Appendix 1

SCRUTINY REVIEW PANEL 2 – 2016/2017

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5 April 2017

Page 1 of 114

CONTENTS

Page

Contents 2

Chair’s Overview 3

Introduction 5

Methodology 5

Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations 7

Key Learning Points 96

Membership and Attendance 97

Background Information 100

Proposed Recommendations 103

Proposed Recommendations with Officer Comments 105

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CHAIR’S OVERVIEW

Councillor Aysha Raza (Panel Chair)

Tasked with scrutinising Transport in Ealing was a daunting prospect for our Panel, with the subject matter being so very vast. As a non-driver I have been using public transport all my life and know first-hand its strengths and challenges. Ealing is currently facing some major transportation challenges with the progress of Crossrail/Elizabeth Line, possible third runway for Heathrow, HS2 and the huge restructuring of our healthcare. We envisaged looking at our borough's transport connectivity taking these current projects into consideration, with a view to identifying the gaps where provision is limited to find solutions for the residents living there. It is particularly important to have good inter- borough connections with our neighbouring boroughs such as Brent, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow as we will now be expected to access many services such as healthcare provision over the whole North West London area. Connectivity within our borough is key to economic prosperity ensuring people are able to move around our borough with reliable transportation to get to and from work and places of education as well as access our parks and leisure facilities.

Health strategies are increasingly focused on prevention and better ageing for our population. With public health firmly back as a Council responsibility we need to encourage our residents to be more active and lead longer healthier lives in Ealing. Increased exercise is at the centre of our health strategy and as such we must encourage more walking and cycling. Schemes, such as the walking school buses, must be encouraged at all schools which would prevent the unpleasant traffic jams outside schools as well as yield enormous health benefits.

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The Mayor of London; Sadiq Khan, has pledged to improve London's increasingly poor levels of air quality which can only be achieved with a marked reduction in vehicles. As the queen of the suburbs, famed for our green spaces we need to play our part in this important environmental policy in the capital. Buses on our networks are becoming increasingly green with a view to becoming completely electric fleets. Cars too are encouraged to wean off polluting fuels and become electric.

Unprecedented pressures on housing have led to the development of the Southall old gasworks site and the old Glaxo site in Greenford, these will be thousands of homes, increasing the pressures on our existing ageing transport network. It is imperative that we make robust transport plans for these new communities to thrive and not just become isolated corners of Ealing.

Our Panel has looked at the most used modes of public transport in Ealing with meetings on rail, underground, buses and pedestrian access. We have managed to invite speakers from TfL, GWR, Crossrail, and TfL buses to name a few, and discuss extensively the challenges our transport network currently faces. I have also tried to encourage the Panel members to experience first-hand the issues raised at meetings.

I would like to thank Ealing Council staff in preparing reports and background for all our meetings, those that came in to inform us further on their particular specialisms. Our field trips added experience, to see for ourselves the practicalities and challenges of using public transport in Ealing. Particular thanks to Harjeet Bains and Lee Teasdale for their support with this Panel. Also, Russell Roberts and Chris Cole from our Transport department; John Gashion from EPTUG; James Guest and Alan Cook from Ealing Healthwatch for their hard work supplying us with very detailed background. I trust it is an insightful report into the current state of our transport network in Ealing on which we can build and improve. There were many other avenues we would have liked to explore to give a more comprehensive account and we hope to do this next year by extending this Panel's work. We hope to carry out a residents’ survey to produce a user friendly Transport connectivity map of the borough for transport links during the day and night to complete our work.

Page 4 of 114 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The main purpose of Scrutiny Review Panel 2 – 2016/2017: Transport was to consider how public transport connectivity and walking/pedestrian routes in the borough could be improved.

1.2 The scope of the Panel was to consider the following four key areas relating to the transport systems in the borough: - Borough Connectivity (an overview of using public transport in the borough) - Rail Connectivity (e.g. tube/night tube, overground, etc.) - Walking/Pedestrian Routes (including school travel plans, accessibility on the pavements and within parks/open spaces, etc.) - Bus Connectivity (easier and safer journeys e.g. hospitals, joining hubs, etc.)

1.3 The Panel agreed that its overarching remit would be to look at how public transport use could augment and support pedestrians in the borough, encouraging healthier living and a move away from private vehicles, which in turn would support the local and wider environment.

2.0 METHODOLOGY General 2.1 The Panel received reports and presentations from internal services, external agencies and expert witnesses at their meetings. There were five scheduled meetings in the year held in Ealing Town Hall. The Panel decided to devote a single meeting to each of the four selected key areas. The Panel also conducted several site visits within and outside the Borough which complemented this work.

Co-option 2.2 The Panel co-opted Mr John Gashion (Vice Chairman, Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group) onto the Panel at the first meeting. The Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group (EPTUG) is a volunteer group which was founded in 2001. It acts as a pressure group for the local transport users and is a conduit to the Council, Transport for London (TfL) and other transport bodies that are involved in the local transport systems.

Site Visits 2.3 The following site visits were undertaken:

Within the Borough • Ealing Civic Society Lecture on Crossrail and its Impact in Ealing to learn more about the developments to date.

• Blair Peach Primary School, Beaconsfield Road, Southall, Middlesex to observe their walking bus for the 8.45am school start.

• Grand Union Canal, Southall (from behind Blair Peach Primary School to Uxbridge Road) to see the unchanged and the transformed towpaths along this part of the canal.

