Meetings of relevance held since the last Board meeting on 4 November include:
• RTP Lead Officers, 5 November 2020 Scotland’s seven Regional Transport Partnerships’ Lead Officers met and discussed matters including Transport Transition Plans in response to Covid-19, National Transport Strategy 2, collaborating on responses to national consultations and the opportunity for a joint meeting with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
• Decarbonising Rail, 6 November 2020 Rab Dickson and Paul Finch met with Sandy MacAulay of Aberdeen City Council and representatives of Transport Scotland's Rail Policy and Rail Decarbonisation teams. This was an opportunity to emphasise the north east’s ambitions for hydrogen and to better understand the Government’s ambitions, particularly in regard to electrification and the procurement of new rolling stock.
• European PAV Project, 10 November 2020 The Steering Committee for the European InterReg project, Planning for Autonomous Vehicles (PAV), have sought a representative from the north east. The project is being led by HiTrans and involves partners from academia and both public and private sector from across northern Europe. The initial Steering Committee meeting sought to introduce the partners.
• Transport Scotland event on Transport, Young People and Employment, 10 November 2020 Paul Finch represented Nestrans at an event to consider better opportunities for young people accessing employment. This was the first of what will be an ongoing series of meetings on this topic.
3.1 Director’s Report
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• SCDI, 10 November 2020 Rab Dickson had been invited to provide an update on the Regional Transport Strategy to the north east Committee of SCDI. The event was attended by 19 participants and included a Q&A session after a short presentation.
• Aberdeenshire Sustainability Committee, 11 November 2020 Kelly Wiltshire represents Nestrans on this Committee.
• Aberdeen City Region Deal Joint Committee, 13 November 2020 The City Region Deal Joint Committee received an update on the new Aberdeen South Harbour from Michelle Handforth of the Harbour Board, as well as reports on the Transport Memorandum of Understanding.
• Northern Roads Collaboration Officers Group, 15 November 2020 Officers from the seven local authorities and three RTPs who form the Northern Collaboration Group met to discuss matters of mutual relevance. Draft responses on national consultations were shared.
• LNER Community Forum, 17 November 2020 LNER hosted an online Community Forum, the first time this has been held specifically for Scottish interests. A number of presentations outlined the company’s performance, and future plans. There was also a presentation from Frazer Henderson of Transport Scotland, emphasising the three challenges of Health, Economy and Climate which need to be addressed.
• Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce Policy Committee, 18 November 2020 The Policy Committee was attended by Rab Dickson and Margaret Bochel. A major focus on transition to Net Zero carbon is seen as a significant opportunity for the region.
• SCOTS Autumn Meeting, 20 November 2020 Rab Dickson attended the autumn meeting of Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS).
• ScotRail Round Table, 25 November 2020 Councillor Macdonald, Councillor Bell and Paul Finch attended this meeting with Alex Hynes of the ScotRail Alliance.
• Bus Alliance Board, 25 November 2020 Rab Dickson, Kirsty Chalmers and Nicola Laird attended this meeting, which was noted the resignation of George Mair as Chair. The draft minute of the meeting is attached as Appendix 1 to this report for information, and Board are asked to note the appointment of Robert Andrew as the new Chair of the Bus Alliance Board.
• Northern Roads Collaboration Joint Committee, 27 November 2020 The NRC Joint Committee consists of local authority representatives, but is supported by officers from both Councils and RTPs. Councillor Macdonald represents Aberdeen City Council on the Committee.
• RTP Chairs Meeting, 2 December 2020 The Regional Partnerships' quarterly meeting was held on 2 December and was attended by the Cabinet Secretary.
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• Transport Governance and Collaboration Review Group, 2 December 2020 Rab Dickson is one of two representatives of the RTPs on this group, along with CoSLA, SCOTS and Transport Scotland.
• City Region Deal Transportation Working Group, 3 December 2020
• RTP Lead Officers with Transport Scotland, 4 December 2020
• Aberdeen International Airport Consultative Committee, 4 December 2020 Margaret Bochel represents Nestrans on the Consultative Committee.
• RTP Lead Officers, 7 December 2020
• Sustrans Active Travel Networks, 8 December 2020
4. Future Programme of Meetings
The following meetings are scheduled between the preparation of this report and the next full meeting of Board on Wednesday 10 February 2021:
• Aberdeen City Region Deal Joint Committee, 13 November 2020
• Northern Roads Collaboration Officers Group, 14 December 2020
• Road Safety North East Scotland, 15 December 2020
• North Angus Growth Opportunity, 15 December 2020
• Net Zero and Climate Resilience Vision, 15 December 2020
• HTAP Steering Group, 17 December 2020
• Aberdeenshire Community Planning Board, 18 December 2020
• Aberdeen Prospers, 11 January 2021
• Regional Economic Strategy Group, 26 January 2021
• Aberdeen-Central Belt Rail Stakeholders Group, 26 January 2021
• Community Planning Aberdeen Board, 27 January 2021
• Regional Transport Partnerships Lead Officers Group, 3 February 2021
• RTP Lead Officers with Transport Scotland, 5 February 2021
• City Region Deal Joint Committee, 5 February 2021
5. Recommendation
The Board is recommended to note progress on liaison arrangements with other RTPs, the Scottish Government and others and arrangements for future meetings.
RD/ 30 November 2020
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Appendix 1
North East of Scotland Bus Alliance
Minute of Meeting of the Bus Alliance Board (Microsoft Teams) Wednesday 25th November 2020 at 1100hrs
Present Rab Dickson, Nestrans (RD) Greig Mackay, Bus Users Scotland (GM) Ewan Wallace, Aberdeenshire Council (EW) Peter Knight, Stagecoach (PK) Andrew Jarvis, First Bus (AJ) Gae Beattie, Aberdeen City Council (GB)
In Attendance Nicola Laird, Nestrans (NL)
Kirsty Chalmers, Nestrans (KC) Robert Andrew (RA)
Apologies Douglas Bain, Bains Coaches
Item Action
1 Welcome & Apologies RD welcomed and noted apologies.
2 Governance of the Bus Alliance Board RD explained that since the last meeting George Mair has retired from CPT and decided to step down as Chair of the Bus Alliance Board. The
Board wished to send their thanks to George Mair.
RD Action: Nestrans to write and send a letter on behalf of the Alliance.
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RD emphasised that finding a replacement who understood the bus industry and could act as an advocate on behalf of public transport was not easy, but discussions had identified that Robert Andrew would be ideal. RD proposed that Robert Andrew take the role of Chair. AJ seconded. Robert Andrew agreed to take the role of Chair from the New Year.
Board agreed unanimously to appoint Robert Andrew (RA) to the role of independent chair of the Bus Alliance Board. RA noted that he is still an employee of Stagecoach, but only involved in Citylink, which he wanted to be on the record to avoid any issues moving forward.
3 Minute of the Bus Alliance Board 10 September 2020 The minute of the meeting was approved.
a) Matters Arising
Bus Priority Rapid Deployment Fund – Was unsuccessful as unable to submit a compliant bid. Have now moved to focus energy on the Bus
Partnership Fund. RD noted that some of the schemes proposed as temporary measures through BPRDF have now been funded through the Nestrans budget and will be implemented this financial year.
Communications with Operators – RD asked whether there was opportunity for bus operators to feed into the SfP review due to go to CG&R Committee in February. GB noted that the report is currently in the early stages but will be looking to engage operators as part of the development of the report.
KC noted that ACC have been getting data from operators throughout the SfP scheme. First Bus may still have some data outstanding following the
initial request. Need to ensure that the data provided by both operators are cohesive. KC Action: KC to confirm with Joanna Murray whether this has been resolved.
4 Bus Partnership Fund KC gave background to the papers.
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Have created a working group to focus on the development of the bid. Met for the first time on 18th November.
KC discussed the high-level themes and content of the bid as it currently
stands.
Have also put out a consultancy brief with intention to have a consultant in place before Christmas to help develop the bid. It was emphasised that the timescales for pulling the bid together in line with LA approval procedures will be tight.
EW asked whether, learning from BPRDF, do we need to make sure that we are tighter and have more clarity in specifying how we meet the criteria for the bid. It was agreed that this will be the case although the criteria for this bid are not as specific as BPRDF. First phase to fund business case development with a gateway process for moving forward.
GB asked whether it will be possible to develop a relationship with TS
early to ensure that the bid meets their criteria. May be beneficial to have an officer either sitting on the group or as a named contact to work with whilst developing the bid.
It was noted that Pete Grant and Lucia Webster have both said that they will be happy to be involved in the meetings to develop the bid if wished as a sounding board. It was also noted that both attended the last Executive meeting.
It was agreed that the bid and the strategy for moving forward needs to be comprehensive and robust given the level of funding that could be potentially involved. A chance to develop the long-term vision for transport
in the north east. It was also noted that comms will be crucial to success as it will face opposition and challenges as it progresses.
The governance arrangements of the scheme were discussed. Needs to be a partnership bid but will be led by one of the councils (ACC). Need to consider how this will work moving forward in terms of management, decisions, resource and spending of the bid.
RD asked what ACC need and by when to ensure this can go to the February committee. GB noted that work has been ongoing in the
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background with regards to the governance and practicalities of developing and progressing the bid as a partnership.
The draft timeline was shared with the Board. It was noted that there is
only one ACC committee between now and the deadline for the bid. Hope to have a more detailed draft of the bid including some of the potential quick wins that could be included to go to the February CG&R Committee. What needs to be included depends on the approval processes. Due to the level of funding will need to go through the governance process and the February Committee will be the place for it. Will need to carefully consider the content to ensure that it is as robust as possible and whether final sign off by be done by the convenor of CG&R Committee rather than
the full committee.
AJ noted that there will be similar processes to go through in the private sector as well that will not be a quick process. Need to ensure that we are not scaring off decision makers without having the full plan developed. Need to consider what level of detail is required in the initial bid, whether it requires a full plan or is more of a vision document.
Match-funding was discussed. There is no specified level of match- funding, but there is a requirement to show what each of the partners will bring to the table to support the funding from TS.
The upcoming elections were discussed and the impact that these could have. Need to ensure longevity given the scale of the development that
could go ahead.
The cross-party discussions were raised and when they should be involved in the process. There is a hierarchy in communication, but they will be beneficial to take place as soon as possible across both LAs. Discussions with the Administration has been started already.
It was also raised to consider the customer voice in the bid and when they should be involved in the process and whether they can be included in some form in the development of the bid. However, it was noted that past experience from Bus Users Scotland has shown that it is difficult to engage with passengers in Scotland digitally. Potential solutions were Execut discussed including on-bus marketing material and links. Need to include ive both users and non-users. and Action: Executive and Working Group to continue to develop the bid Worki in line with the timescales identified. ng Group
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5 Partner Updates First Bus have now increased their hydrogen fleet due to the arrival of their second bus. Working to finalise and sign the lease with ACC so that
the first hydrogen bus can be put into service.
Have received several refreshed articulated vehicles to replace the older fleet on the service 1 and 2. Looking to bid for more funding from TS to retrofit more of the Aberdeen fleet.
Patronage currently at 51% of the normal patronage. 95% of operated mileage is currently running so services are close to normal. Planning to run a marketing campaign to highlight this.
Stagecoach updated that they have been able to procure two new vehicles for Aberdeen that will arrive in the next few months. Are currently continuing to refresh the current fleet of vehicles to the new Stagecoach livery.
Currently at 46% of the normal patronage. Have seen a greater bounce back in Moray than in Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire. It was noted that this may be due to Moray being in level one. At 95% of operated mileage as well.
It was raised that the current round of funding from TS to support operators is due to end 10th January 2021. However, there may be further restart funding to follow this date until at least the end of the financial year. Hope to have this confirmed before Christmas. It was noted there is also a consideration of the BSOG and concessionary funding moving forward as these have not yet been confirmed.
Nestrans discussed the progress of the RTS. Due to have a workshop with Nestrans Board Members on 9th December. Raised the high-level themes that have come out of the consultation and what will be considered as part of the re-draft. It was noted that some of the amendments will be required as a result of the impact of Covid.
Bus Users Scotland (BUS) noted that there are now several bus partnerships being formed around the country. Have seen impacts on their work due to the local lockdowns as this has made it difficult due to the constraints on movements.
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Passenger complaints across the UK are very low.
GM noted that the consultation on free bus travel on people resident in Scotland aged under 19 is currently open until the 7th December. BUS are currently drafting a response to this. It was noted that this will have significant impacts on the concessionary scheme. Needs to be robust to ensure it is successful.
Aberdeenshire Council have ISC tomorrow. A couple of items to be taken including investment in the physical transport network.
Have purchased their first electric mini-bus as part of the Switched on Fleets programme. Will look to determine where this will be deployed.
Have a MOWG next week to discuss the Clean Sheet Review. In discussions with politicians regarding funding moving forward.
SfP will be moving on Monday (30/11) to pinch points only. Will keep Stagecoach colleagues involved with regards to any impacts. Likely to still keep some one-way systems in place.
Due to start work in Spring 2021 on the new Aberdeenshire LTS.
It was noted that parking charges are due to be re-introduced from 4th January 2021.
It was asked whether there is an understanding of traffic levels in the towns following Covid as ACC have seen traffic rise to almost pre-Covid levels. It was noted that there has been an increase but the patterns have shifted.
Action: EW to confirm what the specific changes have been with regards to traffic.
Aberdeen City Council noted that the LEZ timescales have been pushed back. TS have a consultant in to do additional work on LEZs moving forward and the attitudes towards them. Still working towards the
3.1 Director’s Report
Page 23
implementation of a LEZ as it is seen as part of the vision for the future of Aberdeen.
Regarding SfP, report currently being worked on to go to CG&R Committee in February. No further works being implemented although cycle lane at beach now being removed.
Active Travel Action Plan progressing and due to start work on the Local Transport Strategy.
GB thanked First Bus for their assistance on Thursday night following a bomb hoax in Torry.
6 Bus Alliance Board Dates for 2021 The Board were asked to confirm whether the provisional dates for the Bus Alliance Board in 2021 were suitable. The dates were agreed subject
to amending the dated to be on a Wed as this is more suitable.
It was noted that there may need to be an additional meeting of the Bus Alliance Board in January to discuss the BPF report before it goes to CG&R.
NL Action: NL to send out invitations for the 2021 Board meetings and to look at an additional date for Board in January.
7 AOCB AJ raised the role of TS in the Bus Alliance with regards to trunk roads and the requirement for them to be involved in any bid to the Bus
Partnership Fund that impacts on Trunk Roads. It was discussed who would be responsible for this with regards to implementing bus stops etc. Difficult to get anybody to take ownership of this. Need to particularly be considered with regards to the ongoing partnership and corridor studies.
Action: EW to follow up through his national contacts. EW
8 Date of Next Meeting – 10:00, Wednesday 24th February 2021
3.1 Director’s Report
Page 24 Agenda Item 3.2
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 09 December 2020
3.2: Covid-19 – Interim Assessment of Changing Travel Patterns and Attitudes
1. Purpose of Report This report provides an interim assessment of the changing travel patterns and attitudes across the north east of Scotland, which have arisen due to Covid-19 and its consequential impacts. Whist useful for providing some wider context, it does not provide any assessment of the specific Spaces for People interventions which have been implemented at local authority level.
2. Background A variety of data sources have been used to compile this report. These include data on road traffic levels, and active travel levels, which have been sourced from our local authority partners, and Transport Scotland. Information is presented in Appendices 1 and 2. Board Members will be aware Nestrans has commissioned four-weekly travel attitude market research surveys, and five of these reports have now been published, with the sixth in preparation at the time of writing. Reports are presented in full on the Nestrans website1, whilst the most recent Executive Summary is presented as Appendix 3. Additional insight has been obtained from the interim findings from a Covid-19 response study being led by Leeds University which has also included research and interviews undertaken in the Nestrans area2. The following sections provide what are currently considered to be the main findings from the data that has been collected to date.
3. Road Traffic Levels Traffic counter information from across the region shows a consistent picture of a gradual return to Pre-Covid traffic levels. Until recently, the profile of activity across the day has typically been relatively constant, with less pronounced peak periods. However, month on month, the am and pm peaks are now beginning to clearly re-emerge across the region.
4. Public Transport Levels Information from surveys and operators highlight that bus and rail patronage levels remain suppressed, by around 80% nationally. Operators have typically reinstated regular timetables and are making significant efforts on issues such as cleanliness and publicising safe travel guidance. Discretionary / less frequent users appear to be deterred by a fear of catching Covid-19 from other passengers and fears of over-crowded situations. Pre-Covid, many users of public transport (particularly bus) were also in the “higher risk” groups which may also now be
1 Survey reports available at https://www.nestrans.org.uk/projects/monitoring-and-modelling/ 2 Covid19 Transport, Travel and Social Adaption Study, https://covid19transas.org/
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 25 travelling less. Those who have continued to use public transport have reported to have found the services cleaner, more punctual, and less crowded than previously. With traffic levels nearing or matching Pre-Covid levels, but public transport remaining suppressed, there is some evidence suggesting that there is more “informal lift giving” within households. This potentially is replacing two trips on public transport with four trips on the road network, and thus also contributing to general increases in road traffic.
5. Active Travel Levels Count data at Aberdeen City’s Cycle Counter sites show that relative to 2019, there have been increased levels of activity, significantly and notably at sites associated with leisure use (parks, Deeside Line, Beach Esplanade). Activity levels on routes associated with commuter use have generally increased, but not by the same extent. It is noted that at the present time, there are generally fewer people commuting to work overall. The decrease in activity associated with the winter months is clearly apparent from the data.
6. Commuting Patterns Nestrans’ attitude surveys have revealed that in the north east of Scotland, 49% have travelled to work at least once in the previous seven days, compared to 35% in Scotland, and 30% across the United Kingdom. This may be due to the nature and location of employment in the region. Across the north east, a general increasing trend of more work trips, and more regular work trips is highlighted in Table 1. Table 1: Number of Journeys to Work Made in the Last Seven Days (Percentage) Once 2 to 3 4 to 5 6 to 7 8 + None Survey 1 (mid July) 7 12 14 5 1 62 Survey 6 (early Nov) 6 11 28 4 0 51
The surveys have revealed that in mid-July, 38% of respondents had made one or more trips to work in the past seven days. This has increased to 49% in most recent survey (early November). The frequency of trips to work has also recently increased. 14% of survey respondents were making trips to work 4 to 5 times a week in mid-July, increasing to 28% in early November. Pre-Covid, around 90% of survey respondents in employment reported that they commuted to work, with 10% working from home. In mid-July, of those in employment, 44% were commuting, 41% working from home, and 15% were on furlough. The most recent results suggest 61% commuting, 34% working from home, and 5% on furlough. The anticipation is of a more “blended” working pattern in the future, as up to 44% of survey responders who are in employment would wish to retain greater flexibility in their work patterns in the future. The surveys currently suggest that in the future when there are no specific restrictions, there may be a 10% decrease in people commuting, relative to pre-Covid levels.
7. Business Travel Patterns At present most business meetings are taking place virtually. There is an expectation that this trend will continue, and this will reduce the amount of business travel on both the road and public transport networks (particularly rail). Consistently across each of the six attitude surveys, 75% of those in employment and who previously attended business meetings anticipate that some, or all business meetings will be replaced by virtual meetings.
8. Shopping Trips Nestrans’ attitude surveys indicate that there is a recent increase in the frequency of supermarket shopping trips. In mid July, 31% of responders made one supermarket trip in the
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 26 previous 7 days, with 48% making 2 to 3 trips. In early November, this had changed to 26% making one trip in the previous seven days, and 54% making 2 to 3 trips. There are also indications of an increase in the use of home delivery (34 to 38% state that are using it more), as well as seeking out more local shops (31 to 38% stating that they are more often shopping closer to home). However, it is noted that parking levels within the City Council area remain suppressed, as well as Aberdeen City Centre footfall monitoring.
9. Visiting Family and Friends Recent restrictions on meeting in other households have had a clear impact on the amount of visiting family and friends. In mid-July, 69% of survey respondents were making one or more trips to family and friends in the previous seven days. In early November, this has reduced to 48%.
10. Attitudes Towards Different Transport Modes Relative to the pre-Covid situation, across the first five surveys (July to Oct), an average of 20% of survey respondents indicated that there were cycling for leisure more, and 38% indicated that they were walking for leisure more. However, this has dropped in the most recent survey (November) to 14% and 30% respectively, presumably due to the reduction in daylight hours and changing weather. Attitudes towards different modes of transport have also been tracked across each of the surveys, but these have typically remained consistent. Average values are presented in Table 2 below. Table 2 –How positively or negatively survey respondents feel about alternative ways of travelling (average percentage scores across six surveys) Very or Quite Neither Positive or Very or Quite Positive Negative Negative Walking 78 19 4 Car Use (driver) 69 23 8 Car Use (passenger) 62 28 11 Cycling 40 34 26 Train 21 36 44 Bus 18 31 52 Taxi 16 36 48 Motorbike 16 37 46
The positivity around walking, car use (either as driver/passenger) and cycling is notable, as is the relative negativity around train, bus and taxi, all of which are shared transport modes. It also potentially demonstrates the challenge of tackling negative perceptions of shared transport modes post-Covid.
11. Summary of Key Findings a) Those in employment in the north east now appear to be making increasing trips to their workplace, and this appears to be one element in driving increasing road traffic levels, and re-emergence of am and pm peaks. b) It is anticipated that there will be a longer-term shift from peak period commuting for those able to work more flexibility / replace office with home working, possibly of around 10%. Business travel is anticipated also to be significantly replaced by virtual meetings in the medium to longer term.
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 27 c) All forms of public transport remain suppressed, and across those surveyed, there are negative feelings towards bus, train and taxi use. Other survey information however suggests that those regularly using public transport at this time are comfortable in terms of its safety and operation. There is some evidence pointing to higher levels of informal lift sharing, and this may also be driving higher road traffic volumes. d) People are walking and cycling more, particularly for leisure purposes, and this type of actively is viewed very positively (with respect to walking), and positively (with respect to cycling). e) It will be necessary to work closely with public transport operators on a recovery plan when the risk of Covid-19 has been sufficiently reduced.
12. Recommendations The board are requested to note the information and key findings contained in the report.
PMF/30 November 2020
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 28 Appendix 1 - Road Traffic Levels at Range of Sites
All Traffic (Transport Scotland Sites) - Weekday 40000 35000
30000
way flow - 25000 20000 15000 10000
5000 Average Average dayfive two
0
02/03 - 09/03 - 02/03 25/05 - 18/05 10/02 - 10/02 17/02 - 17/02 24/02 - 24/02 02/03 - 09/03 16/03 - 16/03 23/03 - 23/03 30/03 - 30/03 06/04 - 06/04 13/04 - 13/04 20/04 - 20/04 27/04 - 27/04 04/05 - 04/05 11/05 - 11/05 18/05 - 25/05 01/06 - 01/06 08/06 - 08/06 15/06 - 15/06 22/06 - 22/06 29/06 - 29/06 06/07 - 06/07 13/07 - 13/07 20/07 - 20/07 27/07 - 03/08 10/08 - 10/08 17/08 - 17/08 24/08 - 24/08 31/08 - 31/08 07/09 - 07/09 14/09 - 14/09 21/09 - 21/09 28/09 - 28/09 05/10 - 05/10 12/10 - 12/10 19/10 - 19/10 26/10 - 26/10 02/11 27/07 - 27/07 03/08
A944 Arnhall Moss Westhill A90 AWPR Balmedie A90 Peterhead Peripheral South A96 Inverurie Bypass (South) A96 Huntly A90 Stonehaven Portlethen (A90 Hillside) North Anderson Drive South Anderson Drive
All Traffic (Various Aberdeen City Council Sites) - Weekday 25000
20000
way flow - 15000
10000
5000 Average Average dayfive two
0
King Street @ First Bus King Street @St Machar Lang Stracht N. Deeside Road Skene Road Stoneywood Road Wellington Road Westburn Drive
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 29
Lang Stracht Hourly Flow 1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
February March April May June July August September October November
A90 Peterhead Hourly Flow 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
February March April May June July August September October
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 30 Appendix 2 – Active Travel Levels
Activity Levels at Cycle Counters, Aberdeen City 20000 18000 16000 14000 12000
10000 Way Levels Activity
- 8000 6000
4000 Monthly2 2000 0
Auchmill Road Beach Esplanade Deeside Way (Duthie Park) Deeside Way (Peterculter) Dyce Drive (Wellheads Drive) Parkway (Scotstown Road) Riverside Path Seaton Park Skene Road Wellington Road
Note – Beach Esplanade Counter (Sept 20 and Oct 20) affected by Spaces for People measures, which bypassed the existing counter site.
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 31 Appendix 3 – Executive Summary - Nestrans Attitude Surveys Survey Six – 2nd to 9th November 2020
Covid Impacts on Travel Page 32 Agenda Item 3.3
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
3.3 Draft 2019/20 Annual Report
Purpose of Report
To allow the Board to consider a draft Nestrans Annual Report for 2019/20 and Business Plan for 2020/21.
Background
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 requires Regional Transport Partnerships “after the end of each financial year…. to publish a report on the performance of its functions during that year”. This report should be submitted to Scottish Ministers and constituent Councils.
Implications for Nestrans
A draft Annual Report for 2019/20 has been prepared to provide a review of the financial year to 31 March 2020 and summarise performance towards delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy.
The Nestrans Delivery Plan set out a general programme of works for the period 2010-2021 to deliver the current Regional Transport Strategy. As the Delivery Plan is not reviewed annually, latest business plan information for 2020/21 is based on actual funding allocations and updated with latest project proposals at the start of the 2020/21 financial year for inclusion within the 2019/20 Annual Report. Once the text is approved, it is suggested that the report be designed for publication on the Nestrans website.
The statements that Nestrans is required to publish in accordance with the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 are included within appendix 2 of the Annual Report. They consist of a Sustainable Economic Growth Statement and Statement on Improving Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy for the 2019/20 financial year. The Expenditure Statement provides a list of the financial transactions from 2019/20 within the specified headings of public relations, overseas travel, hospitality and entertainment, external consultancy and payments over £25,000. Should these Statements be approved they will also be published separately on the Nestrans website in advance of the Annual Report being designed for publication and links given to this information on the from within the Annual Report.
Recommendations
It is recommended that the Board:
1. Consider the attached draft 2019/20 Annual Report and Business Plan 2020/21;
2. Approve immediate publication on the Nestrans website of the statements within Appendix 2 that are required under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010;
3. Approve publication of this report on the Nestrans website once the design has been completed; and
4. Instruct a link to the published report to be sent to Scottish Ministers and the Chief Executives at Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council.
JA / 20 November 2020 Page 33 This page is intentionally left blank
Page 34 Annual Report 2019/20 and Business Plan 2020/21
Contents
Page
Foreword by the Chair of Nestrans 2
Executive Summary 4
1. Nestrans Organisation 8
2. Regional Transport Strategy 10
3. Representing North East Interests 19
4. Project Delivery 25
5. Results 35
6. Planning for the Future 38
7. Funding 46
Appendices
Appendix 1: The Nestrans Board and Executive 48
Appendix 2: Public Services Reform Information 51
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Page 35 Foreword
As the Chair of Nestrans, I am pleased to introduce the Annual Report for 2019/20 and to reflect on transport related achievements by Nestrans and many other public and private partners and organisations in the year to 31 March 2020, which have all assisted with delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy aims.
The extensive Aberdeen International Airport terminal improvements have been completed and substantial progress has been made in the creation of the new Aberdeen South Harbour at Nigg. Construction of phase 1 of the Aberdeen to Inverness rail improvement has redoubled most of the track between Aberdeen and Inverurie with the new station at Kintore nearing completion. Transport Scotland is continuing work to identify a preferred option for dualling the section of the A96 between Aberdeen and Huntly. Construction of the A90/A96 Haudagain junction improvement has commenced and Draft Orders have been published for the grade separated junction at the A90/A937 south of Laurencekirk. The City Centre Masterplan is being progressed, with works on public realm improvements at Schoolhill and work underway to determine the optimum form and scope of a Low Emission Zone in Aberdeen.
Nestrans invested almost £2 million in 2019/20 on various rail, road, bus, cycling, walking and carbon reduction initiatives. In addition, almost £1 million has been spent in support of actions within our Health & Transport, Rail, Freight, Bus and Active Travel Action Plans, travel planning and active travel promotion via the Getabout brand and on project feasibility studies. Progress has also been made by North East partners developing and delivering the projects funded through the European Civitas Portis project.
The strategic regional Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) that is managed and maintained by Nestrans is being updated to reflect the impact of the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. This work is being funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal along with the initial assessment of options through the Strategic Transport Appraisal, which will help identify transport projects to be delivered through the City Region Deal and inform the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy and the national Strategic Transport Projects Review.
As the majority of the original Regional Transport Strategy has now been delivered, development of the next Regional Transport Strategy to 2040 has commenced and will be informed by the new National Transport Strategy. A nestrans|2040 website has been created to encourage engagement and we would very much welcome participation in the development of the new strategy.
The Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that were introduced towards the end of 2019/20 are likely to bring significant changes to society, the economy and our transport networks. Nestrans will continue to work collaboratively during the period of adaption and recovery to respond to changing needs, whilst ensuring compatibility with the longer term vision and goals of the developing Regional Transport Strategy. Every effort will continue to be made to secure additional external funding where available to deliver transport benefits for the North East.
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Page 36 As always, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and express my grateful thanks to the many public and private partner organisations that have worked to deliver so many major transport improvements and to secure funding and commitment to further enhancements in coming years and I look forward to Nestrans and its partners building upon this success.
Councillor Sandra Macdonald Chair, Nestrans
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Page 37 Executive Summary
Introduction
This annual report provides a review of Nestrans’ work in the past year, namely April 2019 to end March 2020 and looks ahead to the plans for 2020/21. Key transport related improvements being undertaken by other organisations that assist with the delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) are also included.
Regional Transport Strategy
Nestrans has continued to work towards delivering the actions within the Health and Transport, Bus, Freight, Rail and Active Travel Action Plans and various Strategies that have been developed to help achieve the aims of the RTS. Reports detailing progress against the individual strands of the RTS are prepared to each Board along with updates on the various Action Plans at regular intervals and all Board reports can be viewed on the Nestrans website.
The development of a new Regional Transport Strategy that covers the period to 2040 has been progressed and reflects the objectives, policies and actions of the new National Transport Strategy (NTS2), which has also been developed and was published in February 2020. The next RTS is being developed in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and is therefore being linked with the Strategic Transport Appraisal being undertaken through the Aberdeen City Region Deal. The nestrans|2040 website has been developed to enable engagement in the development of the new strategy.
Partnership Working and Policy Development
Nestrans has continued to represent North East interests to seek improvements to air, maritime and rail connections from the area to the rest of Scotland, the UK and beyond. Partnership working is of key importance in achieving the vision of the RTS, as most projects require delivery by other organisations. Nestrans continues to collaborate with those developing and delivering transport strategies and projects of importance to the North East to seek to influence and prioritise this work. Nestrans participated in the National Transport Strategy Review prior to publication of the final NTS2 in February 2020. An update to the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) is being undertaken to assess the transport infrastructure priorities throughout Scotland to deliver the vision of then new NTS2 and Nestrans is participating in the working group that has been set up for the North East.
An update to the strategic regional Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) has been commissioned to create a new 2019 base year and reflect changes to the transport network following the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route in February 2019 to ensure the model is suitably robust for transport and land use appraisal. This work is being funded through the City Region Deal that will see the UK and Scottish governments jointly invest £250 million in the North East in the period to 2025. The Strategic Transport Appraisal being undertaken for the City Region Deal has been progressed and initial appraisal of the long list of options is underway. This work will
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Page 38 inform the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy and feed into the Strategic Transport Projects Review. A study into external transport links to Aberdeen South Harbour has also been progressed.
Nestrans has continued to be involved in the Civitas Portis project with local and European partners. Work has been progressed to look at opportunities to enhance transport provision in and around port areas and to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to transport issues using the grant funding of almost €4million Euros that had previously been secured for the North East between September 2016-2020.
Project Delivery by External Partners
Works have continued on the strategic rail improvements between Aberdeen and Inverness and Kintore Railway Station is being included within this wider project. Options are continuing to be developed to improve journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt.
Options are continuing to be developed and appraised to identify a preferred option for the eastern section of the A96 dualling between Aberdeen and Huntly. Construction of the A90/A96 Haudagain junction improvement has commenced and draft Orders published for the preferred option for a grade separated junction at the A90/A937 south of Laurencekirk.
A Roads Hierarchy Review has been undertaken and published following the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route in February 2019. The first phase of public realm improvements for Schoolhill as part of the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan have been completed. Aberdeen City Council has developed a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for the City Centre and work is underway to determine the optimum form and scope of a Low Emission Zone in Aberdeen.
Construction of new deep-water facilities at Nigg Bay has been progressed by Aberdeen Harbour Board and Aberdeen International Airport has completed extensive improvement works at the terminal building.
Nestrans 2019/20 Budgets
The Nestrans Board oversaw the delivery of budgets amounting to over £2.8 million in 2019/20 as a result of funding provided by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils, the Scottish Government and various grants. This has been used to further develop and deliver projects to achieve the aims and objectives within the RTS.
Further work towards the reopening of Kintore railway station, including the access road and car park have been progressed. Further safety improvements have been undertaken on strategic corridors and capacity improvements enhanced by traffic signal monitoring and control upgrades. Design and development of improvements at Ellon Park & Ride and new mini hubs at Crathes and Oldmeldrum have been progressed and improvements made to bus stop infrastructure within Aberdeen. Nestrans contributed to a new e-scheduling system for the public transport unit within
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Page 39 Aberdeenshire Council. The roads hierarchy review was completed and electric vehicle charge points installed in various Aberdeenshire towns.
Significant investment was again allocated to the development and implementation of strategic walking and cycle routes, which was used to seek match funding from Sustrans through Places for Everyone bids by our constituent Councils. A contribution was also made to the Schoolhill Public Realm phase 1 improvement. Nestrans received capital grant funding as a result of the continued employment of a joint Sustrans embedded Cycling Development Officer post and this was used for upgrades on the Deeside Way. An Active Travel Grant was again awarded directly to Regional Transport Partnerships by Scottish Government in 2019 and this was used to progress feasibility and design works for the A944 cycle and pedestrian path, to complete the generic designs of replacement bridges and purchase of four timber kit bridges for the Formartine & Buchan Way.
Nestrans allocated funding to progress the projects within the Bus, Rail and Health & Transport Action Plans and this has seen continued funding of the Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) and grants given towards healthcare transport pilots in the Deeside and Buchan areas. Funding was provided to undertake bus passenger satisfaction studies, to contribute to E-paper bus stop displays and towards advertisement and provision of the Thistle Card. The Roads Hierarchy Review, further consideration of the rail options identified in the Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Rail Study and Wellington Road multi-modal corridor study were also funded
Travel planning support has been given to several organisations and active and sustainable travel continues to be promoted through the Getabout brand. This has included purchase of additional stock for the Getabout cycle roadshow, including a wheelchair accessible bike, participation in In Town Without My Car Day and the Cycling Tour series and promotion of Park & Ride, public transport, liftshare, walking, cycling, road safety and the Co-wheels car club. Nestrans has continued to seek efficiencies and to bring in other sources of funding through partnerships with other parties.
RTS Results
The monitoring of the Regional Transport Strategy is now in its twelfth year and a substantial amount of data is presented. Nestrans itself may have limited influence over delivery against some of the indicators, however as the delivery of the RTS as a whole relies on the work of many partners, it is important to understand the wider progress and trends across the region. In the past year the majority of the indicators for which data is available have been on target or are showing some success. Whilst it will take many years for the Strategy to decisively influence all the targets and indicators, they will continue to be monitored regularly to ensure that we can consider progress and target measures to achieve success.
The Year Ahead
As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that were implemented at the end of March 2020, Nestrans staff will likely work from home and adopt an informed and agile
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Page 40 approach to face the challenges and opportunities that may to appear throughout the journey from lockdown to recovery. We will continue to develop the new Regional Transport Strategy for the next 20-year period and ensure that it reflects the objectives, policies and actions of the NTS by relating them to local priorities. It is intended to consult upon the draft strategy and supporting documents before preparing a final Strategy for consideration by the Nestrans Board to enable submission, if approved, to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. The format of the RTS Monitoring Report will then be reviewed and a Delivery Plan developed
Whilst the next RTS2040 is being developed, Nestrans will continue to progress the delivery of the current Regional Transport Strategy by continuing to work with public and private organisations to implement the actions within the supporting Health & Transport, Bus, Freight, Rail and Active Travel Action Plans.
Using City Region Deal funding the update to the Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) to a 2019 base year will be completed along with a range of future year scenarios. The Strategic Transport Appraisal initial assessment of options for transport provision over the next 20 years will inform the development of transport projects to be delivered through the Aberdeen City Region Deal, the next Regional Transport Strategy and feed into the national Strategic Transport Projects Review. The Stag Part 2 assessment of the external transport links to Aberdeen South Harbour will be completed.
Nestrans will continue to work with partners to achieve our aspirations for rail services, including contributing to the cost of the new rail station at Kintore that is due to be completed in 2020. The North East Bus Alliance will develop a bid to the Scottish Government’s £500 million Bus Priority Fund and investigate a vision for an Aberdeen Rapid Transit Network. Various multi-modal corridor studies will be progressed. Nestrans will also work with our Local Authorities to encourage mode shift, lock in the benefits of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, implement the revised roads hierarchy, develop a Low Emission Zone and support the aims within the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan. Nestrans will continue to work with local and European partners through the Civitas Portis project, which will be completed in 2020.
The Nestrans Board has approved budgets for 2020/21 to implement further rail, road capacity, safety and strategic maintenance, bus, carbon reduction and cycling and walking projects throughout the North East. Funding is also in place to continue to progress the various action plans that support the Regional Transport Strategy, to undertake project feasibility studies and to promote active and sustainable travel.
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Page 41 1. Nestrans Organisation
The North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) is the statutory Regional Transport Partnership covering the local authority areas of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. There are seven Regional Transport Partnerships throughout Scotland and each is required to prepare an annual report for submission to Scottish Ministers and constituent Councils. This report contains a review of activities in the financial year from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and notes performance in delivery of the objectives within the Regional Transport Strategy. The report then looks ahead to our aims for 2020/21.
Nestrans Board and Executive Team
Councillor Peter Argyle continued as the Nestrans Chair, with Councillor Sandra Macdonald and Dr Margaret Bochel as Deputy Chairs until 6 November 2019, when Councillor Macdonald became the Nestrans Chair and Councillor Argyle became a Deputy Chair alongside Dr Bochel. Mr Colin Allanach was appointed to the Board as a non-Councillor member in May 2019 through to October 2024. An extension of the period of appointment for the other three non-Councillor members, namely Dr Margaret Bochel, Mr Gerry Donald and Mr Iain Ross to October 2024 was also endorsed by the Board.
The Board agreed the Transport Strategy Manager take on the role of Acting Director during a known prolonged period of absence of the Director. Following the retirement of the Director on 31 August 2019 the post was then advertised and the former Transport Strategy Manager was appointed as Director in November 2019.
In September 2019, the Board approved extending the contract of the Cycling Development Officer post that Nestrans part funds in partnership with Sustrans for a further two years. In order to maximise usage of the staffing budget available through the European-funded Civitas Portis project, the Board also agreed in September 2019 to the appointment of a Transport Officer on a fixed term contract for one year and to extend the contracts of the existing Travel Planning and Strategy Transport Executives and the Communications Support by an extra day each until the end of August 2020. Membership details of the Nestrans Board and Executive Team are given in full in Appendix 1.
Governance Documents
The full suite of governance documents within which Nestrans, as a publicly accountable body, must operate are published on the Nestrans website. This includes the latest Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Policy that is considered on an annual basis and generally reported in April. The Nestrans Board also approved a minor revision to the Financial Regulations in April 2019 to reflect the importance of corporate governance and the requirement to update this annually.
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Page 42
Equalities Duties
The Nestrans Equalities Mainstreaming Report and Nestrans Equalities Outcomes Report were reviewed and reported to the Nestrans Board on 19 April 2017 and both reports are published on the Nestrans website.
During 2019/20 there have been several stakeholder events and meetings to seek the views of various groups with protected characteristics to develop the next Regional Transport Strategy and there is further information on this within the RTS review in chapter 2.
Climate Change Duties
In respect of our duties in relation to the Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009, Nestrans as a public body submits a report in November of each year on our carbon emissions reporting for the previous financial year. Nestrans also reports on staff travel to work, which is not mandatory, but as an organisation that encourages travel planning this is considered to be an important part of climate change reporting. Nestrans has continued to collaborate with other Regional Transport Partnerships to share methodologies and peer check whether the Nestrans data was commensurate with similar organisations. Nestrans is a stakeholder in an Aberdeen City Council project on Climate Change Adaptation called Aberdeen Adapts and is working with Aberdeenshire Council and other stakeholders in Climate Ready Aberdeenshire. Nestrans is looking at the new Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 and how it will respond to the Net Zero target.
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Page 43 2. Regional Transport Strategy
Nestrans’ main purpose is to prepare and oversee delivery of a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS). The original strategy for the period to 2021 gained Ministerial approval in 2008. The RTS Refresh was approved by the Minister for Transport and Veterans on 16 January 2014 and is published along with supporting documents on the Nestrans website. It builds on the original RTS and updates ‘The Preferred Strategy Package’ and should therefore be taken as an addendum to the original strategy document.
The vision for transport that underpins the objectives and actions within the Regional Transport Strategy has remained unchanged since 2008, namely:
“A transport system for the north east of Scotland which enables a more economically competitive, sustainable and socially inclusive society.”
The next RTS is under development and is discussed later in this chapter, however progress in the past year with the various Plans and Strategies that have been developed to support the delivery of the current RTS and meet the aims and objectives therein are detailed below.
• Health and Transport Action Plan (HTAP) The HTAP co-ordinator post has continued to be funded jointly by NHS Grampian (NHSG) and Nestrans throughout 2019/20 to help implement the refreshed Health & Transport Action Plan HTAP2 that was published in 2014.
The HTAP Steering Group consists of senior representatives from NHSG, Nestrans, Scottish Ambulance Service, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and The Moray Council along with agreed representation from the third sector, Integrated Health & Social Care Partnerships, and a Public Representative. This group oversees two themed sub-groups:
Transport and Public Health The group has been chaired in the past year by a Public Health colleague from NHS Grampian. They also chaired a Transport and Public Health event to an audience of transport and planning professionals that was part funded by Nestrans and through the Civitas Portis European Project. The group continued to promote active and sustainable travel under the Getabout brand through partnership working and shared expertise. This has included TV advertising and promotion of the Sustrans-led Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge. An adapted bike, accessible to people with disabilities, was purchased to supplement the Getabout cycle roadshow.
Access to Health & Social Care The work plan for the Access to Health & Social Care Sub-Group continues to focus on improving information on available services, identifying gaps in provision, supporting the community transport sector and piloting integrated transport solutions.
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Page 44 The Transport to Health & Social Care Information Service (THInC) provides travel advice for people attending health and care appointments. The service is provided by Aberdeenshire Council’s Passenger Transport Unit and funded by NHSG, Nestrans, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council. Nestrans has funded leaflets, business cards, A4 posters and adverts on the reverse of medical appointments to promote the THInC service.
Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership has chaired the Access to Health and Social Care sub-group and funded the two wheelchair accessible buses provided by Buchan Dial-a-Community-Bus to operate THInC: In The City to help people to attend appointments and services which they would otherwise have struggled to do so. Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership is supporting the implementation of “Attend Anywhere” (NHS Near Me) within primary and community healthcare, which uses video consultation technology to enable patients and healthcare professionals to ‘attend’ a healthcare appointment by secure video link, from home, work or any convenient location. By reducing the need to travel to an appointment, video consultations have the potential to save patients and services time and money, while also being more convenient and contributing to a reduced carbon footprint from healthcare appointments.
Mid Deeside Community Trust was awarded a grant of £3,500 from Nestrans to extend the volunteer driver pilot providing transport to Aboyne Hospital for a further year until a sustainable long-term solution can be implemented. A grant of £4,050 was also awarded to Buchan Dial-A-Community Bus to further extend the Be-Link’D pilot that had been initiated using Fairer Scotland funding to provide transport by Buchan Dial-A-Community Bus to take residents in Maud to health appointments, wellbeing activities, foodbanks, employability services and home again.
• Bus Action Plan Nestrans is a member of the North East Bus Alliance for Public Transport along with Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Councils, First Aberdeen, Stagecoach North Scotland, Bains Coaches and a passenger representative. The partners signed up to a new Quality Partnership Agreement in 2018, which set a range of standards and targets to improve bus provision. The newly formed Board agreed that the first order of business was to develop a state of the network report. This was prepared and reported to the Nestrans Board in June 2019. It provides the baseline from which progress can be monitored and assists in identifying priorities and the development of corridor specific action plans to achieve the objectives set out in the Bus Alliance Quality Partnership Agreement.
To take forward the proposals for bus improvements in the coming years, Nestrans are in the process of developing an updated Bus Action Plan, in partnership with the local authorities and operators. Actions within the plan will be progressed through the Bus Alliance Executive. Minutes from the Bus Alliance Board meetings are reported to the Nestrans Board and can be viewed on the website. In order to develop more formal Statutory Partnership Agreements, further priority corridors for action will be identified and as a first stage a STAG-based appraisal will be undertaken for each corridor. Nestrans is funding the A944/B9119 corridor study
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Page 45 that was commissioned in 2019/20 by Aberdeen City Council and is being undertaken by Stantec.
Nestrans again funded a sustainable travel campaign under the Getabout brand using a variety of media to provide information on options to use public transport for journeys to Aberdeen City Centre throughout the festive period. A dedicated Park & Ride website was also developed using Getabout branding to promote the region’s five bus-based Park & Ride sites and to provide easy to access and accurate information for all sites in one place. The new website was advertised on radio, bus shelters, bus backs and shopping centres, to encourage Park & Ride usage, particularly over the festive period. Park & Ride adverts were also funded on the reverse of 240,000 parking tickets issued at pay and display machines.
Nestrans also contributed to boost the sample size in the North East of the 2019 bus passenger satisfaction surveys undertaken by Transport Focus and along with both Councils, Stagecoach and First Aberdeen has again contributed to advertise the Grasshopper multi-operator smartcard.
Nestrans provided funding to progress the delivery of Ellon Park and Ride improvements, creation of mini-hubs at Crathes and in Oldmeldrum, for bus stop improvements in Aberdeen and for a new e-scheduling system for the public transport unit at Aberdeenshire.
Nestrans contributed towards the maintenance of bus stop information throughout the region. A contribution was also made towards a pilot trial of E-Paper displays along the A96 corridor, which combines real time information displays with scheduled timetables and promotional information such as local events and traffic diversions. Being fully digital, it can be updated instantly without manual intervention at the bus stop locations. Displays were installed at stops in both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire with further contributions being made by each Council through their EU Civitas Portis funding. Nestrans has again contributed in the past year towards the annual maintenance costs of the real time information service.
• Freight Action Plan The refreshed Action Plan (FAP2) was launched in 2014 and is published on the Nestrans website. Nestrans is allocated as Work Package Leader in the Improving Freight Interconnectivity and Minimising the Impact of Large Vehicles Civitas Portis projects. To assist with delivery of these freight elements, Nestrans appointed a Freight Adviser in January 2018, who has facilitated relationships with new contacts and the freight industry.
In the past year the freight adviser undertook discussions to progress a hydrogen pilot project and develop a smart travel app for freight. Discussions were also held with local hauliers to feed into the roads hierarchy review, a proposed routeing strategy and the implications of options being developed for a Low Emissions Zone in Aberdeen. Further work was also undertaken with Oil and Gas UK. The freight adviser also worked with Aberdeen Lorry Park to maximise the potential of the site and to understand issues around lorry parking in the North East. Consideration
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Page 46 was also given to investigating rail freight opportunities and the potential for local deliveries using car club vans.
Aberdeen City Council received a grant from Transport Scotland for the purchase of electric cargo bikes related to the development of a Low Emission Zone in Aberdeen city centre. It was agreed that Nestrans purchase the bikes and operate a pilot scheme to provide an alternative to vans for local deliveries within the city centre as this complements the actions within the Freight Distribution Strategy. Nestrans purchased six E-cargo bikes and accessories and information on the trial and applicant guidance is published on the Nestrans website for those interested in participating.
The Wellington Road multi-modal corridor study and transport links to/from the new Aberdeen South Harbour study are being progressed and are both including consideration of freight. Further details are given in chapter 4 on project delivery.
• Rail Action Plan The Rail Action Plan was agreed in 2009 and can be viewed on the Nestrans website. Officers from Nestrans, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council have been in regular contact with Transport Scotland, ScotRail and Network Rail regarding the Aberdeen to Inverness (A2I) Rail line upgrade, which includes twinning most of the track between Aberdeen and Inverurie and infrastructure to allow the development of a new station at Kintore, including trackwork and signalling. The project closed the line in various sections between 4 May until 19 August 2019, with replacement buses in operation and Getabout helped to market the travel options during the planned closures.
The benefits of this work were realised in changes to the rail timetable introduced in December 2019, which saw a more frequent service between Inverurie, Dyce and Aberdeen, many of which were part of new local cross-Aberdeen through services introduced every day between Montrose and Inverurie.
Transport Scotland are acting as principal sponsor and funder of Kintore railway station with BAM Nuttal appointed as Contractor and being managed by Network Rail. Construction works for delivery of the railway station and car park and access roads have commenced and further details are given in chapter 4. Funding of 60% of the costs was agreed via the Scottish Stations Fund and discussions are ongoing with Transport Scotland regarding the profiling and level of contributions for the remaining 40% to be funded by Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council for the project.
Nestrans again contributed to the East Coast Mainline Regional Forum and are represented on the overview team for the Aberdeen to Central Belt rail journey time and capacity improvements that is being progressed through extra funding from the Scottish Government in addition to the Aberdeen City Region Deal funding.
Nestrans continued to participate in the team led by Transport Scotland and including representatives from Tactran, ScotRail Alliance, freight and passenger rail service operators to review options for capacity and journey time improvements between Aberdeen and the Central Belt. The option appraisal for improving access
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Page 47 to Insch station, that is being part funded through a Local Rail Development Fund grant award, has been progressed.
Consultancy work investigating options for new stations between Aberdeen and Dyce and the prospects for a potential rail spur to The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) and Aberdeen Airport were completed and reported to the Nestrans Board in June 2019 with the consultancy report published on the Nestrans website.
Nestrans submitted a bid to a further round of the Local Rail Development Fund for funding to undertake a feasibility study into new rail stations on the line south of Aberdeen and have been awarded a grant of up to £80,000 for a multi-modal corridor study between Laurencekirk and Aberdeen to be complete by 31 March 2021.
• Active Travel Action Plan Nestrans’ Active Travel Action Plan was published in December 2014 and details the actions and priorities for active travel on strategic routes. Nestrans continues to fund an embedded Sustrans cycling development officer (CDO) with Sustrans providing a capital contribution of up to a maximum value of £100,000 per annum, which was used in 2019/20 to fund path improvements on the Deeside Way between Mills of Drum and Crathes and from Aboyne to Dinnet
The cycling development officer continues to assist with the delivery of the Active Travel Action Plan and provide support to local authorities in areas such as the development and delivery of active travel projects, submission of applications for external funding, the promotion and marketing of walking and cycling within Aberdeen City and Shire and monitoring of usage. The officer helped found and holds the role of Secretary for the Grampian Cycle Partnership, which represents and gives a platform to a shared voice for all cycling interests across the area. Full details of the Grampian Cycle Partnership can be viewed on their website.
The Scottish Government offered an Active Travel Grant to Regional Transport Partnerships in 2018/19 which was available to be claimed until June 2019. The Nestrans grant of £133,400, along with additional grant funding of £254,000 offered in March, was used in full towards commencement of the A944 cycling and walking path feasibility study, parapet repairs and the generic design of replacement bridges on the Formartine and Buchan (F&B) Way and for contributions to the Schoolhill public realm improvement and Union Terrace Gardens design and development. A grant has again been offered in 2019/20 of £220,000 that is being used to progress the A944 study and bridge improvements on the F&B Way. Discussions have also been held with Cycling Scotland regarding the possibility of installation of pedestrian/cycle counters using the national funding they receive from the Scottish Government.
Nestrans again contributed to a number of pedestrian and cycle infrastructure improvement schemes being developed and delivered by the local authorities, a number of which were awarded match funding through the Sustrans Places for Everyone Programme. Nestrans staff were also involved in progressing the walking and cycling and travel planning related projects within the European funded Civitas Portis project.
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• Fares and Ticketing Strategy The joint fares and ticketing strategy for the North East is published on the Nestrans website and contains an Action Plan, which was updated in 2017 to deliver the Strategy’s aims and objectives. The Grasshopper multi-operator service offers six different zonal tickets as either day or weekly passes, including discount tickets for students and is accepted by nine different operators. On average over 32,000 bus journeys were made each month using Grasshopper tickets in 2019/20 and this rose to an average of over 33,500 when excluding figures for March 2020, which was affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. Nestrans again contributed to marketing of the service along with both Councils and the operators in 2019/20 and the “Where’s Claire” radio competition and marketing campaign in August 2019 led to a 6% increase in sales.
• Travel Planning Strategy The Getabout partnership, which consists of Nestrans, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils, NHS Grampian, University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, North East Scotland College, The James Hutton Institute and the Energy Savings Trust work together to promote sustainable travel and travel planning. The group continues to deliver actions to encourage active and sustainable travel and assist with the delivery of related actions within the Regional and Local Transport Strategies, Health and Transport and Active Travel Action Plans. All partners use the Getabout brand for promoting sustainable travel and Nestrans funded a refresh of the Getabout website www.getabout.org.uk, which gives information on latest news and events, travel mode choices and how to plan your journey. The refresh has updated the appearance and content of the site and allowed greater editing by the partners.
In the past year, Nestrans has provided assistance to various organisations to develop travel plans and participated with Getabout colleagues in events at various locations to advise on travel options. This included travel plan advice for Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen City Centre. Travel planning studies were commissioned as part of the Civitas Portis project for the Dyce, North Dee (city centre near Harbour) and South Dee (Altens and Tullos) industrial areas and business parks and business breakfast events held. Getabout partners assisted with the promotion of National Clean Air Day on 20 June 2019 in Aberdeen City Centre. Work has commenced to develop Regional Travel Planning Guidance to replace the now out of date 2009 Travel Planning Strategy.
Nestrans continued to support the national Travel Know How Scotland website https://www.travelknowhowscotland.co.uk/ which is funded by Regional Transport Partnerships and Transport Scotland as a signposting website with a variety of downloadable materials to help organisations write their own travel plans.
Nestrans has continued to offer a Sustainable Travel Grant Scheme to support and encourage Travel Planning and increase sustainable travel. The scheme offers potential financial assistance to organisations investing in measures to achieve this. Information about the grant is published on the Nestrans and Getabout websites along with guidance for applicants. Details on grant awards made in
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Page 49 2019/20 are given in the Statement on Improving Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy in Appendix 2. The Getabout cycle roadshow continued to be used at various events and schools throughout the region, particularly during bike week in June. Bike doctor services were available at several events to provide a free bike check to help improve safety. Getabout had a presence to promote cycling and other sustainable forms of travel at the OVO Energy Cycling Tour Series when it was held in Aberdeen on 16 May 2019 and were an integral part of In Town Without My Car Day which was held in Aberdeen City Centre on Sunday 15 September in 2019. Nestrans also provided funding for Getabout sponsorship of the sustainable travel category at Aberdeen City Council’s EcoCity Awards, which was awarded to Cults Primary School for their Walking Bus Scheme.
The getabout.liftshare.com website continues to provide a successful car share scheme and operates with several sub-groups so that individual organisations can have their own section under the wider umbrella or be involved in the larger scheme. During the period of 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 there has been an increase in membership bringing the total to over 3,500 members. This was a result of 327 new members joining the group being offset by 75 leaving, giving a net increase of 252 members. Thirty-two new members confirmed they had found a match and were sharing during this time and 36 new Liftshare teams were added. It is estimated that in the 12 months there would have been over 2,160,000 miles saved, £541,000 money saved and 476 tonnes of CO2 reduction. It should be noted however that this forecast may have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as many organisations started to work from home during March 2020 and a nationwide lockdown was introduced on 23 March 2020. Currently the Scottish Government is advising against car sharing.
In the past year promotions have been undertaken for the Getabout website, the new Park & Ride website, European Mobility Week, festive period public transport travel options to Aberdeen City Centre, a winter pedestrian safety campaign and the Sustrans Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge. They were promoted using a variety of media such as leaflets, the Raring2Go! Magazine issued to Primary School children, bus backs, bus shelter, on-bus panels, the reverse of car parking tickets, billboards, digital LCD screens, Aberdeenshire hotel bedroom visitor guide publication, cinema, television (STV) and radio adverts, newspaper articles and on Facebook and twitter. The Getabout website is regularly updated with latest news and details of upcoming events.
Funding was offered to Adventure Aberdeen as part of Sport Aberdeen, who manage and maintain the Getabout cycle roadshow to replenish any stock, however due to the Covid-19 outbreak only three replacement bicycles could be purchased.
Officers participated in workshops arranged by ScotRail to develop rail station travel plans for Stonehaven, Dyce and Inverurie. Nestrans have submitted a bid in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council to ScotRail Travel Plan Delivery Fund for match funding towards improving the wayfinding, signage and public transport links between the railway station and the Town Centre.
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Page 50 Progress reports on delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy are prepared for each Board meeting and updates on the various Action Plans are made at regular intervals. All Board reports can be viewed on the Nestrans website.
Regional Transport Strategy Review
A significant portion of the original Regional Transport Strategy approved by Ministers in 2008 and refreshed in 2014 has now been delivered or is committed. Consideration has therefore been given to the development of the next Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy.
The five-yearly review of the Strategic Development Plan means that a new ‘Proposed’ plan has been developed that looks forward to 2040 and identifies the likely scale and location of growth over this period as well as the infrastructure required to deliver it. The relationship between the SDP and RTS is a key one and it is important that the two plans are aligned.
The development of the next RTS is being undertaken in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). The initial stages involved understanding the issues, problems, constraints and opportunities for the region. Much of this was identified through the detailed Strategic Transport Appraisal for the region that is being funded through the City Region Deal. The work to review the RTS is therefore being linked with the City Region Deal Strategic Transport Appraisal and reflects the objectives, policies and actions of the new National Transport Strategy (NTS2), which is also being developed and was published on 5 February 2020.
To enable engagement in the development of the new strategy for the next 20-year period a website nestrans|2040 was developed and launched in May 2019 that has provided a portal for posting updates on progress with the development of the RTS to 2040 and for providing feedback on discussion papers. A meeting of the North East Transport Consultative Forum was also held on 30 May to discuss progress and the emerging outcomes. A number of discussion papers were developed and published for consultation on the following topics:
• The affordability of transport • Aviation issues • Buses • Freight • Behavioural change and mode shift • Carbon reduction and alternative • The existing rail network in North fuels East Scotland • Cycling and walking • The accessibility of transport • Public health and access to health • Road safety and casualty reduction
Research papers were also published under the headings of What makes a successful city region, Managing demand in the North East and On the Move: Navigating the future of road transport. The consultation period on the papers was open until 2 September 2019. 17
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A number of meetings were held with stakeholder groups and workshops undertaken with the Nestrans Board Members and substitute members to discuss progress and development of the strategy throughout the year.
The vision set for the next RTS is “to provide a safer, cleaner, more inclusive and accessible transport system in the North East, which contributes to healthier, more prosperous and fairer communities”.
The RTS is being developed around four key pillars with equal weighting that align with and support the pillars to the National Transport Strategy. The four key pillars are:
• Promoting equality across the North East • Reducing our impact on climate change and protecting the environment • Helping the North East economy prosper • Improving health and wellbeing across the North East
Six key priorities have also been proposed to set the tone and direction for the strategy and will be supported by a range of more detailed indicators and targets to reflect the broad scope of the strategy. The six key priorities are:
• Improved journey efficiencies to enhance connectivity • Reduced carbon emissions to support net-zero • Accessibility for all • A step change in public transport and active travel enabling a 50:50 mode split • No exceedances of WHO safe levels of emissions • Zero fatalities on the road network.
The Board agreed when they met in September 2019 that Nestrans consider commissioning comprehensive travel surveys as a baseline to monitor progress against and a bid has been submitted to Paths for All Smarter Choices, Smarter Places open fund for match funding towards this.
A Health Inequalities Impact Assessment workshop was held in November and facilitated by colleagues in Public Health from NHS Grampian. The feedback has also been used to further develop the RTS.
A workshop was held with Board Members in December to discuss issues around certain strands of the developing strategy and the key policy headings that were being used to develop the draft strategy were reported to the Board in February along with an update on the Strategic Transport Appraisal work that is detailed in chapter 3 that will provide an evidence base to further inform the development of the strategy.
The various other supporting assessments, such as the Strategic Environmental Assessment, Fairer Scotland Duty, Health Inequalities Impact Assessment and Equalities Impact Assessment relating to the RTS have also been progressed and various meetings have taken place with stakeholder groups.
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Page 53 3. Representing North East Interests
Nestrans has continued to represent North East interests and ensure that they are considered on a national stage. In the last year, this has included responding to various consultations, both individually and in some instances in partnership with other RTPs. The Nestrans responses are reported to the Board for consideration within a standing Publications and Consultations item on the agenda and can therefore all be viewed on the Nestrans website within the Board papers. In the past year responses were made by Nestrans to the following consultations:
o Aberdeen City Council Local Development Plan Main Issues report o Infrastructure Commission for Scotland call for evidence o Fraserburgh Harbour draft masterplan o NHS Grampian consultation on a healthier and more active future for the North East of Scotland o Aberdeen Adapts Framework consultation o Aberdeen City Council Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) o Aberdeenshire Council consultation on Supported Public Transport o Scottish Government consultation on the role of public bodies in tackling climate change o Scottish Government Cleaner Air for Scotland Review Steering Group report and recommendations o Aberdeen City Council Electric Vehicle (EV) Framework o Scottish Government Low Emission Zone Regulations and Guidance
• Aviation Matters Nestrans take part in the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party group on aviation. A Vice Chair of Nestrans has continued to serve as a representative on the Aberdeen International Airport Consultative Committee.
• Maritime Some of the North East funding from the Civitas Portis programme is being used to investigate proposals relating to transport around the new harbour at Nigg, with a particular focus on goods movements. Nestrans is part of the client team for the consultancy study looking at the external transport links to Aberdeen South Harbour, which is being funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Meetings have held with Harbour and Port Authorities to discuss the development of the draft Regional Transport Strategy to 2040.
• Rail Nestrans continues to be a member of the East Coast Mainline Authorities (ECMA) grouping, which consists of local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships along the route of the London Kings Cross-Aberdeen/Inverness railway and aims to highlight the economic importance of the line and the need for investment to ensure that the economies of the relevant regions continue to prosper.
Nestrans continues to attend quarterly meetings with Transport Scotland, Network Rail and ScotRail to discuss rail matters within the North East.
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Partnership working
Regional Transport Partnerships, Scottish Government and CoSLA
Nestrans continues to liaise with other Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) through quarterly meetings of the Chairs and further quarterly meetings between Lead Officers, including Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA). The RTP’s have submitted joint responses to a number of consultations in the past year.
The Nestrans Director was previously part of the Minister’s Active Travel Task Force, which was established to look at the barriers to delivering active travel facilities and what can be done to overcome this. Their report was published in June 2018 and Transport Scotland has discussed this with key delivery partners to obtain their input and commitment to actions that will help progress the Taskforce recommendations and an Active Travel Taskforce Delivery Plan was published in July 2019.
National Transport Strategy
The National Transport Strategy (NTS) as published in December 2006 and refreshed in January 2016 has been undergoing a fuller, collaborative review. The new National Transport Strategy (NTS2) that is being developed sets out an updated vision for Scotland’s transport over the next 20 years and will also inform the review of the next Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR2) by providing a clearly defined set of strategic transport objectives.
Nestrans participated in the NTS Review through the RTPs and SCOTS and the Nestrans Director previously represented RTPs in the National Transport Strategy “safety and resilience” and “roles and responsibilities” working groups and the findings of the roles and responsibilities group was published in June 2019. The NTS2 Draft for consultation was issued on 31 July 2019 and Nestrans submitted a response, as approved by the Board in September 2019 and contributed to the all-RTPs’ response. The final NTS2 was published in February 2020.
Strategic Transport Projects Review
As a result of the review of the National Transport Strategy (NTS2), which sets out transport policy across Scotland for the next 20 years, Transport Scotland commissioned an update to the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) to assess recommendations for strategic transport infrastructure priorities throughout Scotland to deliver the vision of the new NTS2. A contract to support STPR2 was awarded to a combined team of Jacobs and Aecom, who will be supported by Big Partnership and the University of Leeds Institute of Transport Studies, as well as other industry technical experts. This work is ongoing and Nestrans is part of STPR regional transport working group that has been set up for the North East. Whilst most areas have been developing a Case for Change, the Strategic Transport Appraisal being undertaken through the Aberdeen City Region Deal has already completed the
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Page 55 engagement and evidencing of problems and opportunities and identification of options for appraisal for the North East
Aberdeen City Region Deal
In January 2016 a City Region Deal agreement was formally agreed that will see the UK and Scottish governments jointly invest £250 million in the North East over the next 10 years. Nestrans assisted with the development of the bid and has a place on the City Region Deal Programme Board. The Nestrans Director sits on the City Region Deal Transport Working Group with officers from Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, the Strategic Development Planning Authority and Transport Scotland.
The upgrade to the strategic regional Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) that was commissioned by Nestrans and funded by the City Region Deal has been completed. The ASAM14 upgrade makes use of latest available data sources and software platforms with new technical components tailored to potential model applications to ensure the model provides a suitably robust basis for transport and land use appraisal. Following a settling in period after the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route in February 2019, an update to ASAM has been commissioned that will create a new 2019 base year and reflect any changes to the transport network. A large number of traffic and public transport surveys were undertaken in Autumn 2019 to inform the model update.
A Strategic Transport Appraisal is being undertaken to provide a 20-year strategic view of the transport implications of the investment unlocked by the City Region Deal across all modes of transport including road and rail. Jacobs completed the first stage of a Pre-Appraisal in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) which involved extensive stakeholder engagement and evidence gathering on the problems and opportunities and a set of transport objectives were approved by the City Region Deal Joint Committee, Nestrans Board and both Councils in 2018. Jacobs were again commissioned to develop a long list of options and sieve them with respect to the agreed transport objectives and this identified a list of 42 options for further development and consideration. Peter Brett Associates (now Stantec) was commissioned by Nestrans on behalf of the City Region Deal Transport Working Group in October 2019 to undertake the Initial Appraisal of the 42 options in accordance with STAG. This qualitative appraisal is ongoing and will identify the most effective projects or packages of projects to take forward for further development and detailed appraisal. This work is also being used in the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy (RTS2040) and will be made available to Transport Scotland as part of the next Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).
A study into transport links to the new Aberdeen South Harbour is also being funded through the City Region Deal and Nestrans is included in the client group for this work, which is discussed in greater detail in the next chapter.
Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS)
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Page 56 SCOTS is a strategic body comprising of transportation professionals from all the 32 councils and the seven regional transport partnerships. The society's work involves improving performance and innovation in the design, delivery and maintenance of transportation systems. Nestrans is represented at both the Executive Committee and Transport Working Group meetings.
Community Planning Partnerships
Nestrans contributes financially to both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnerships (CPP). The Nestrans Director is a Member on the Aberdeenshire CPP Board and part of the Community Planning Aberdeen Management Group. Nestrans also participates in Aberdeenshire CPP’s Connected and Cohesive Communities Group and sits on the Aberdeen City Community Planning Partnership Prosperous Economy and Prosperous Place and Sustainable City Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) groups. Nestrans is leading in developing project charters for active travel as part of the stretch targets for walking and cycling in the Sustainable City LOIP group.
Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA)
Due to the requirement for a five-yearly review of the Strategic Development Plan, a new ‘Proposed’ plan to 2040 has been prepared by the SDPA. This plan identifies the likely scale and location of growth over this period as well as the infrastructure required to deliver it. An updated Cumulative Transport Appraisal (CTA) was commissioned by Nestrans in partnership with the Councils and the SDPA to support the development of the next Strategic Development Plan. The full study and Executive Summary can be found on the SDPA website and formed supporting documents for the Proposed Plan that was consulted upon between 8 October and 17 December 2018 and submitted to Scottish Ministers for Examination in Public on 22 April 2019.
Supplementary appraisal was undertaken to consider amendments to the level of development content contained within the final Proposed SDP and the results along with an appendix showing the transport congestion hotspot mapping are published on the Nestrans website. This was undertaken in line with DPMTAG and STAG guidance and indicates how a range of transport intervention proposals could mitigate predicted impacts to facilitate the delivery of the Proposed Plan. This further work was considered at the hearing on the examination of the Proposed SPD related to transport matters and concerns raised by Transport Scotland, that took place on 5 July 2019 that was attended by officers from Transport Scotland, the SDPA, Nestrans and both Councils. Transport Scotland’s concerns were explored and have been resolved with minor changes to wording within the “Our Connections” chapter and Schedule 1 transport intervention options.
Strategic Transport Fund
Following the quashing of the Supplementary Guidance relating to the Strategic Transport Fund there is no longer a mechanism of seeking developer contributions to fund the measures identified within the CTA. Funds previously paid to Nestrans are being returned as requested and details on the amounts repaid and still currently held are given in chapter 7. The findings of the CTA option appraisal still however help to
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Page 57 identify the “worst case” transport impacts associated with the Proposed Plan, understand the value of potential mitigation options, and ultimately support the delivery of the Aberdeen City and Shire SDP and help ensure the transport implications of the emerging Local Development Plans are fully considered.
The potential mitigation options identified within the CTA supplementary appraisal will also be considered alongside the options being developed through the Strategic Transport Appraisal being funded by the City Region Deal and feed into the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) where appropriate. The outcomes will also help inform the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy, which will set future regional transport policy to 2040 and may therefore influence the predicted outcomes.
In the absence of a Strategic Transport Fund, as offered through existing planning policy, both councils will continue to require developers to undertake their own Transport Assessments, to demonstrate that they can mitigate any strategic and local transport issues caused by their developments. The level of mitigation achieved by this approach is however likely to be considerably lower than would have been under the STF as only a proportion of the direct impacts will be mitigated by this approach and not the cumulative impacts which the STF was designed to address.
Civitas - Portis
Nestrans is involved in a European project under the CIVITAS banner and has been awarded grant funding for a project entitled PORTIS. This is a collaboration of five European port cities looking at opportunities to enhance transport provision in and around port areas, to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to transport issues. Locally, the project is led by Aberdeen City Council but also involves Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Harbour Board, Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans. The University of Aberdeen is also undertaking assessment of the project.
The project provides up to 100% funding for measures and a grant of almost €4million Euros has been awarded to each port over a four-year period from September 2016. Nestrans allocation amounts to just over £266,000. The project is due to complete at end August 2020 and Nestrans had endeavoured to amend the structure of the award to increase the amount that could be spent on consultancy and physical measures, but the Commission wishes to see partners using 50% of the funds for staff costs. An additional transport officer was therefore appointed on a fixed term one year contract from December 2019 and the Transport Executive (Strategy) and (Travel Planning) and Communications officer all extended their contract by one day per week to end August 2020 to maximise usage of the available funding. This enabled further input into developing the next Regional Transport Strategy (RTS2040), development of a package of proposals to improve the attractiveness of public transport and Park & Ride, particularly on the A96 corridor, improved promotion of initiatives and travel planning work and development of travel planning guidance. Both Council’s used Civitas funding to install E-paper digital screens showing real time and scheduled timetable information along with promotional material such as upcoming events and traffic diversions on the A96 corridor to encourage travel by public transport. Nestrans contributed additional funding to maximise the number of screens and screen size
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Page 58 included in this pilot. A new Park & Ride website was developed and was launched in October 2019 under the regional Getabout branding.
The freight adviser funded through the Civitas project has continued to provide support and engage with businesses in the area and has investigated hydrogen vehicle and freight consolidation opportunities. The consultancy study to develop travel planning in the North Dee (between the River Dee and Union Square), Tullos and Altens areas is nearing completion and Nestrans provided additional budget to Aberdeen City Council for the travel planning consultancy work they commissioned for the Dyce area through Civitas.
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Page 59 4. Project Delivery
Nestrans has continued to seek identification of funding and a priority for delivery of strategic projects by partners that assist with delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy. In the past year, the following progress has been made on major projects within the North East that are being delivered with or by partners:
• Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and Balmedie to Tipperty Dualling
The final section of AWPR opened to traffic on 19 February 2019, which completed the opening of the entire new trunk road project being constructed by Aberdeen Roads Limited. Since completion of the AWPR/B-T road users can now enjoy a range of benefits, including reduced journey times, improved journey time reliability, reduced congestion, enhanced safety and better local access. Elements of finishing works such as landscaping and fencing have been completed and the operation of the route has been monitored to ensure it is working as anticipated, with traffic signals being installed at the A944 roundabout and the connected slip roads.
• Strategic Rail Improvements – Aberdeen to Inverness The Scottish Government has announced a two-Phase upgrade of the Aberdeen- Inverness railway line. The consortium of contractors led by BAM has continued with works to deliver the phase one upgrade that includes redoubling most of the track between Aberdeen and Inverurie, provision of platform extensions at Insch and Elgin and infrastructure to allow for new stations at Kintore and Dalcross. Officers from Nestrans, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council have been in regular contact with Network Rail, ScotRail and Transport Scotland regarding the project. The project closed various sections of the line with replacement buses in operation as follows:
• Saturday 4 May – Friday 14 June (6 weeks) between Dyce and Inverurie • Saturday 15 June – Friday 9 Aug (8 weeks) between Dyce and Huntly • Saturday 10 Aug – Monday 12 Aug (3 days) between Aberdeen and Inverness • Tuesday 13 Aug – Monday 19 Aug (6 days) – between Aberdeen and Huntly.
Nestrans and Getabout partners helped to advertise details of the works and the replacement bus timetables. The benefits of this work were realised in changes to the rail timetable introduced in December 2019, which saw a more frequent service between Inverurie, Dyce and Aberdeen, many of which were part of new local cross Aberdeen through services introduced per day between Montrose and Inverurie. Latest details of the project can be viewed on the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvements page on the Transport Scotland website.
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• Strategic Rail Improvements – Kintore Railway Station Agreement in principle has been reached with Transport Scotland and Network Rail that the entire Kintore Station project will form part of the wider Aberdeen to Inverness project, with Transport Scotland as client and Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council as contributory funders. The project is being managed by Network Rail and delivered by their contractors BAM. The platform element of the project is complete with lift shafts and the overbridge installed. The foundation and drainage works for the car park have been installed and surfacing nearing completion. Design works for the footpath and junction have been finalised. The two Victorian era benches from the original Kintore Station that were sourced are being renovated by the Inverurie and District Men’s Shed for inclusion at the new station.
• Strategic Rail Improvements – Aberdeen to Edinburgh and Glasgow In January 2016, in parallel with the Aberdeen City Region Deal, the Scottish Government announced an initial £200 million from future Scottish government budgets over the next five to ten years to reduce journey times by at least 20 minutes and increase capacity on key rail links between Aberdeen and the central belt. Transport Scotland has set up a Reference Group, that includes Nestrans, to oversee the option development and signalling upgrades, rolling stock improvements and timetabling have been identified as providing the best opportunities to deliver the objectives. The overview group remit has now been changed to a project delivery group with representation from Nestrans, Tactran and the City Region Deal teams. Network Rail is undertaking a GRIP2 report on behalf of Transport Scotland to develop options further.
• A96 dualling AmeyArup was appointed by Transport Scotland in July 2017 to take forward the route options development and assessment work on the section of the A96 East of Huntly to Aberdeen. Following the events in October 2018 on the initial route options, further engagement took place on a smaller number of revised options in May 2019 with the intention that they could then be subject to detailed assessment and a preferred route option announced by end 2019. The work to identify the preferred option is however continuing into 2020. Nestrans has continued to attend stakeholder group meetings on the project and represented North East interests as appropriate. Full details can be viewed on the A96 dualling project page of the Transport Scotland website.
• A90 (South) Park & Ride Site The Government’s Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR) mentions delivery of a series of Strategic Park & Ride sites as a priority that includes the A96 and A90 (S) sites within the North East. A site has been identified at Schoolhill near Portlethen and planning permission in principle granted. Nestrans has previously written to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to seek national funding for the construction of this STPR site, following the local funding for delivery of the A96 site at Craibstone. The matter has also been discussed with Transport Scotland officers and Nestrans will continue to pursue delivery and seek to ensure that it is a priority within the next STPR2 that is being developed.
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• A90/A96 Haudagain Transport Scotland announced on 11 January 2019 that Farrans Construction have been awarded the construction contract to deliver the A90/A96 Haudagain Improvement. A meet the contractor event was held in May 2019 and earthworks, drainage and utility diversions have commenced, with the project due to complete in spring 2021. Full details of planned traffic management and works can be viewed on the A90/A96 Haudagain Improvement project page of the Transport Scotland website.
• A90 Laurencekirk Junctions In January 2016, the Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown, as part of the additional funding associated with the City Region Deal, announced £24million of funding from future Scottish government budgets over the next five to ten years to take forward the design and construction of a grade separated junction on the A90 at Laurencekirk. Transport Scotland appointed Amey in September 2016 to undertake route option assessment work and develop a preferred junction option, leading to the preparation of draft road Orders. The draft Orders and an Environmental Impact Assessment Report were published on 19 December 2019 and a public exhibition held in Laurencekirk on 10 January 2020. The statutory consultation period closed on 14 February 2020 and Transport Scotland is considering the representations received. All information including the material from the public exhibitions can be viewed on the Laurencekirk Junction Improvement project page on the Transport Scotland website.
• Transport Links to Aberdeen South Harbour This study is being led by Aberdeen City Council and funded through the City Region Deal. Nestrans is part of the client team along with officers from Aberdeenshire Council, Transport Scotland and Aberdeen Harbour Board. The study is being undertaken in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and is examining transport connectivity to/from the new harbour and will identify transport infrastructure and connectivity upgrades to be taken forward for detailed appraisal in the context of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. The combined STAG pre-appraisal and part 1 report were completed in 2018 and Stantec was appointed to undertake the part 2 detailed appraisal following competitive tender in Spring 2019. They have audited and will also use the microsimulation model created for the Wellington Road corridor study, which contains traffic flows surveyed in June 2019 following the opening of the AWPR. Assessment of the design feasibility and performance of the various options is underway.
• Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan Aberdeen City Council approved a City Centre Masterplan in 2015 which sets out the vision for the next 25 years. The aim to prioritise areas for pedestrians and cyclists can only be achieved by relocating non-essential traffic from within the City Centre core. Substantial mode shift will be required to increase the number of people accessing the City Centre, whilst reducing car borne trips. The Nestrans Director is part of the City Centre Masterplan Programme Board due to the strategic nature of the transport interventions required to make the City Centre Masterplan’s transport measures work. Nestrans has continued to work with the
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Page 62 Council to develop sustainable transport proposals both within and on the approach to the City Centre, particularly through the Roads Hierarchy Review that is detailed below.
As part of the Masterplan, the first phase of public realm improvements for Schoolhill have been delivered and provide level access to the Art Gallery, a new accessible plaza, wider footway and an improved setting to Aberdeen’s War Memorial. Nestrans provided a further contribution to the cost of the works in 2019/20. The Council has also developed a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) for the City Centre, which identified projects to enable and encourage users of this area to travel on foot, bike, public transport or other low-emission forms of transport more often.
• Locking in the Benefits of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) and Roads Hierarchy Review The AWPR was completed in February 2019 and will have a significant impact on the operation of the road network within the North East. The sections of the current Trunk Road network within the boundaries of the AWPR were detrunked and became the responsibility of the local authorities to operate and maintain as of 1 April 2019. The relief afforded by the AWPR provides an opportunity to implement measures to “lock in the benefits” for sustainable modes. Nestrans has continued to work with the Councils to consider how the road hierarchy should change and to identify integrated measures to lock in the benefits and funded consultancy work to develop options for a roads hierarchy to make best use of the AWPR and facilitate implementation of the City Centre Masterplan. Aecom was appointed in July 2018 and the final Roads Hierarchy Study report was completed in May 2019 and is published on the Nestrans website.
Aberdeen City Council, as relevant roads authority, will decide whether to implement changes to the existing roads reclassification system and the degree of any levels of supporting interventions to be implemented, but the study provides the evidence base for making these decisions. The Council has provided Transport Scotland with documentation to commence the process of formal road reclassifications and Nestrans has funded revalidation of signal timings on some strategic corridors to suit the revised hierarchy.
• Aberdeen Cross City Connections Study Aberdeen City Council in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council, Nestrans and Transport Scotland commissioned consultants to investigate ways to maximise connectivity between new developments in the Aberdeen Local Development Plan and in areas of Aberdeenshire close to the Aberdeen City boundary, with the aim of providing viable, attractive and direct linkages as an alternative to the private car. Nestrans approved further budget to undertake the more detailed STAG Part 2 assessment and consultants Peter Brett Associates completed this work, which was reported to the Council and Nestrans in June 2019.
• Low Emission Zone The Scottish Government, in their Programme for Government 2017/18, made a commitment to introduce Low Emission Zones (LEZs) to Scotland’s four biggest
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Page 63 cities by 2020. Aberdeen City Council has initiated a LEZ Project Group that includes Transport Scotland, Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council to determine the optimum form and scope of a LEZ in Aberdeen. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides the legislation to enable the introduction of a LEZ.
Traffic surveys were undertaken in June 2019 to enable SEPA to update the Aberdeen air quality model and reflect recent changes to city traffic levels and composition brought about by the opening of the AWPR. Systra has been appointed to undertake an appraisal based on the National Low Emission Framework (NLEF) guidance, published in January 2019 to inform the LEZ’s size and scope. Traffic surveys were undertaken in autumn 2019 to update the city centre micro-simulation model to allow the impacts of various LEZ options to be tested with a view to understanding the wider traffic and air quality implications of any local traffic restrictions.
• Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study Aecom completed the investigation into capacity for further rail projects or additional stations north of Aberdeen, and the prospects for a potential rail spur to The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) and Aberdeen Airport. The outcomes were reported to the Nestrans Board in June 2019 and the study report can be viewed on the Nestrans website.
• A956 Wellington Road Multi-Modal Corridor Study Aberdeen City Council in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans commissioned a multi-modal corridor study to define and assess options for improving strategic transport connections and active and sustainable travel along the A956 Wellington Road corridor from the Charleston Interchange to the junction at the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. Aecom was again appointed at the end of 2018 to undertake detailed appraisal in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) part 2. The work is being funded by Nestrans and traffic surveys were undertaken in June 2019 for the creation of a Paramics microsimulation model that will also be used for the transport links to Aberdeen South Harbour study. The model development and audit has been completed and option appraisal has commenced.
• A944/B9119 Multi-Modal Corridor Study Aberdeen City Council in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans commissioned a multi-modal corridor study that is being funded by Nestrans to define and assess options for improving transport connections and active and sustainable travel between Westhill and Aberdeen City Centre along the A944 and B9119 western corridor approaches to the city. Following competitive tender, Peter Brett Associates (now Stantec) was appointed to undertake this STAG based study to identify effective interventions that are both feasible and deliverable along the corridor to encourage mode shift from the private car to bus and active travel modes and to provide a costed and prioritised programme of options that the local authorities and partners can develop into outline business cases, and thereafter design and implement.
Nestrans Strategic Investment Programme
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Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils again provided Capital funding to Nestrans in 2019/20. Regular programme monitoring takes place between Nestrans and the two Councils to ensure efficient delivery of the approved programme and virements are considered by the Board throughout the year as required to reflect changing circumstances and ensure optimum performance against the available budgets.
The funding for 2019/20 was confirmed as being £2,150,000, which comprised of an allocation from Aberdeen City Council of £1,500,000 and Aberdeenshire Council of £650,000. Aberdeenshire Council re-profiled all of the capital allocations across its capital commitments, as part of its Medium-Term Financial Strategy, which culminated in them re-profiling £522,000 of the previously anticipated budget for Nestrans from 2019/20 to 2020/21.
A number of projects that commenced in 2018/19 but were incomplete were proposed to continue into 2019/20 and a delay in drawdown from 2018/19 of £3,429,544 was agreed. The requirement for building up a substantial amount of delay in drawdown from previous years is heavily influenced by the Kintore Railway Station project funding and added to this was the Cycle Development Officer Grant and RTP Active Travel Grants for 2018/19 that were both available to be claimed until June 2019. Along with the anticipated Cycle Development Officer Grant of £100,000 in 2019/20 from Sustrans, this brought the total sum available in 2019/20 to £5,679,544 and the Strategic Investment Programme for 2019/20 was approved at the meeting of the Nestrans Board on 17 April 2019.
Proposed revisions to the budget allocations were reported as necessary to the Board for approval through the regular budget matters report. A decision to delay draw down £3,869,924 of funds to 2020/21 was approved by the Board on 12 February 2020. The amount agreed for delay in draw down represents some projects where delivery has continued into the following financial year, but is again heavily influenced by the bulk of the cost to construct the new station at Kintore being likely to occur in 2020 and as such likely exceed the total available Nestrans budget in any single year. Funding has therefore been allocated over a number of years then treated as delay in draw down until required to profile the contribution more evenly from within the available budgets.
The final expenditure by theme for 2019/20 is shown below and details of the individual projects within each theme can be viewed in Appendix 3.
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Page 65 Strategic Investment Programme 2019/20
Cycle Dev Officer Rail Grant £68,345 £82,092 3% 0.5% Road - Capacity RTP Active Travel £362,762 Grant 18% £462,464…
Insch Station LRDF Grant £20,779 0.2% Road - Safety £165,029 8% Various £94,807 5% Walking and Cycling Bus £359,370 Carbon Reduction £269,370 18% Road - Maintenance £33,881 14% £74,000 0.3% 4%
Nestrans Co-ordination & Project Development Programme
Revenue support in 2019/20 was maintained at previous year’s levels, namely £782,000 from the Scottish Government and £122,175 from each Council. This resulted in a budget of £1,026,350 that was supplemented with £41,666 of delayed draw down of funding from 2018/19 to give an approved budget of £1,168,016. Proposed revisions to the budget allocations were reported as required to the Board for approval through the regular budget matters report.
The final expenditure by theme for 2019/20 is shown below:
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Page 66 Coordination & Project Development 2019/20 Support Costs £75,650 Other Core 9% Costs, £36,248, 4% Rail £3,000 0% Health & Transport £45,178 5% Bus £66,744 8% Partnership Office £435,404 General 51% £7,422 1%
Project Feasibility £44,256 5%
Travel Planning £114,145 Rechargeable 13% £30,740 4% Other Achievements
In addition to the above Nestrans projects there have been other transport related achievements delivered by other organisations in the past two years. These include:
• Construction of Aberdeen Harbour Board’s new deep water facility at Nigg Bay is ongoing. The construction contract with Dragados UK for the £350 million project will include 1,400 metres of new quay, with a water depth of up to 10.5 metres and create an additional 125,000 square metres of lay-down area. The 22 caisson units that will make the east and north quays and south east pier of the new harbour have been constructed in NW Spain and shipped to the Cromarty Firth for quality checks and are being towed to Aberdeen when required. A new construction schedule has been announced based on a phased completion in 2021 due to technical challenges encountered in the dredging programme associated with the South Breakwater. Full updates on the project can be viewed on the Harbour Board’s website in the Aberdeen South Harbour pages. • Fraserburgh Harbour Commissioners commissioned Fisher Associates to develop a Masterplan setting out a strategic framework for the physical development of the harbour over the next 20 years, to support growth in existing markets as well as facilitate and attract new business.
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Page 67 • The £20 million investment at Aberdeen International Airport that commenced in 2016 to increase the size of the terminal building by 50% and undertake a comprehensive transformation of passenger facilities has been completed and saw the expansion of the departure lounge area and introduction of new retail outlets in 2019. Works also took place in January 2020 to upgrade the hold baggage system as part of a £5million project that will help streamline services at the terminal. • Abellio ScotRail has completed and published station travel plans for Stonehaven, Dyce and Inverurie railway stations. • Additional deployment of the Inter7City upgraded high-speed trains that will connect Scotland’s seven cities is being introduced on InterCity routes as and when the refurbished trains are delivered and is providing additional seating capacity and comfort. • LNER introduced new Azuma train from Aberdeen to London in November 2019, providing better comfort and facilities for passengers and it should produce lower emissions. • Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Councils continue to operate I-Bike projects in partnership with Sustrans to help address the drop in cycling levels when children move to secondary school and the gender gap that sees fewer girls than boys cycling to school. • Cycle equipment purchased for the AWPR community festival in September 2018 was donated by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to Adventure Aberdeen and Live Life Aberdeenshire and included 5 toddler bikes, 6 children’s bikes, 2 women’s bikes, 32 child sized helmets and 1,050 high-vis jackets. • Accessible bike purchased by Nestrans and included with Getabout cycle roadshow stock held and maintained by Adventure Aberdeen as part of Sport Aberdeen. • Net surplus bus lane enforcement monies from the digital bus lane enforcement camera system funded by Nestrans in 2013 continue to be used to fund schemes that meet the aims and objectives within Aberdeen City Council’s Local Transport Strategy and has included several active and sustainable transport measures. • Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen programme saw two hydrogen cars being made available to Co-wheels car club members and a dual fuel hydrogen street sweeper entering operation. • The number of Co-wheels car club vehicles and membership has continued to grow. • Further electric vehicle charge points have been installed by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils throughout the North East.
Seeking Efficiencies
Nestrans has continued to seek efficiencies and to bring in other sources of funding through partnerships with other parties. Full details can be viewed in the Statement on Improving Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy in Appendix 2 – Public Services Reform Information
Information Publication
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Sections 31 and 32 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 impose duties to publish information on certain expenditure and statements on steps taken to promote and increase sustainable growth and improve efficiency, effectiveness and economy through the exercise of its functions. An expenditure statement for 2019/20 is published on the Nestrans website to detail expenditure in each of these financial years relating to the following stipulated matters:
• Public Relations • Overseas Travel • Hospitality and Entertainment • External Consultancy • Payments with a value in excess of £25,000 • Members or employees who received remuneration in excess of £150,000.
Statements for 2019/20 have also been prepared on the steps taken by Nestrans in the exercise of its functions to:
• Promote and increase sustainable economic growth • Improve efficiency, effectiveness and economy
The above information required under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 is also included within Appendix 2.
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Page 69 5. Results
The 2020 Monitoring Report provides information and background data to support the development of the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS), first produced in 2008 and a refresh as approved by Scottish Ministers in 2014. It is the twelfth annual monitoring report and provides information against a total of 48 monitored indicators of which 38 have targets set against them (some indicators have more than one target, resulting in a total of 47 targets).
The monitoring report is designed to show progress against the objectives of the RTS which is delivered by Nestrans and its partners. It should be noted that it has taken many years for the strategy to decisively influence most indicators and this process is still ongoing, but it is Nestrans’ intention to maintain regular monitoring of its targets and indicators. Nestrans itself may have limited influence over delivery against some of the indicators however as the delivery of the RTS as a whole relies on the work of many partners, it is important to understand the wider progress and trends across the region.
The report seeks to provide information and consider appropriate indicators for taking the RTS forward. It contains SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound) targets to be refined as part of the Delivery Plan. Targets, where possible, relate back to the strategy’s identified objectives and therefore the indicators too relate to objectives and the strategy’s 21 strands. There are a few indicators for which it is not appropriate to establish targets, but the indicators are being monitored to provide an understanding of the changing nature of transport in the area.
In the 2020 monitoring report, of the 57 indicators for which indicative targets have been identified, after including indicators for pedestrian numbers in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, and using the most up-to-date data available, the following results can be summarised (it should be noted that some indicators have more than one target):
2019 2020 Indicators on target 19 18 Indicators with some success 15 16 Indicators moving in the wrong direction 11 13 Indicators with no data available or target set 10 10
The monitoring reports contain a lot of information within their tables and graphs however some key points to note from the latest report are:
• Rail patronage (Indicator 3) has continued to see an overall decrease in patronage through North East stations. Whilst Portlethen has seen an increase between 2017/18 and 2018/19 (the first annual increase for the location since 2014/15), the majority of stations have for the first time dropped below the 2010/11 baseline, with Dyce seeing the largest decrease of 38% since 2010/11. Conversely, Laurencekirk and Portlethen are still above the 2010/11 baseline, with Laurencekirk seeing a 17% increase since 2010/11 and Portlethen seeing a 154% increase in the same time period. Overall, the region has seen a 12%
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Page 70 decrease in rail patronage since 2010/11. In the same time period, rail patronage for Scotland as a whole has increased by 18%. • Traffic (indicator 5) remains above target but has shown the first decrease since 2013, with around 4.4 billion vehicle kilometres in 2018, down on 4.5 billion in 2017. This is primarily due to changes in traffic in Aberdeenshire, as Aberdeen City has continued to remain fairly static since 2005. Taking account of growth in vehicle kilometres in the preceding decade (indicator 6), this has reduced the growth in traffic to 5.1% between 2008 and 2018, which is just outside the target of less than 5%. • The number of destinations served direct from Aberdeen Airport (Indicator 11) has continued to reduce since 2017. Aberdeen International Airport provides links to 41 airports in 15 countries. The number of unique destinations and countries has had an overall decrease in the last year, despite new destinations being added. • Passengers using Northern Isles ferry services through Aberdeen Harbour (Indicator 14) decreased from a peak of 156,000 in 2015 to 144,000 in 2017 before rising back to 150,000 passengers in 2018. Despite previous decreases in patronage, Aberdeen-Lerwick is still showing an overall increase of 14% from the 2007 baseline. Aberdeen-Kirkwall is showing a decrease of 8% from the baseline, although this has improved from the previous year. • The volume of freight through Peterhead and Aberdeen Harbours (Indicator 15) in 2018 was 5.269 million tonnes, a small decline on 2017. The two ports carry around 8% of Scotland’s maritime freight. This proportion has risen from a base of 5% in 2005. • The relative cost of parking to bus fares decreased between 2019 and 2020 (Indicator 26) with a day bus ticket in Aberdeen costing approximately 1.8 times the price of 2 hours car parking, a reduction from 1.9 times. The cost of a day ticket previously remained static at around 1.8 times the price of 2 hours parking between 2015 and 2018. • The number of cyclists on key routes in Aberdeen (Indicator 30) is increasing. There are a total of 18 cycle counters in Aberdeen, which in total recorded 432,120 cyclists in 2019/20. This is an increase of 1.6% since 2016/17, although is down on the previous year. There are 14 cycle counters across Aberdeenshire (Indicator 31) and in 2019/20 they recorded a total of 125,275 journeys. • Journeys to work (Indicator 35) by modes other than car driver has shown an overall increase in 2018 although Aberdeen City has again seen a reduction in the number of people using modes other than car driver. In 2018, 66% of North East residents drove to work, slightly higher than the national average of 62.9%. However, walking to work in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire has continued to stay above the average for Scotland as a whole, with both areas at 17% compared to the Scottish average of 12%. In addition to this, bus use in Aberdeen City has also stayed well above the average for Scotland as a whole, at 14%. • Mode split on the travel to school (Indicator 36) shows 50% of children walking, cycling or scootering across the North East of Scotland. Although
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Page 71 numbers walking have reduced since 2003, cycling is increasing in both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire schools with an increase from <1% and 1% respectively in 2003/04 to 3% and 5% respectively in 2018. • The numbers participating in carshare schemes (Indicator 37) and the car club (Indicator 38) are increasing, with over 3,500 registered car sharers and over 2,200 car club registrations, both at their highest ever levels. • Congestion (Indicator 39) shows that journeys in the North East that are affected by delays remain at 17%, whilst journey times (Indicator 40) continues to show a decrease, with the differential between public transport and car journey times increasing. • Number of fatalities in road traffic collisions in the North East (Indicator 43) has seen an overall reduction and the five-year average for 2014-18 is continuing to be at the lowest level recorded, with a 50% reduction on the baseline. • Per capita Carbon Dioxide emissions from transport (Indicator 44) have seen an 8% reduction across the North East between 2005 and 2017. • The number of Electric Vehicle charging points (Indicator 45a) and the number of Electric Cars (Indicator 45b) have seen significant growth, with 105 chargers and over 1,100 vehicles across the North East. • Indicators 46 and 47 relate to air quality and show reducing average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulates. Although Market Street showed a small increase in Nitrogen Dioxide levels in 2018, all monitored locations are within European-defined maximum levels. All locations are within target of the European-defined maximum level for particulates in 2018, although they have shown an increase in particulates from 2017.
The points above highlight some of the key statistics and trends emerging from the 2020 monitoring report. It should be noted that although this report is published on an annual basis, it uses the most recent data available from the variety of different sources used to compile this report, of which the two key publications are the ‘Scottish Transport Statistics’ (published annually in December) and the ‘Scottish Household Survey’ (published every second year in August). As these publications are produced at different times, the most recent annual results for all indicators do not always show the same year. Caution should therefore be taken when comparing different indicators with each other as sources and years may vary.
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Page 72 6. Planning for the future
Covid-19
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were implemented in Scotland on Monday 23 March. The Nestrans office closed on that date and all staff have since worked from home, with only occasional essential visits being undertaken, such as to monitor incoming mail and process invoices. It is currently anticipated that this way of working will continue for the foreseeable future. Decisions on the future re-opening of the office will be taken in the context of Scottish Government advice. In the immediate year ahead Nestrans plan to adopt an informed and agile approach, ensuring safe working, maximising the benefit of existing networks, using available information to our best advantage, being adaptive to changing opportunities, and focussing on short term actions that can be implemented relatively quickly to respond to emerging need. This may vary from the provision of targeted advice and communications, changing investment priorities and decisions, and undertaking quick- win studies to fill gaps in knowledge or test alternative approaches. New challenges and opportunities are likely to appear throughout the journey from lockdown to recovery. However, all actions taken need to also be compatible with the vision and objectives set out in the draft regional transport strategy, Nestrans2040, as well as the key principles in the National Transport Strategy.
Strategy Development
National Transport Strategy
The Scottish Government published the National Transport Strategy on 5 February 2020. Due to the emergency response required following the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, the immediate focus will be on development of a Transport Transition Plan that sets out the phased stages out of lockdown. This will impact on the timing and framing of other key government deliverables this year, including the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), the National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan, the review of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), the Climate Change Plan Update, the National Planning Framework 4 as well as the Infrastructure Investment Plan which will have their publication delayed and will have to take account of Covid-19 impacts in the shaping of future transport systems.
Regional Transport Strategy
Nestrans will continue to develop the new Regional Transport Strategy for the next 20 year period to ensure that it reflects the objectives, policies and actions of the NTS by relating them to local priorities. It is intended to report a draft strategy and draft supporting documents, namely the City Region Deal Strategic Transport Appraisal, Equalities Impact Assessment (including a Health Impact Assessment), Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Board in summer 2020 to request approval for consultation and engagement. The traditional
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Page 73 consultation methods will need to be adapted to take account of physical distancing requirements as a result of covid-19 and it is likely that a virtual consultation will be arranged via the existing dedicated website www.nestrans2040.org.uk, which will give access to the Draft Strategy and supporting documents as well as a general questionnaire and details on other opportunities to provide any comments. This will be supported by targeted virtual presentations and discussion forums with key partners, members of the North East Transport Consultative Forum, elected representatives and key stakeholders. The consultation will be publicised via a range of formats including press releases, adverts and social media.
It is anticipated that the consultation responses will be reported to the Nestrans Board in November with any amendments to the Strategy then prepared and a final Strategy presented for consideration by the Board in December 2020 to enable submission, if approved, to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity.
The format of the RTS Monitoring Report will have to be refined to identify a number of appropriate targets that Nestrans will monitor in the coming years for the new strategy. It is intended that the targets will represent indicators that can be better influenced through the RTS, although other trends and information will still be monitored to help provide context. A Delivery Plan will also be developed that identifies the actions deemed necessary to deliver the strategy and seeks to estimate the cost, timescale and lead agencies for delivery.
Whilst the next RTS2040 is being developed, Nestrans will continue to progress the delivery of the current RTS in the year ahead by working in partnership with Transport Scotland, Local Authorities and the private sector and implementing the actions within the supporting Health & Transport, Bus, Freight, Rail and Active Travel Action Plans.
• Health and Transport Action Plan Refresh (HTAP2) Nestrans will continue to jointly fund the HTAP Programme Manager in partnership with NHS Grampian and support the work of the Transport & Public Health and Access to Health & Social Care groups. Nestrans will again contribute to the Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) service that is provided by the public transport unit within Aberdeenshire Council.
• Bus Action Plan The Bus Alliance will complete the development of a refreshed region-wide Bus Action Plan based on the State of the Network report and the issues identified therein. The Bus Alliance will prepare a bid to the £500 million Bus Priority Fund announced by the Scottish Government and investigate the vision for an Aberdeen Rapid Transit network, as proposed within the developing draft Regional Transport Strategy to 2040. Further priority corridors for action will be identified and as a first stage for each corridor there will be a requirement to undertake a STAG-based appraisal to identify the baseline and measures for improvement. Work will continue on the A944/B9119 corridor study with further appraisals being commissioned for the Ellon to City Centre to Garthdee corridors and the A96 Inverurie to Aberdeen corridor. The Bus Alliance will also provide input to Aberdeen City Council in their consideration and development of a Low Emission Zone.
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Page 74 The Park and Ride website will be kept up to date and the Park and Ride sites may again be advertised through the festive sustainable travel campaign under the Getabout banner, although this may change to promotion of safe use of public transport and road safety if the Covid-19 restrictions remain in place.
Nestrans will provide funding to progress the delivery of Ellon Park and Ride improvements, creation of mini-hubs at Crathes and in Oldmeldrum, for bus stop information updates across the region, for further E-paper bus stop displays and to boost the sample size in the North East bus passenger satisfaction surveys. Future plans for the Grasshopper multi operator ticket scheme include further promotion, the introduction of online ticket sales for weekly products and selling of longer period tickets as well as exploring options for smart / mobile payments.
• Freight Action Plan Actions within the plan and freight related projects contained within the European funded Civitas Portis project will continue to be developed and implemented with final reports prepared for the conclusion of this project by end August 2020. Nestrans will also manage the E-cargo bikes pilot for last mile deliveries in the City Centre using the six bikes purchased through the Transport Scotland Low Emission Zone Grant to Aberdeen City Council. .
• Rail Action Plan In accordance with the Rail Action Plan, Nestrans will continue to seek improvements to rail services across the North East and again contribute to the East Coast Mainline Regional Forum. Construction on the new rail station at Kintore was halted and the site secured following the Covid-19 lockdown in March, but discussions will continue to be progressed with Transport Scotland, Network Rail and ScotRail regarding the final stages of design and construction works for delivery of the railway station and car park and access roads at the earliest possible date in 2020. The funding agreement for the works between Transport Scotland, Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council will be progressed, although it is expected that the cost will increase as a result of the lockdown of the site and physical distancing measures that will be required when construction restarts.
Nestrans will continue to participate in the team led by Transport Scotland and including representatives from Tactran, ScotRail Alliance, freight and passenger rail service operators to review options for capacity and journey time improvements between Aberdeen and the Central Belt. The final stages of the option appraisal for improving access to Insch station will be completed and fully funded through a Local Rail Development Fund grant award.
Consultancy work investigating multi-modal corridor options between Aberdeen and Laurencekirk, including the feasibility for new stations, will be commissioned using a further Local Rail Development Fund grant awarded in 2019. Nestrans has also submitted a bid in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council to ScotRail’s Station Travel Plan Development Fund and if successful will implement improvements to wayfinding and signage between Stonehaven Rail Station and the Town Centre.
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• Active Travel Action Plan Nestrans will continue to fund a cycling development officer post, with Sustrans providing match funding in the form of a grant of up to £100,000 in the year ahead towards measures to support active travel that gains their approval. The officer will co-ordinate with Sustrans and support the delivery of the Active Travel Action Plan by identifying actions in partnership with both local authorities that can be progressed on a regional basis in the coming year. It is hoped that Nestrans will again receive a direct Regional Transport Partnership Active Travel grant from Transport Scotland in 2020/21 to complete the A944 cycling and walking path feasibility study and progress works to replace bridges on the Formartine and Buchan Way and to commission a review of the core path network within Aberdeen.
Nestrans will contribute to a number of pedestrian and cycle infrastructure improvement schemes agreed with the local authorities that will enable them to seek match funding through the Sustrans Place for Everyone Programme. Nestrans secured match funding through the Paths for All, Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund for a comprehensive travel survey as a baseline for the emerging Regional Transport Strategy to 2040 and to enable monitoring of the impact of the Strategy, however following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the impact this has had on travel it is intended to ask to instead use this to undertake travel behaviour and attitude surveys to enable an awareness of how this is changing as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Nestrans will consider whether there are opportunities to bid for further funding through Paths for All Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund in the year ahead. Nestrans staff will continue to be involved in progressing the sustainable travel, walking and cycling and travel planning related projects within the European funded Civitas Portis project, which is due to complete at end August 2020.
• Travel Planning Strategy A refresh of the Regional Travel Planning Strategy will be undertaken as part of the Regional Transport Strategy refresh and Civitas Portis. Due to the impact of Covid-19 on travel behaviour a short to medium term guidance will be firstly prepared and updated as public health and government guidance changes and develops. A medium to long term guidance will then be prepared that considers lessons learnt via Civitas Portis Travel Planning projects and provides guidance as to travel planning development with linkage to relevant information on Council websites. Nestrans will continue to promote travel planning and offer assistance to organisations developing travel plans and offer a Sustainable Travel Grant scheme. The Getabout partnership will also continue to encourage active and sustainable travel through advertising and events and assist with the delivery of related actions within the Health and Transport and Active Travel Action Plans. Cycle roadshow events will be organised at schools and public events throughout the region to encourage people to try cycling if it is deemed safe to hold public events.
Partnership Working
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Page 76 Aberdeen City Region Deal
The update to the strategic Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) to a 2019 base year following the completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route will be completed and forecast years developed, although it is likely that a number of future travel pattern scenarios may have to be considered in light of the effects of Covid-19. The management of the consultancy work to upgrade and audit ASAM19 will continue to be progressed in partnership with both Councils, the Strategic Development Planning Authority and Transport Scotland and be funded through the City Region Deal. The new model will include active travel representation within the city centre area and have the functionality to assist in the development of a Low Emission Zone for Aberdeen. It is hoped to have the new model available for by end of 2020.
The Strategic Transport Appraisal initial assessment of the long list of options to identify the broad costs, positive and negative impacts across a range of appraisal criteria, and consider deliverability issues, and how different elements may work best as part of packages will be completed and form a supporting document for the draft of the next Regional Transport Strategy RTS2040. It will also feed into the national Strategic Transport Projects Review2.
The External Transport Links to Aberdeen South Harbour study Stag Part 2 detailed appraisal that was commissioned by Aberdeen City Council and is being funded via the City Region Deal will be progressed. Public consultation will be undertaken in autumn 2020 on the outcome of the appraisal and feed into the final study report, which will then be considered by Aberdeen City Council. Wellington Road Multi-Modal Corridor Study
The creation of a microsimulation model to reflect post AWPR travel patterns will be completed and the model will be audited and also used by the consultants undertaking the above study. The Stag Part 2 detailed appraisal will be progressed and consideration given to emerging options from the external transport links to Aberdeen South Harbour study. Consultation on the outcomes of the appraisal will also be undertaken and feed into the final study report prior to consideration by Aberdeen City Council. Civitas Portis European Project
Nestrans will continue to work with local partners to progress work under the various packages where we have an involvement and liaise with the European partners prior to the conclusion of this 4 year project at end August 2020. The final conference is planned to be held in Aberdeen at The Event Complex Arena, but may have to be held virtually should Covid-19 restrictions still be in operation.
Aberdeen Low Emission Zone
The Scottish Government, in their Programme for Government 2017/18, made a commitment to introduce Low Emission Zones (LEZs) to Scotland’s four biggest cities. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides the legislation to enable this to happen and the accompanying Regulations and Guidance are due to be published by the end of 2020 to provide standards to ensure nationally consistent LEZs.
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Nestrans is part of the LEZ Project Group formed by Aberdeen City Council to oversee development of Aberdeen's LEZ. The National Low Emission Framework (NLEF) process is being followed to identify and appraise options for a LEZ in Aberdeen and engagement will be undertaken with transport operators, local stakeholders and members of the public to understand the likely impacts of the LEZ options being considered. The outcomes of this engagement exercise will be combined with the findings of detailed traffic and air quality modelling to help determine a preferred option for a LEZ in Aberdeen. The traffic and air quality modelling will endeavour to take into account any likely changes in transport and travel habits resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainties around how long such changes are likely to last and the Scottish Government will consider scenario tests to enable a consistent approach to decision making across the 4 main cities.
Community Planning Partnerships
The Nestrans Director will continue to be on the Board of the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership (ACCP) and on the Management Group of Community Planning Aberdeen (CPA). Nestrans will also continue to participate in the Aberdeen CPP’s Aberdeen Prospers and Sustainable City Improvement Groups and on Aberdeenshire CPP’s Connected and Cohesive Communities Group.
In the year ahead Nestrans will contribute to the monitoring and delivery of transport related outcomes within the plans for both partnerships. Nestrans will lead on the production and implementation of two project charters for the Aberdeen Sustainable City Improvement Group, one for walking and one for cycling as part of the stretch targets for walking and cycling in the Local Outcome Improvement Plan.
Regional Economic Strategy
Nestrans will continue to work with the Regional Economic Strategy Group to assist in the delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), which formed the basis of the City Region Deal Agreement. Nestrans is a lead or key partner in many of the infrastructure related actions within the Action Plan, covering the period 2018-2023. The Group continues to meet on a regular basis and is attended by the Nestrans Director. It is intended to refresh the RES to take account of significant changes in the economic landscape and a growing importance of Energy Transition in the light of Climate concerns.
Project Delivery
Partner funded Projects
The following national and regional projects will continue to be progressed in the forthcoming year:
• Strategic Rail Improvements – Re-opening of rail station at Kintore • Strategic Rail Improvements – Aberdeen to Edinburgh and Glasgow • A96 Aberdeen to Inverness dualling • A96/A90 Haudagain Junction improvement
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Page 78 • A90 Laurencekirk junction improvement • Inverurie Transport Interchange • Construction of Aberdeen South Harbour.
Nestrans funded Projects
The Nestrans budgets for 2020/21 have been approved by the Board, subject to anticipated funding levels being confirmed and are detailed in chapter 7. The following list outlines the projects and studies that are intended to be progressed in the year ahead, although virements will be considered by the Board as required to reflect changing circumstances and ensure optimum performance against the available budgets:
Strategic Investment Programme • Kintore Station – Complete the construction and opening of the new station, including car park and access roads • Insch Accessibility Feasibility Study • Stonehaven wayfinding from Rail Station to Town Centre • B966 New Abbeyton Road over Rail Bridge • Strategic Network Monitoring Phase 4 – Queens Road corridor • Osprey Upgrade • Further A947 road safety improvements • Bend Mitigation/Skid Resistance Improvements • A947 Minor Road Safety Initiatives • Renewal of reflective road studs on various strategic routes • Vehicle Restraining System (crash barriers) repairs and improvements • Riverview Drive Dyce resurfacing between Overton Circle to Netherview Avenue • King George VI Bridge resurfacing • Progression of Ellon Park & Ride improvements • Region wide bus stop information initiatives • Progression of A93 Crathes mini-hub completion • Progression of Oldmeldrum Interchange Hub • A90/A92 Blackdog – Access to Bus services • Pedestrian/Cycle infrastructure: o B9002 Kennethmont Footway o Maconochie Road, Fraserburgh o Sauchen/Cluny footpath o North/South Link to Inverurie Academy o A92 Balmedie/Blackdog Shared Use Path o Corsemanhill Drive, Inverurie o River Don Paths – Seaton Park Entrances o Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) Phase 1 small scale interventions o Craigshaw Drive cycle route
• Pedestrian/Cycle feasibility and design o Wellheads Drive cycle link – completion of design of an extension to the Wellheads cycle route to Farburn Terrace o Junction alterations to ‘lock in the benefits of AWPR’ for active travel – detailed design of options at junction of Lang Stracht with Anderson Drive
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Page 79 • Electric vehicle charge points in Aberdeenshire • Roads Hierarchy Review - A944/B9119 multi-modal corridor study • Wellington Road multi-modal AWPR LIB STAG part 2 study • Multi-modal studies on strategic corridors and hubs • Roadside Weather Station Network Improvements.
Co-ordination & Project Development Programme A core costs budget has been set to reflect the running costs of the Nestrans office along with support costs for services provided by the Councils and other associated costs for the organisation. Nestrans will however continue to seek further efficiencies within our own organisation and aim to secure partnership funding and support where possible.
Funding has been also been approved for non-core projects to progress the various Action Plans that support the Regional Transport Strategy and undertake project feasibility work as follows:
• Rail Action Plan o East Coast Mainline Regional Forum • Health & Transport Action Plan o H&T Programme Support Manager o H&T Action Plan actions o Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) • Bus Action Plan o Bus Action Plan Actions o Region Wide Real Time System annual maintenance contribution • General o Zebra Crossing Retrofits in Aberdeenshire - replacing existing poles with Halo Beacons at prioritised sites o Road Safety Education - bespoke talks in towns with high collision incidences by professional engagement team o Travel data surveys/diaries (incl stated preference) for RTS baseline • Project Feasibility o Bridge of Dee - River Crossing Capacity Post AWPR review o South College St/QE Rbt Ph2 review o Cross City Connections Study - Review of outcomes • Contingency • Travel Planning o Sustainable Travel Grant Scheme and cycle parking grant o Getabout active travel promotion and travel planning support o Cycling Development Officer.
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Page 80 7. Funding
2020/21 Budgets
Nestrans coordination and project development budget funding is mainly provided by a grant from the Scottish Government. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 however requires the constituent councils of each Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) to fund its net expenses, after allowing for any income, including any grants from the Scottish Government.
In 2020/21 the RTP expenditure support from the Scottish Government will remain at £782,000, which is the same level that has been received since 2011/12. Nestrans also requested a continuation of the previous year’s funding from our constituent Councils of £122,175 each. This resulted in a proposed Coordination and Project Development budget for 2020/21 of £1,026,350.
Strategic Investment Programme funding is now requested from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils following the un-ringfencing of support from the Government in the 2008 Local Government concordat. The Nestrans Board agreed draft 2020/21 budgets in February, subject to anticipated funding levels being provided. The anticipated funding for 2020/21 is £2,989,000, which comprised of an allocation from Aberdeen City Council of £1,295,000 and Aberdeenshire Council of £1,694,000 that included a re-profiled capital allocation of £522,000 from 2019/20 to 2020/21.
A number of projects that commenced in 2019/20 but were incomplete were proposed to continue into 2020/21 and a delay in drawdown from 2019/20 of £3,869,924 was agreed. The requirement for building up a substantial amount of delay in drawdown from previous years was again heavily influenced by the Kintore Railway Station project funding and added to this was the Cycle Development Officer Grant and RTP Active Travel Grants for 2019/20 that are both available to be claimed until June 2020. Along with the anticipated Cycle Development Officer Grant of £100,000 in 2020/21from Sustrans, this brought the total sum available in 2019/20 to £6,958,924.
The Nestrans Board approved draft Strategic Investment Programme and Co- ordination & Project Development Budgets for 2020/21 at their meeting on 12 February 2020 and a summary of the projects and studies proposed for delivery was given in the previous chapter. Should any requirements arise throughout the year for amendments to the approved budgets, then they will be proposed within the budget matters report that is prepared for consideration at each meeting of the Nestrans Board. All reports to the Board can be viewed on the Nestrans website.
Reserves
The Transport Scotland (Scotland) Act 2005 stipulated that the constituent authorities are required to meet the net expenses of the Partnership. This had been interpreted by Audit Scotland as meaning that it is not possible for Nestrans to retain a surplus or deficit in any year and therefore it is not possible for Nestrans to have a general fund balance or reserve.
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Page 81 The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 15 November 2019. The Act contains a provision on RTP finance (section 122) that would enable RTPs to hold a General Fund reserve. The Scottish Government wrote to Local Authority Directors of Finance to seek their views as to whether this provision should be commenced during the 2019/20 financial year.
The Cabinet Secretary signed the Commencement Order for Section 122 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 on 4 March. The Order was laid in the Scottish Parliament on Friday 6 March and the provisions came into force on 19 March 2020. This enabled the creation of a General Reserve in the Nestrans Annual Accounts for 2019/20.
Revenue: Other Sources of Funding
Nestrans will continue to seek to form partnerships to deliver services and investigate further funding opportunities.
Strategic Transport Fund
The Strategic Transport Fund was developed to deliver the scope and scale of interventions that may be required to mitigate the congestion impacts associated with new development and to provide an appropriate level of public transport accessibility.
Nestrans held and administered contributions to the Strategic Transport Fund (STF) that was defined within the statutory Supplementary Planning Guidance for the Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Plan (2014). The STF was ring- fenced for projects needed to address the cumulative impact of the Strategic and Local Development Plans, however the guidance was quashed on 29 April 2016 following a legal challenge heard by the Court of Session. Although the Strategic Development Planning Authority progressed an appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court, on 25 October 2017 the Supreme Court decision was published, quashing the Supplementary Guidance.
At that time agreements in principle relating to the Strategic Transport Fund had been signed totalling £23,686,635 and the sum of contributions held by Nestrans stood at £1,839,338. Contractors have since started requesting repayment of this money and the remaining balance still held at the end of 2019/20 was £483,198 associated with payments in relation to 16 developments that still remain to be claimed.
Borrowing
Under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, Nestrans is permitted to borrow money for the purposes of its capital expenditure. Nestrans would have to give due regard to the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities when determining its programme for capital investment. The key objectives of the Prudential Code are to ensure that the capital investment is affordable, prudent and sustainable.
In Nestrans’ case this could require the agreement of the Local Authorities in ensuring that future repayments could be met. Nestrans has no plans to borrow at this time.
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Page 82 Appendix 1. The Nestrans Board and Executive
The Board
The Nestrans Board is its main decision-making body and in terms of the Order that set Nestrans up, membership consists of four Councillor Members from Aberdeen City Council and four from Aberdeenshire Council. In addition, Nestrans is entitled to have between three and four non-councillor members.
In 2019/20 the two Councils nominated the following Councillors to sit on the Board:
Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Councillor Sandra Macdonald (Labour) Councillor Peter Argyle (Liberal Democrat) Councillor Phillip Bell (Conservative) Councillor David Aitchison (SNP) Councillor Alex Nicoll (SNP) Councillor John Cox (Aligned Independent) Councillor Jennifer Stewart Councillor Colin Pike (Conservative) (Independent Alliance Group) to December 2019 Councillor Avril MacKenzie (Conservative) from December 2019
The non-Councillor Members appointed by the Partnership and endorsed by the Minister for Transport and Veterans for the period to October 2024 are:
Non-Councillor members Mr Gerry Donald Head of Property and Asset Development at NHS Grampian Dr Margaret Bochel Former Head of Planning & Sustainable Development at Aberdeen City Council Mr Ian Ross Chartered Civil Engineer with a history of Transportation projects Mr Colin Allanach (from May Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a Masters in 2019) Business Administration and involved in establishment of Grampian Cycling Partnership
Following advertisement for a new non-Councillor Board Member, the Nestrans Board’s Appointments Sub Committee recommended that Mr Colin Allanach be appointed to the vacant post. The Minister for Transport and the Islands approved the appointment of Mr Allanach to the Nestrans Board through to October 2024 and the Nestrans Board agreed in June 2019 to reappoint the other three non-Councillor members for a further period through to October 2024, representing the midway point between the next Local Authority elections.
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The Board has appointed the following professional advisers to sit on the Board:
Board Adviser Mr Stephen Archer Director of Infrastructure Services, Aberdeenshire Council Mrs Gale Beattie Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning, Aberdeen City Council Mr George Mair Development Manager, Confederation of Passenger Transport UK - Scotland
The Board has appointed the following office bearers:
Office Councillor Peter Argyle Chair to 5 Nov 2019 and Deputy Chair from 6 Nov 2019 Councillor Sandra Macdonald Deputy Chair to 5 Nov 2019 and Chair from 6 Nov 2019 Dr Margaret Bochel Deputy Chair
The Board meets to a schedule, usually agreed around December for the following year, at roughly two-monthly intervals. Meetings are usually held at 2pm at Woodhill House in Aberdeen. During the period 2019/20 meetings were held on:
17 April 2019 19 June 2019 18 September 2019 6 November 2019 11 December 2019 12 February 2020
Meetings are scheduled into the busy Council calendars to ensure that most members are able to attend. There is a facility for each Councillor member to nominate a substitute who can only participate if the member is not present.
Nominated substitute members in the past year were:
Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Councillor Ross Grant (Labour) Councillor George Carr (Conservative) Councillor Brett Hunt (Conservative) until Councillor Martin Ford (Democratic July 2019 Independent and Green Group) Councillor Michael Hutchison (SNP) Councillor Ian Mollison (Liberal Democrat) Councillor Ian Yuill (Liberal Democrat) Councillor Gillian Owen (Conservative) Councillor Ryan Houghton (Conservative) from Dec 2019
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Professional Support and Services
The Board takes professional support and services from the two constituent authorities as follows:
Aberdeen City Council Legal Services Democratic and Administration Information and Communications Technology
Aberdeenshire Council Personnel Services Finance Services PR, marketing and event management
Nestrans Staff
To support the Board in carrying out its functions there is an Executive Team in place. This team consists of:
Position Director Mr Derick Murray to 31 August 2019 and Mr Rab Dickson from 18 November 2019 Transportation Strategy Manager and Mr Rab Dickson until 18 November Acting Director Transport Executive (Programmes & Mrs Jennifer Anderson Delivery) Transport Executive (Strategy & Mrs Kirsty Chalmers (3 days/week to 31 Delivery) Oct and 4 days/week from 1 Nov 2019) Transport Executive (Travel Planning & Mrs Kelly Wiltshire (4 days/week to 30 Delivery) Sept and 5 days/week from 1 Oct 2019) Office Manager Mrs Tricia Howden (approx 22 hours over 4 days/week) Cycling Development Officer Mr Jon Barron Transport Officer Mrs Nicola Laird Temporary Transport Officer Mr Robert Seale from Dec 2019
The Executive Team are located in Offices at:
Archibald Simpson House 27-29 King Street Aberdeen AB24 5AA
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Page 86 Appendix 2. Public Services Reform Information
Sustainable Economic Growth Statement
Introduction
Section 32(1)(a) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 provides that as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year each listed public body must publish a statement of the steps it has taken during the financial year to promote and increase sustainable growth through the exercise of its functions. Nestrans is a listed body within the Act.
This statement is intended to fulfil the requirement of the Act in relation to Sustainable Economic Growth. This statement should be read in conjunction with the statement on Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy and the financial information provided on the Nestrans website that are also required by the Act.
Government purpose and performance framework
The purpose of the Scottish Government is to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. The approach to delivering this Purpose is set out in the Scotland’s Economic Strategy published in March 2015 which combines work to boost economic growth and increase competitiveness with a drive to tackle inequality. The updated Strategy has four priorities, namely:
• Investing in people and infrastructure in a sustainable way;
• Fostering a culture of innovation and research and development;
• Promoting inclusive growth and creating opportunity through a fair and inclusive jobs market and regional cohesion; and
• Promoting Scotland on the international stage to boost our trade and investment, influence and networks.
Progress towards the Purpose is being measured through a range of Purpose Targets and National Indicators in the National Performance Framework (NPF) that was revised in 2018. The goals of the NPF align with the aims of the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals all countries are trying to achieve by 2030. The NPF Purpose, Values and 11 National Outcomes are shown in the diagram below and there are 81 National Indicators to help track progress.
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Aligning to the Purpose and National Objectives
The Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy, approved by Scottish Ministers in 2008, includes, at page 102, an Appendix outlining how the Regional Transport Strategy objectives align with the National Objectives, albeit that a further objective of “Our people are able to maintain their independence as they get older and are able to access appropriate support when they need it” has since been added to the National Objectives.
The four strategic objectives of the RTS relating to Economy; Accessibility, Safety and Social Inclusion; Environment and Spatial Planning were retained within the refresh of the strategy in 2014 and are supportive of many of the National Outcomes.
Regional Transport Strategy
Nestrans’ primary function is to produce and implement a Regional Transport Strategy.
Transport has long been recognised as a significant contributor to sustainable economic growth. The Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy was developed in conjunction with the Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF) Economic Manifesto that set out a vision for the economic growth of the North East region of
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Page 88 Scotland and the Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA) Structure Plan, which sets out the spatial strategy for achieving that growth. The Regional Transport Strategy examines how the growth can be achieved without increasing congestion levels. A refresh of the RTS was undertaken in 2013 when the SDPA were developing a Strategic Development Plan (SDP) for the North East to 2035 to ensure the RTS took account of current policies and to better align it with the SDP timeline and the transport implications of this plan. The refresh gained Ministerial approval in January 2014. It builds on the original RTS and should be taken as an addendum to the original strategy document.
One of the key principals in setting and determining the Regional Transport Strategy and subsequent refresh has therefore been to encourage and permit sustainable economic growth.
Achievements in 2019/20
Action Plans Nestrans has five Action Plans intended to assist in the implementation of the Regional and Local Transport Strategies.
• Health and Transport Action Plan Working with NHS Grampian, our two Councils and the Scottish Ambulance Service we have continued to contribute to a co-ordinator post and focus on the two themes within the refreshed Action Plan: o Transport and Public Health – Active and sustainable travel has continued to be promoted under the Getabout brand, including advertising, events and the cycling roadshow, which was supplemented through the purchase of an accessible bike. A faculty of public health event was arranged and held in May 2019. o Access to Health and Social Care – Nestrans again contributed to the Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) service and for promotional material for the service. Grants were provided to extend the Mid Deeside Hospital Transport pilot and to Buchan Dial-A-Community Bus for the Be-LinkD pilot project to provide healthcare and socially necessary transport to residents in Maud.
• Bus Action Plan A ‘state of the network’ report was prepared to provide the baseline from which to identify priorities and develop corridor specific action plans to achieve the objectives set out in the Bus Alliance Quality Partnership Agreement. Nestrans contributed to a national bus passenger satisfaction study. A promotional campaign was again undertaken during the festive period to provide information about and encourage use of public transport options to Aberdeen City Centre. Nestrans contributed to marketing for the Grasshopper multi-operator smart card. A contribution was also made to the maintenance costs of the regional real time information system and further upgrades to bus stop infrastructure and information throughout the region were implemented including the funding of E- paper bus stop information displays along the A96 corridor.
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• Freight Action Plan Nestrans is lead partner in the freight elements of the Civitas Portis project. The freight adviser previously appointed has continued to assist with development of a distribution strategy and developing relationships with businesses in the freight industry. Opportunities to develop a freight app continued to be considered.
• Rail Action Plan Nestrans has continued to work with Transport Scotland, ScotRail and Network Rail to ensure that the aspirations of the North East are taken into account in developing our railways. The new rail station at Kintore is being progressed along with the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail line upgrade. Nestrans continues to be a member of the East Coast Mainline Authorities grouping, who aim to highlight the economic importance of the line and need for investment. The feasibility study into options for improving accessibility at Insch Station has been progressed using funding from Nestrans and a grant via the Local Rail Development Fund (LRDF). A bid was submitted to a further round of the LRDF for funding to undertake a study to investigate local rail options to the south of Aberdeen and £80,000 was awarded to undertake a multi-modal STAG appraisal between Aberdeen and Laurencekirk. A bid has also been submitted in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council to the ScotRail Station Travel Planning grant to improve the signposting and wayfinding to Stonehaven Railway Station.
• Active Travel Action Plan Nestrans continues to employ a Cycling Development Officer in partnership with Sustrans, which attracts capital grant funding from the Sustrans of up to £100,000 per annum. Nestrans again received a grant from Scottish Government in 2019/20 offered to Regional Transport Partnerships towards active travel and the £220,000 award this year was used on the A944 pedestrian/cycle path feasibility study and Formartine & Buchan Way bridge design and purchase of 4 timber kit bridges. Nestrans has again contributed funding towards feasibility studies and the development and construction of a number of pedestrian and cyclist improvements. A Sustainable Travel Grant scheme continued to be offered, which provides match grant funding to support implementation of successful applications for sustainable transport schemes. The Getabout partnership continues to promote active and sustainable travel throughout the North East and a number of measures were delivered to promote and progress travel planning and active travel through the European Civitas Portis project.
Planning
The statutory guidance developed as part of the Strategic Development Plan (2014) that came into force in August 2015 to provide a framework for assessing developer contributions towards improvements to the strategic transport network was quashed in April 2016 and this decision was upheld by following the subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court, whose decision was published on 25
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Page 90 October 2017. At that time agreements in principle relating to the Strategic Transport Fund had been signed totalling £23,686,635 and the sum of contributions held by Nestrans stood at £1,839,338. Contractors have since started requesting repayment of this money, and by end March 2020 the balance stood at £483,198, which has still to be claimed in relation to 16 developments.
In the absence of a Strategic Transport Fund, as offered through existing planning policy, both councils will continue to require developers to undertake their own Transport Assessments, to demonstrate that they can mitigate any strategic and local transport issues caused by their developments. The level of mitigation achieved by this approach is however likely to be considerably lower than would have been under the STF. In summary, only a proportion of the direct impacts will be mitigated by this approach and not the cumulative impacts which the STF was designed to address.
While the STF itself has been quashed, the evidence base upon which it was built, the Cumulative Transport Appraisal, which was commissioned by Nestrans and the SDPA in 2009, has not been challenged throughout this process. As a consequence, it can still be used to inform assessments and discussions with developers in helping to identify the impacts of developments and the required mitigation.
An updated Cumulative Transport Appraisal commissioned by Nestrans in partnership with the Councils and the SDPA was prepared as a supporting document for the Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Proposed Plan submitted to the Scottish Ministers for Examination in Public on 22 April 2019. Supplementary appraisal was then undertaken to consider amendments to the level of development content contained in the final Proposed SDP and to understand how a range of transport intervention proposals would mitigate predicted impacts to facilitate the delivery of the Proposed Plan. The potential mitigation options identified within this supplementary appraisal can now be considered alongside the options being developed through the Strategic Transport Appraisal being funded by the City Region Deal and feed into the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) where appropriate. The outcomes will also help inform the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy, which will set future regional transport policy and may therefore influence the predicted outcomes.
Projects
In 2019/2020 Nestrans funded the following:
Strategic Investment Programme
• Rail Kintore Station – Further progress works for new station, including car park and access roads, with construction ongoing Insch Accessibility Study – Nestrans contribution to study being part funded via a Local Rail Development Grant.
• Strategic Roads – Capacity Traffic Signal Monitoring and Control Upgrade – Procurement and installation of equipment
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Page 91 Digital Communications Migration – Completion of the final stage of the UTC communication upgrades AWPR Signage in Aberdeenshire - Amendment or replacement of signs if necessary following completion of AWPR not included in main contract.
• Strategic Roads - Safety Further A947 minor road safety improvements such as signage, hazard marker replacements and texture remediation works Road studs on various strategic routes Motorcycle initiatives - Installation of interactive warning sites and signage and lining works, including chevrons, along the NE250 corridor.
• Strategic prioritised maintenance Union Street bus lanes – partial reconstruction
• Bus Improvements Ellon Park & Ride - completing the specification for the tender process for construction of car park extension, bus turning circle upgrade and improved waiting facilities Bus stop information initiatives - Reactive programme resulting for bus stop changes through the year and any remedial works identified through inspections A93 Crathes mini-hub – further design and land negotiation Oldmeldrum Interchange Hub – Planning approval granted and completing design and land negotiation New e-scheduling system for AC Public Transport Unit – System purchase and implementation Bus stop improvements in Aberdeen - Installation of raised kerbs and replacement bus shelters on key strategic corridors.
• Walking and Cycling: A98 Shore St, Macduff Ph2 - Footway reconstruction Maconochie Rd, Fraserburgh – Construction of a Shared Use Footway / Cycleway between Fraserburgh Community & Sports Centre to Seaforth Street Sauchen/Cluny - Construction of a Shared Use Cycleway / Footway Westburn/Lang Stracht /Anderson Drive junction - Detailed design of options for alterations with a focus on improvements for Active travel Craigshaw cycle route – further development and design of options for a cycle link Wellheads Drive cycle link – completion of design of an extension to the Wellheads cycle route to Farburn Terrace RTP Active Travel Grant: Schoolhill public realm - Stage 1 improvements contribution Union Terrace Gardens - Contribution to design and development Formartine & Buchan Way - Further generic bridge design and purchase of four timber kit bridges A944 Cycle Path – Ongoing study into option feasibility and design.
Sustrans Cycle Development Officer Grant: Deeside Way path improvements between Mills of Drum and Crathes and from Aboyne to Dinnet.
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Page 92 • Carbon Reduction and Air Quality EV charge points in Aberdeenshire – Installation of EV chargers at Westhill library and Banchory Community Campus.
• Various Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study further rail investigation - Completion of Ellon sensitivity testing and NW stations engineering review North East Roads Hierarchy Review – Completion of consultancy study, preparation of documentation for process of formal road reclassifications, revalidation of SCOOT on A92 and A956(N) corridors and commissioning of A944/B9119 multi-modal corridor study.
Co-ordination & Project Development Programme
• General Cumulative Transport Appraisal
• Project Feasibility and Design Wellington Road multi-modal corridor study – Stag Part 2 City Gateway Paramics Modelling (Ellon) AWPR impact survey data collection and analysis.
• Travel Planning Sustainable Travel Grant Scheme and cycle parking grant Getabout active travel promotion and travel planning support Dyce Travel Planning contribution.
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Page 93 Statement on Improving Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy
During 2019/20 Nestrans has continued to seek and implement initiatives to assist in improving the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the services delivered. A brief overview of these initiatives has been included. Shared Services Legal, Administrative, Financial, ICT, HR and Public Relations Services The activities of Nestrans continue to be supported by partner Councils through the provision of specialist assistance and advice. These activities are governed by separate Service Level Agreements. The use of existing support staff is considered to be an efficient and economic use of an existing pool of specialist staff, the cost of which would be significantly higher if an external or dedicated in-house cadre of similarly qualified and experienced staff were to be used. Details of each support service are as follows: Legal & Administrative Services Legal Services etc are provided by Aberdeen City Council. Services include legal advice, contractual advice and provision of clerking for the Board and meetings. The cost of legal and contractual advice was £2,560 in 2019/20, whereas the administrative costs of clerking for the Board remained at £20,000. Treasurer Accountancy etc support is provided by Aberdeenshire Council. Services provided include invoice and payment processing, financial ledger, regular financial monitoring reporting to the Board, internal audit, liaising with external audit, assistance with budget preparation and control, final accounts preparation and pension fund management, general accountancy advice and treasury management. Since 2012/13 this has been extended to include financial services relating to the Strategic Transport Fund that was set up for developer contributions to strategic transport measures. The quality of support is considered to be excellent and the cost of this service has remained fixed at £21,100 per annum. ICT Services Aberdeen City Council provides and maintains quality Information and Communication Technology Services. The cost is based on the hardware, software and support costs per member of staff per annum and resulted in a charge of just under £5,600 in 2019/20.
HR Services HR services are provided by Aberdeenshire Council. This includes drafting and review of HR policies and procedures, monitoring any changes in legislation, support in dealing with staff matters, offering advice on related matters and reporting to the Nestrans Board. In the last year this also included assistance with the advertisement and appointment of the Director and a temporary Transport Officer post and a further non-Councillor Member for the Nestrans Board. The cost of this service has remained at £15,900 per annum.
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Page 94 Public Relations Services Since July 2016 public relations, marketing and event management services have been provided under a Service Level Agreement by Aberdeenshire Council. A dedicated Nestrans communications officer is located two days per week within the Nestrans office, with access to the wider team within the Council out with these days. The various duties provided include promoting Nestrans and Getabout, liaising with the media, arranging press releases, supporting events – including advising on and seeking of advertising and relevant promotional merchandise, attending Board meetings, arranging design work and preparing communications updates for Members. The Service Level Agreement for this service was renewed in July 2019. The previous cost of £16,500 per annum, which was in place to end June 2019, rose under the new agreement to £17,750 per annum, resulting in a total cost of £17,436 for this service in 2019/20. Getabout Partnership Nestrans is a key member of the Getabout Partnership that also consists of Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen University, Robert Gordon University, North East College, the James Hutton Institute and the Energy Savings Trust. The joint working of the partnership continues to provide increased efficiency and effectiveness when promoting sustainable travel throughout the region via a single brand. The partnership achieves economies through individual member organisations supporting Getabout events organised by others eg providing staffing, transport and promotional merchandise and attraction of Smarter Choices Smarter Places match funding for measures being funded by partners. ACTtravelwise Membership Nestrans again negotiated a group membership for all members of the Getabout partnership to ACTtravelwise for 2019/20 that resulted in a saving in comparison with the cost that individual memberships would otherwise have been. Getabout Cycle Roadshow The Getabout cycle roadshow consists of a range of bicycles, including novelty and disability accessible cycles. Locally based Adventure Aberdeen continue to hold and maintain them at agreed rates and supplement the roadshow with other bikes they own. Adventure Aberdeen also transports the bikes to events organised by the Getabout partners and provides tutors to assist with each event. The cycle roadshow has been supplemented by the purchase of 2KMX bikes, a penny farthing and a wheelchair accessible bike. The locally sourced and managed equipment dramatically reduces delivery mileage and carbon emissions in getting to events and is achieving considerable savings, whilst allowing priority booking by all Getabout members. This is of particular benefit during themed weeks such as Cycle to Work and European Mobility Week when privately hired bike events are usually fully booked. The full cycle roadshow and Getabout events kit, comprising of a Getabout branded marquee, feather flags, banners and bunting previously purchased by Nestrans is available for hire to private companies when not required by the partners, with any profit being used for the purchase of additional stock.
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Page 95 Liftshare Nestrans provides a central data base for car sharing throughout the region under contract with Liftshare Ltd. The website address is getabout.liftshare.com to help identify it with the overall Getabout brand for sustainable and active travel in the North East. It operates with a number of sub-groups so that individual organisations can have their own section under the wider umbrella or be involved in the larger scheme. By contracting the licence and hosting costs on a regional basis there are significant savings compared to each of the partners contracting individually. In addition, there are benefits to the customers of being able to access a larger data base for potential matching of trips. ASAM Regional Transport Model The Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) is a multi-modal strategic model for the North East of Scotland, which is managed and maintained by Nestrans, An upgrade of the software and data was undertaken to create ASAM14 to ensure it remains a robust and effective tool in the development of future transport strategies and land use plans in the North East and was funded via the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Transport Scotland now provide administration support for requests to use the latest ASAM model via the LATIS website. In the last year, the model has been used for further Cumulative Transport Appraisal work to consider amendments to the level of development content in the final Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Proposed Plan and identify transport intervention proposals to mitigate predicted impacts. It has also been used by local authorities for future year demand predictions and strategic input to local micro simulation models for Ellon and Inverurie, for the Berryden corridor dualling work and to inform the Wellington Road multi-modal corridor study. Access to the model was also granted to Jacobs consultants for the purposes of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) they have been commissioned to undertake by Transport Scotland. Developers have also been granted access to model information when undertaking Transport Assessments, thus ensuring that the local planning authorities’ requirements are met using the best available means.
Traffic Signal Monitoring and Control Upgrade and Digital Communications Migration Nestrans allocated further funding to Aberdeen City Council to complete phase 2 of the replacement and upgrading of the existing Outstation Monitoring Units (OMU’s) with Outstation Transmission Units (OTU’s) at traffic signal installations currently operating on the Remote Monitoring System (RMS) across both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire that only allows for dial-up monitoring activities. Upgrading the remaining 72 traffic installations, will allow for improved monitoring and fault finding to be carried out and give the ability to carry out alterations to the operation of the traffic signals in a more proactive manner. In addition, it will provide the potential for corridors not currently operating under Urban Traffic Control/Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (UTC/SCOOT) control to be brought under control to improve public transport operations and facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
East Coast Main Line Authorities Nestrans are partners in the East Coast Main Line consortium. All partners contribute to the consortium, which is a grouping of local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships that aim to work in partnership to promote the case for investment in the line to enable economic growth.
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Page 96 Bus Satisfaction Survey Nestrans contributed along with Stagecoach towards a bus satisfaction survey that was undertaken in 2019/20 to gather data for the North East given the national survey is only undertaken on a biennial basis.
Attracted Funding and Cost Savings Sustainable Travel Grant Scheme Nestrans provides a Sustainable Travel Grant Scheme, which can provide up to 50% match funding to organisations investing in measures to promote more sustainable travel by their employees or customers. There is an upper limit on any award of £10,000. In 2019/20 a grant of £3,282.50 was awarded by Nestrans to Huntly Development Trust (HDT) and used along with £1,000 from HDT and a grant of £4,350 from the Energy Savings Trust to enable the purchase of three Ebikes and cycling accessories, which will be made available for hire via their Green Travel Hub.
ASAM Regional Transport Model Update An update of the Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM) was commissioned by Nestrans to ensure it continues to provide a suitably robust basis for transport and land use appraisal and reflects any change in travel patterns following the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and Balmedie to Tipperty dualling that was completed in February 2019. A steering group consisting of officers from Nestrans, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils and Transport Scotland was set up to manage the work, which was competitively tendered through the Scotland Excel framework to ensure best value. The update will build upon the ASAM14 upgrade, by creating a 2019 base year and will involve a significant data collection programme.
Survey data from a number of organisations has been provided at no cost to enhance the robustness of the model and this includes Trunk road data collected by Transport Scotland, data held by the Councils such as traffic counts, planning development and car parking data and travel information from bus operators, National Records Scotland and the Civil Aviation Authority. Data collected for modelling the development of options for a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Aberdeen that was funded by Transport Scotland and for the A96 dualling model has also been shared. The further data surveys commissioned for the ASAM19 update will likewise be made available for the LEZ development work and provided to Transport Scotland for sharing via their Land Use and Transport Integrations in Scotland (LATIS) data service. It has been agreed that ASAM be listed within the section on Regional Transport models on the LATIS section of the Transport Scotland website along with a copy of the model development report. Transport Scotland continue to administer the application process for access to the ASAM model or data via the LATIS website.
The ASAM update has also benefited from the sharing of methodologies developed for other regional strategic models. Although Nestrans manages ASAM, the cost of the update is being met through the Aberdeen City Region Deal funding as the model will be used to appraise transport options. The cost recharged in 2019/20 for completion of ASAM14 and surveys, model development and audit work associated with ASAM19 amounted to £320,334.
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Page 97 Strategic Transport Appraisal Following the completion of the pre-appraisal commissioned by Transport Scotland that included an assessment of problems, opportunities, development of objectives, and option generation and sifting, Nestrans issued a consultancy brief for the Aberdeen City Region Deal - Strategic Transport Appraisal, initial STAG Appraisal of regional transport projects. This work will inform not only the most effective projects to take forward for further development and appraisal through the City Region Deal, but will also assist with the development of the next Regional Transport Strategy (RTS2040) and provide an enhanced and consolidated evidence base to be made available for Transport Scotland’s work on Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). The cost recharged to Aberdeen City Region Deal in 2019/20 associated with this work amounted to £76,361.
Civitas Portis The North East is included in a collaboration with four other European port cities that were awarded European funding under the Civitas banner for a project titled PORTIS to look at opportunities to enhance transport provision in and around port areas and to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to transport issues. Locally, the project is led by Aberdeen City Council, but also involves Nestrans, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Harbour Board and Aberdeenshire Council, with the University of Aberdeen involved in the assessment of the project. The project has been awarded almost €20million Euros grant funding over the four-year period from September 2016 – August 2020, giving around €1million Euros per annum for each port. The available award to Nestrans for our involvement over the four-year period amounts to just over £266,000. Nestrans has used £98,657 of this funding in 2019/20.
Grasshopper Advertising The Grasshopper smart multi-operator ticket is available over 6 zones across the North East and permits travel on services from nine operators. Nestrans contributed almost £1,500 in 2019/20 to major advertising campaigns in partnership with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils, First Aberdeen and Stagecoach bus operators to maximise awareness. The “Where’s Claire” Original 106fm radio competition and marketing campaign undertaken in August 2019 led to a 6% increase in sales.
Cycle Infrastructure and Core Path Improvements Nestrans continues to fund a cycling development officer post, with Sustrans providing a capital contribution of up to £100,000 per annum as match funding of this post and infrastructure measures funded by Nestrans that are not already being used by the Councils to match fund their bids to Sustrans. In 2019/20 a sum of £82,000 was claimed to fund path improvements on the Deeside Way between Mills of Drum and Crathes and from Aboyne to Dinnet
RTP Active Travel Grant In 2019/20 the Scottish Government again offered an Active Travel Grant to Regional Transport Partnerships. Nestrans was awarded £220,000, with the deadline for claims again extended to end June. The 2019/20 grant was claimed in full and used for further feasibility and design works for the A944 cycle and pedestrian path, the completion of generic design of replacement bridges on the Formartine & Buchan Way and purchase of four timber kit bridges for the F&B Way at Middle Tack, Upper Tack, North Kinmundy and Buckie Farm. Additional 2018/19 grant funding of £254,000 offered on 29 March
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Page 98 2019 for usage by end June 2019 was also claimed and used for Schoolhill public realm improvements and Union Terrace Gardens design and development.
Local Rail Development Fund Nestrans was successful in applying to Transport Scotland’s Local Rail Development Fund in 2018 to undertake an option appraisal for improving access, particularly for passengers with mobility difficulties, at Insch station and this work continued in 2019/20 with Nestrans funding £16,313 and a further £20,800 funded via the grant. A new bid was submitted in 2019 for LRDF grant to investigate local rail options for the south of Aberdeen and £80,000 was granted in August 2019 that can be claimed up until to 31 March 2021 to undertake a multi-modal STAG appraisal between Aberdeen and Laurencekirk.
Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund In February 2020 Nestrans secured match funding through the Paths for All, Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund towards a comprehensive travel survey as a baseline for the emerging Regional Transport Strategy to 2040 and to enable monitoring of the impact of the Strategy. The survey will also investigate what interventions may influence and enable change by collecting stated preference data, which will support development of future year scenarios for the Aberdeen Sub Area Model (ASAM). The grant is available until autumn 2020 and the Nestrans Board approved the allocation of match funding within the draft 20/21 budget, subject to funding levels being confirmed, when they met in February 2020.
Health and Transport Action Plan Nestrans continued to fund 50% of the costs of a support manager for the Health and Transport Programme in partnership with NHS Grampian in 2019/20.
Nestrans has also continued to contribute along with Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils and NHS Grampian to deliver the Transport to Healthcare Information Centre (THInC) and for promotional items to advertise it. The public transport unit within Aberdeenshire Council operates this dedicated telephone service to provide information on transport options for access to all NHS Grampian sites.
The Health and Transport programme manager arranged a Public Health Event in 2019 that was part funded by Nestrans and received match funding from Aberdeen City Council through their Civitas Portis project funding allocation. The Be-LinkD pilot project where Buchan Dial-A-Community Bus provides transport to take residents in Maud to health appointments, wellbeing activities, foodbanks, employability services and home again was supported by a £4,050 grant from Nestrans and also attracted Fairer Scotland funding.
Procurement Activity
Scotland Excel Engineering and Technical Consultancy Services Framework Agreement Nestrans continues to be an associate member of Scotland Excel and as such can acquire consultancy services under the above framework agreement. Nestrans can use the framework to appoint consultants for services that cannot be undertaken in-
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Page 99 house or by neighbouring authorities, either due to a skill shortage, the specialist nature of the work, or due to other workload commitments.
Although there is no guarantee of work being awarded, any use of the framework significantly reduces the cost of procurement of services to Nestrans and the consultants. To award a work package there is the option of directly selecting a consultant within the relevant lot(s) or conducting a mini competition amongst relevant consultants. Work can be awarded on a priced contract (lump sum), target contract or time-based contract basis. In 2019/20 Nestrans held mini competitions through the framework to award the following projects:
ASAM19 post AWPR update Aberdeen City Region Deal - Strategic Transport Appraisal, Initial Stag Appraisal of Regional Transport Projects Fabrication of 4 timber bridge kits for Formartine and Buchan Way.
Land Use and Transport Integrations in Scotland (LATIS) framework. Nestrans made use of the Transport Scotland Latis framework, which can also be used by Regional Transport Partnerships. The work to undertake the ASAM19 audit was awarded under Lot 4 of the framework.
E-cargo bikes Transport Scotland issued an invitation for expressions of interest from Local Authorities in bidding for additional funding for LEZ related works from a £10.3M fund available in the 2019/20 financial year. Nestrans suggested various items to Aberdeen City Council for their bid and an award of just over £25,000 was made to the Council for the purchase of electric cargo bikes for a pilot scheme to encourage last mile deliveries in Aberdeen City Centre. As the Council was unable to resource the purchasing, agreement was obtained from Transport Scotland that Nestrans could undertake the tendering and procurement and operation of the E-cargo bike trial and six bikes and accessories were purchased. Information on the bikes and how to apply to take part in the trial can be viewed on the Nestrans website.
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Page 100 Agenda Item 3.4
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
3.4 Review of Nestrans Code of Corporate Governance
Purpose of Report
To seek the Board’s approval of a revised Code of Corporate Governance for Nestrans.
Background
Local Authorities and similar bodies are required to ensure that they demonstrate proper stewardship of their financial affairs. A Code of Corporate Governance was previously reported to the Board and adopted in September 2018 and published on the Nestrans website. In the annual governance statement within the audited annual accounts for 2019/20 however there is an action plan that states the Partnership should review the Code of Corporate Governance during 2020/21.
Draft Revised Code of Corporate Governance
Under the Service Level Agreements with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council for legal and financial services respectively, a review of the Code of Corporate Governance has been carried out in partnership with Nestrans officers and taking into account the CIPFA and SOLACE “Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework” (2016). The officers considered the extent to which the partnership already complied with the principles of good governance set out within the Framework and identified any areas which had not been addressed previously or any updates required to the Code. A revised Code of Corporate Governance for the partnership has been drafted, with amendments to the previous Code shown in tracked changes and is attached for consideration in Appendix 1.
In accordance with the commitment to maintain a risk management system, it is noted that the risk register was last updated and reported to the Board in February 2018 and it is therefore proposed that a review be undertaken and reported to a future meeting.
It is also noted that the Equalities Mainstreaming Report and Equalities Outcomes Report were last considered by the Board and published on the Nestrans website in April 2017. The mainstreaming report should be reviewed and reported on every two years and the outcomes report every four years. Nestrans staff had been prioritising work on development of the next Regional Transport Strategy and undertaking the various equalities assessments to support the strategy, but are currently working with other Regional Transport Partnerships and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on the setting of the next outcomes and it is proposed to bring Equalities Mainstreaming and Equalities Outcomes reports to the Board for consideration in April 2021.
In addition to reviewing the Code in accordance with the Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework, Nestrans will continue to be required to report a governance statement publicly on an annual basis on the extent to which they have complied with their Code, including how they have monitored the effectiveness of their governance arrangements in the year and any planned changes in the coming period.
Page 101 Recommendations
It is recommended that the Board:
1. Agree the revised Code of Corporate Governance for the partnership as detailed in Appendix 1, subject to any appropriate adjustments being made following the Board’s consideration;
2. Instruct the Director of Nestrans to publish the new Code of Corporate Governance on the Nestrans website;
3. Instruct the Director of Nestrans to review the Nestrans risk register and report back to a future Board by April 2021;
4. Instruct the Director of Nestrans to update the Equalities Mainstreaming Report and Equalities Outcomes Report and report both back to the Board by April 2021; and
5. Instruct the Director of Nestrans to review the Code and prepare an annual governance statement and any planned changes to the Code and report this each year to the Board as part of the annual accounts.
JA/23 November 2020
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APPENDIX 1 NESTRANS
Code of Corporate Governance
The aim of this Code of Corporate Governance is to set out the framework by which NESTRANS manages the governance of its affairs. This Code is structured around the principles set out in the CIPFA Guidance Note for Scottish Authorities - Delivering Good Governance in Local Government. Under each principle it is outlined how NESTRANS will be addressing it.
Public Focus
• We will publish an Annual Report and Business Plan each year, presenting an objective and easily readable account of our activities, achievements, financial position and performance. http://www.nestrans.org.uk/about-nestrans/organisation/documents-annual- report-business-plans/
• We will have in place arrangements designed to encourage individuals and groups from all sections of the community to engage with, contribute to and participate in our work.
• We will conduct our business on an open basis, subject only to the requirements of appropriate levels of individual and commercial confidentiality.
• We will establish appropriate relationships with relevant parties on matters of mutual interest.
Structures and processes
We will ensure appropriate processes are in place to set out strategic direction:
• We will ensure that our Board meets on a formal basis regularly to set a strategic direction and monitor service delivery. http://www.nestrans.org.uk/about-nestrans/board-meetings/
• We will continue to develop and comply with documented protocols as required by statute.
• We will ensure we have a documented scheme of delegation to the NESTRANS Director that provides the Director with the powers necessary to conduct routine business. http://www.nestrans.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/Delegated_Powers_to_Nestrans_Director.pdf https://www.nestrans.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Director-Delegated-Powers- 2020.pdf
• We will ensure that all activities are fully documented, appropriately authorised and carried out in a planned manner.
• We will review our Service Level Agreement with Aberdeenshire Council for financial services on a regular basis and maintain proper records to ensure that the Annual Accounts shows a true and fair view, and that expenditure has been properly authorised and allocated in an appropriate manner.
Risk management/internal control
We will maintain robust systems for identifying and evaluating all significant risks: Page 103
• Through our Service Level Agreement with Aberdeenshire Council for financial services arrangements will be made to review and appraise the internal controls of the Partnership to ensure we are identifying and managing risks.
• We will develop and maintain a risk management system.
• We will ensure that our Board members are provided with any training needed to perform their role.
• We will ensure that our staff are competent to perform their roles.
• We will maintain an objective and professional relationship with our external auditors and statutory inspectors.
• Our annual statement of accounts will be published on a timely basis and contain an objective and understandable statement and assessment of the risk management and internal control mechanisms and their effectiveness in practice.
Vision
• NESTRANS main purpose is to prepare and oversee delivery of the Regional Transport Strategy. NESTRANS aim is for the transport system of the North East of Scotland to support a more economically competitive, sustainable and socially inclusive society. to provide a safer, cleaner, more inclusive and accessible transport system in the North East, which contributes to healthier, more prosperous and fairer communities.
Standards of conduct
• We will have in place formal codes of conduct which define the standards of personal behaviour to which individual Board members are required to subscribe and ensure that they are complied with in practice. http://www.nestrans.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/Members_Code_of_Conduct_April_14.pdf
• Through our Service Level Agreement with Aberdeenshire Council for Personnel Services we will have in place formal contracts and policies defining the standards of personal behaviour to which our staff are required to subscribe and will ensure that they are complied with in practice. http://www.nestrans.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/2017/02/Personnel_Policies_and_Procedures_- _Report_to_Board_150306_1.pdf
http://arcadialite.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/category/policies/
• We will put in place arrangements to ensure that Board members and staff are not influenced by prejudice, bias or conflicts of interest in dealing with stakeholders.
• We will respond positively to the findings and recommendations of external auditors and statutory inspectors and put in place arrangements for the effective implementation of agreed actions.
Page 104 Agenda Item 4
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
4 Publications and Consultations
❖ Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to inform members of recent publications and consultation papers of interest and to agree a response where appropriate.
❖ Publications and Consultations
❖ Cleaner Air for Scotland 2
On 30 October 2020, the Scottish Government launched a consultation for Cleaner Air for Scotland 2. This is the second Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy, to reflect the new Climate Change legislation and target of net zero for 2045; Environment Strategy; National Transport Strategy; and planning system which have all been updated or published since the first Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy was published in November 2015. This new strategy is to try and maximise the benefits from action to tackle poor air quality, and build on the linkages with these and other key policies.
A link to the consultation is below and is open until 22 January 2021. Cleaner Air for Scotland 2: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Appendix 1 to this report provides a summary of suggested responses on behalf of Nestrans in relation to the questions of relevance for the partnership.
❖ Consultation on free bus travel for people resident in Scotland aged under 19
The Scottish Government intends to launch a new statutory national concessionary travel scheme providing free bus travel for young people resident in Scotland up to their 19th birthday. They anticipate that legislation to underpin the scheme would be required to be laid in Parliament in early 2021 and the scheme would come into effect later in 2021.
The Scottish Government are consulting to obtain views on the proposed arrangements for the new scheme and options for how the scheme operates. They are particularly interested in seeking views from those who will be impacted by these proposals including children and young people, their parents and carers and people who work with children in a paid or voluntary capacity. https://consult.gov.scot/transport-scotland/consultation-free-bus-travel-for-people-under19/
The consultation was open until 7 December 2020. To comply with the deadlines, Nestrans has submitted an officers’ response, a copy of which is available for members’ information as Appendix 2 to this report. Should the Board wish to make any changes or additional comments, these can be notified to Transport Scotland following the Board meeting.
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❖ Recommendations
It is recommended that the Board:
1. Approve the response to the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 consultation, as included as Appendix 1 to this report; and
2. Approve the response to Transport Scotland's consultation on extending concessionary travel to under 19s, as contained in Appendix 2.
KW/NL/RD/30 November 2020
4 Publications and Consultations
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APPENDIX 1 Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - a consultation on a draft new air quality strategy for Scotland
3. What in your opinion and/or experience are the barriers to cross departmental working within local authorities or other organisations on air quality and how can these barriers be overcome? Air Quality is usually led by Environmental Health Departments, but a lot of the work done to improve air quality often involves transport colleagues. Setting up short term project or joint member/officer working groups and ensuring that any governance such as Council committees cover Environmental Health and Transport linking together is necessary.
4. Do you agree with the package of actions put forward in the placemaking chapter? Yes. Placemaking is a key element in ensuring appropriate actions are taken towards improving air quality and enabling quality environments.
5. Do you have any suggestions on the role of place-based approaches in delivering targeted air quality improvements? Agree with approach, other supporting strategies such as Transport and Planning should link into this.
6. Do you agree with the package of actions put forward in the data chapter? Yes. Adequate Data and regular monitoring are required to ensure that measures are being effective.
7. Do you have any suggestions on the approach for annual collection of traffic data for air quality management purposes? Traffic data, that can be shared across relevant organisations, is as close to real time as possible, is multi-modal and comparable across the region/country is required urgently to allow implementation and monitoring of many of these proposed actions in this strategy (and supporting strategies such as National Transport Strategy) to encourage the move to more sustainable transport options.
8. Do you agree with the package of measures put forward in the public engagement and behaviour change chapter? Yes. Agree with approach and that a baseline survey across whole country is required.
17. Do you agree with the actions put forward in the transport chapter? Yes. Many of these actions will involve behaviour change and will impact many people's day to day lives. Lots of work and support should be given to help individuals make different choices, on what they can do as well as support to local authorities and regional transport partnerships on funding the required infrastructure. This is also part of the public engagement and behavioural change section.
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18. Do you agree with the package of actions put forward in the Local Air Quality Management section? Yes
19. Do you agree with the proposed Governance of CAFS 2? Yes
20. Do you agree with the proposed review timeframe? Yes
21. Are you aware of any additional equalities impacts of the proposals in this strategy? Yes
23. Do you think this strategy will disproportionately impact low income households? Yes, there is already transport poverty in Scotland and the move to low emission vehicles will affect those on lower incomes more. Particularly as at present such vehicles tend to cost more upfront to purchase (although cheaper to run overall). Also, people on lower incomes may not have a driveway to charge an electric vehicle. Bus is also a key priority in the strategy but for many in rural areas this is often not a viable option, which results in higher car ownership and usage.
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APPENDIX 2 Consultation on free bus travel for people resident in Scotland aged under 19 Number Consultation question
1 Do you think extending national concessionary travel to include free bus travel for under 19s in Scotland will contribute towards our objectives to increase opportunities and reduce inequalities?
• Yes, to a degree.
Nestrans agrees that the provision of free bus travel for under 19s in Scotland, as outlined in the consultation, will open up opportunities for young people to access education, work, leisure and increase their independence. Nestrans also supports the move to encourage further modal shift to reduce the number of unnecessary car journeys as this is in line with the objectives of our Regional Transport Strategy. However, the scheme will only be of value where there is adequate bus service provision, there is also a need to ensure that services are available to all parts of the country so that young people can take advantage of the scheme.
2 Do you think there are any disadvantages to introducing free bus travel for under 19s in Scotland?
• Yes
Whilst it is a positive step to introduce free bus travel for under 19s in Scotland, this will not be sufficient in itself to ensure the modal shift required to combat the climate emergency. Access to reliable and efficient bus services is paramount to encouraging an uptake of bus use and whilst private car journeys are more convenient and cost effective, achieving mode shift will continue to be a challenge. This also does not tackle the issue of service availability, particularly in more rural locations. Capital Funding has recently been announced to increase bus priority in urban locations. However, capital funding alone will not be sufficient to enable a fully comprehensive route network to be developed that will cover the areas that are currently not viable to run. Transport Scotland need to work with Regional Transport Partnerships, local authorities and operators to re-evaluate the provision of services into all areas, and ensure value for money for the levels of investment that are involved.
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Should a smart card, such as the widely used Young Scot card, be used to establish eligibility for free bus access? 3 • Yes
The system should be operating using a smart card. In this way, it would be fully available to people who do not have phones but there may also be opportunities to push the benefit of utilising a mobile app that could possibly be integrated with bus operators’ ticket apps so that tickets can be ‘purchased’ in advance (if possible), which may streamline the process of boarding.
Should children under a certain age need to have their application for a travel card approved by a parent or guardian?
4 • Yes
It makes sense from a security standpoint for children under a certain age (who shouldn’t be travelling alone anyway).
5 If you answered ‘yes’ to question 4, at what age should parental or guardian approval be required?
A parent or guardian should be required to apply on behalf of children of primary school age. Young people over about the age of 11 probably travel alone more often (or with friends). Are there any likely impacts the proposals contained within 6 this Consultation may have on particular groups of people, with reference to the ‘protected characteristics’ listed above? Please be as specific as possible.
No 7 Do you think the proposals contained within this Consultation may have any additional implications on the
rights, wellbeing and safety of children and young people that is not picked up above?
Although there may be potential safety implications of children potentially travelling alone on buses, this would not increase this beyond the potential risks already in place. Children can ride on buses now, this just may encourage them to do so more. Do you think the proposals contained in this Consultation are 8 likely to increase or reduce the costs and burdens for bus companies, public bodies, third sector organisations or businesses? Please be as specific as possible.
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The proposal has the potential to increase the costs and burdens, particularly on bus companies and Local Authorities, particularly if additional demand leads to a requirement for further capacity. There is the argument that this is taking funding from a very limited budget that could otherwise be used to fund a wider network of bus services, currently depending on subsidy and support by LAs. There could be additional pressure on operators who will have additional passengers but not the additional revenue (and may in cases lose revenue from those who were travelling anyway). There is also the potential that an increase in people wanting to travel will increase the pressure on LAs to ensure that there are bus services available, either commercially or supported. 9 Are there any other issues you wish to raise which are not covered in the points or questions above?
Transport Scotland will require to articulate the funding mechanisms and proposed recompense rates to operators for carrying additional eligible passengers. The principle of “No better, no worse off” should be striven for.
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Page 112 Agenda Item 5
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
5 Information Bulletin
Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to provide information and updates for the Board on a number of matters not requiring decisions.
Getabout update
The Getabout Partners continue to meet virtually and are now running a series of messages over the winter and festive period continuing to promote the Covid-19 safe use of travel and transport and road safety messages. This is being done using outdoor poster advertising such as bus shelters and billboards and radio adverts. A number of festive and road safety campaign posters have been displayed across the area.
The Getabout website www.getabout.org.uk is continuing to be updated as appropriate with the travel and transport guidance and restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
NHSG Workplace Engagement Officer
NHS Grampian have submitted an application to Sustrans for a Workplace Engagement Officer, to help promote sustainable travel to major health sites across the north east. Nestrans has supported the application in principle and will continue to work with NHSG and Sustrans on this subject.
The Engagement Officer scheme provides 100% funding in year 1, with a requirement for partner support to meet 50% of the officer costs in years 2 and 3. Nestrans officers have agreed to potentially provide 33% of the required NHSG match funding, subject to Board approval in future budget discussions. Further reports will be brought to the Board for consideration at the appropriate time.
Press and Communications
A summary of Press Enquiries, Media Releases and coverage relevant to Nestrans since the last Board meeting is attached as Appendix A to this report.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board note the contents of this report.
RD/LJ/30 November 2020
8 Information Bulletin Page 1
Page 113 Appendix A
Nestrans Communications Report 26 October– 30 November 2020
• Nestrans News Releases
Date Details
26.11.2020 Press release from Aberdeen City Council regarding the External links to Aberdeen South Harbour and Wellington Road consultation. 19.11.2020 Press release from Invest East Coast Rail calling for the Scottish and UK governments to invest in the East Coast Main Line 27.10.2020 Press release announcing the winners of the Grampian Volunteer Transport Awards
• Nestrans News Coverage
Date Media Details The Scottish Conservatives have said they wish to review previous decisions made as part of the Beeching cuts. Mentions the recent reopening 24.11.2020 The Press and Journal of Kintore station and Nestrans’ Aberdeen to Laurencekirk multi-modal corridor study. Scottish Government confirm that they have received Nestrans ‘Case for Change’ report. Article as above. North East MSP Liam Kerr hopes 23.11.2020 Northsound 1 that Cove and Newtonhill stations may reopen. Article following the meeting of Aberdeenshire Council’s Banff and Buchan Area Committee. Members of the committee have called for 24.11.2020 Grampian Online work on the A947 to be made a priority. Cllr Reynolds discussed that Nestrans funding could be used for improvements. Article ahead of Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee. The committee had before it a report on the road policies including speed limits and pedestrian crossings. The 23.11.2020 Grampian Online National, Regional and Aberdeenshire’s Local transport strategies all have a greater emphasis on active travel. Reducing the volume and the speed of road traffic can help to encourage more people to travel actively. Preview article ahead of Aberdeenshire Council’s 21.11.2020 Grampian Online Infrastructure Services Committee. Notes that the committee will have before it a report on Strategic
8 Information Bulletin Page 2
Page 114 Transport, including the recent work from Nestrans. Article following Aberdeenshire Council’s Garioch Area Committee. Article mentions funding 10.11.2020 Grampian Online from Nestrans which was used for road surfacing and retexturing on the A947. 04.11.2020 Rail (UK) Article on the reopening of Kintore Station Work has begun on improvements to The Deeside Way. Nestrans were successful in bidding for the 03.11.2020 Deeside Piper full cost of the work (£250,000) from Sustrans Scotland.
8 Information Bulletin Page 3
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Page 116 Agenda Item 6
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
6 Conferences and Presentations
Recent and Forthcoming Conferences of Interest to Nestrans
Conf Cost Nestrans Date Location Title Organiser (Excl. Vat) Attendees
Tuesday 15th - Online Scottish Transport Transport £95 Paul Finch and Thursday 17th Applications and Scotland (Nestrans Kirsty Chalmers December 2020 Research (STAR have two Annual free Conference) delegate places)
Other Training
Cost Date Location Title Organiser (excl. Attendees VAT)
Presentations by Nestrans Press Organisation Date Location Presentation Title Involve Presenters and Audience ment
Thursday 26th Online Sustainable Civitas Portis no Kelly Wiltshire November 2020 Commutes: Cities and Alan Engaging with Simpson (ACC) businesses in Aberdeen and understanding travel behaviour Wednesday Online The Re-Opening of STAR no Paul Finch 16th December Kintore Railway Conference 2020 Station
RD/ 30 November 2020
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Page 118 Agenda Item 7
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP – 9 December 2020
7 Pending Business and Reports for Future Meetings
Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to advise of progress on pending business requested by the Board and major reports scheduled for forthcoming Board meetings, and to provide the opportunity for the Board to add to or amend this scheduling.
Background
It has been agreed that this be a standing item on the Board's agenda, listing progress on major areas of work which are not yet in final form to report to the Board with reasons for any delays explained, together with a provisional list of major reports for future Board meetings.
Reports prepared for December Meeting
A number of reports which had been programmed are now presented to the Board: o Nestrans Annual Report 2019/20 (Item 3.3); o Review of the code of corporate governance (Item 3.4).
Major Reports for Future Meetings
It is intended to bring reports on the following items to future meetings of the Board: o Financial Implications for Nestrans of Transport (Scotland) 2019 Act (February); o Draft Regional Transport Strategy 2040 - Finalised Strategy (February); o Equalities Mainstreaming and Equalities Outcomes reports (April 2021); o Risk Register (April 2021).
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board note the report on pending business and agree the provisional scheduling of major reports to future Board meetings.
RD/1 December 2020
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