Page 5 of 114 • Southall Broadway to see the unchanged and the highly acclaimed revamped pavements.

• South Road, Southall to see the relatively narrow unaltered and restored pavements in existence.

Outside the Borough • 40 years of Railways in London, Crossrail HQ, Institute of Civil Engineering to get a better grasp of the challenges of upgrading the railways in London.

• Shadowing a Tube Driver on the Central Line to see the driver’s perspective of a busy tube line and the other side of the journey.

• Launch of Night Tube at Brixton and Oxford Circus Stations to attend the official launch of the night tube with the Mayor of London.

• A trial bus journey from Dominion Centre (112 The Green, Southall, Middx, UB2 4BQ) to Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middx, HA1 3UJ) to test whether this could be accomplished with relative ease using a hopper bus ticket.

Publicity 2.4 The Panel’s work was publicised in the Council’s free magazine (Around Ealing), website and by direct emails.

A Panel Meeting

Page 6 of 114 3.0 FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Background 3.1 The Panel received an overview of the public transport connectivity in the borough from Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager) and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) as well as a presentation from John Gashion (Co-opted Member) on the work of Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group at the first meeting. At the three subsequent meetings, the Panel undertook detailed reviews of rail/tube connectivity, walking/pedestrian routes and bus connectivity. The respective service officers and external partners were invited to these meetings.

The most common themes that featured across all the modes considered were Crossrail, capacity, frequency, infrastructure and accessibility.

Associated Legislation 3.2 The fundamental legislation associated with the local transport matters includes:

Transport for London is a statutory body created by the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

3.3 S141 (1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 gives the Mayor of London a general duty to develop and implement policies to promote and encourage safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities and services to, from and within London.

3.4 By virtue of s154 (3) (b) of the Act TfL has a duty to facilitate the discharge of the duties under s141 (1).

3.5 TfL also has a power under s173 to provide or secure the provision of public passenger transport services to, from or within Greater London.

3.6 The Council is required to adopt a Local Implementation Plan (a LIP) which is a statutory plan prepared under Section 145 of the Act to set out how it will implement the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy within Ealing. Each borough’s LIP must demonstrate how it will contribute to the Mayor’s goals, strategies and outcomes, as well as other local and sub-regional goals.

3.7 The Greater London Authority Act 1999 also made TfL responsible for the planning and operation of aspects of the London transport system including the Underground network.

3.8 The responsibility for awarding passenger rail franchises lies with the Secretary of State for Transport as given in the Railways Act 2005.

3.9 Planning and construction powers of a new railway or tramway scheme in England can be given by the Secretary of State for Transport by an order made under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA). However, nationally significant rail schemes in England require development consent under the Planning Act 2008.

Page 7 of 114 3.10 The Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA) requires local authorities to expedite the movement of traffic, including pedestrians, safely on their own and other highway networks (including footways).

Ealing’s Public Transport Accessibility Levels Analysis 3.11 Public transport accessibility and connectivity in London is primarily measured through the Public Transport Accessibility Levels (PTALS). PTALS is a detailed measure of the accessibility of a point to the public transport network, taking into account walk access time to stations or bus stops and service frequency. The method is essentially a way of measuring the density of the public transport network in any given location.

3.12 As can be seen from the map of PTALS for the London Borough of Ealing below, PTALS scores vary throughout the Borough depending on the location. Ealing Broadway is highlighted as having very high accessibility, Level 6b. However, Park Royal, Norwood Green and parts of Greenford, Northolt, Perivale and Southall have very low accessibility levels of 1a or 1b and with a lot of scope for improvement. This is mainly due to their distance from the rail/underground and/or high-frequency bus services.

3.13 In order to provide an improved quality of life to residents and ensure that everyone has opportunities for access to jobs and key services, it is vital that public transport services serve employment areas, hospitals and schools.

3.14 Pertaining to access to key services, Ealing is currently ranked in the bottom quartile of all boroughs for public transport access to further education colleges and open spaces. It is ranked in the second quartile for access to general practitioners and the third quartile for primary schools, secondary schools and food shopping. For access to employment by public transport, Ealing is ranked in the third quartile. This relatively poor access to services 1 reflects the high proportion of car use in the Borough.0F

3.15 A significant proportion of people have mobility difficulties that prevent them from using public transport. The 2013/2014 London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) estimated that 34% of households had no access to a car and over 37,000 (almost 12%) of Ealing’s population had reduced mobility. It must therefore be remembered that PTALS do not reflect accessibility for those people who cannot access public transport easily.

3.16 The LTDS listed the top five barriers to using public transport in 2014 as:

− Overcrowded services − Cost of tickets − Slow journey times − Unreliable services − Concern about antisocial behaviour

1 Core Accessibility Indicators, Department for Transport 2009

Page 8 of 114 3.20 The table below shows Ealing’s modal split compared to other West London Boroughs.

West London Boroughs Mode Share Taxi/ Car/ Borough Rail LUL Bus Cycle Walk Other Motorcycl Ealing 2% 8% 16% 1% 42% 3% 28% Brent 2% 9% 17% 1% 40% 1% 30% Hammersmith 3% 16% 16% 2% 21% 4% 39% & Fulham Harrow 1% 6% 13% 1% 51% 1% 27% Hillingdon 1% 6% 9% 1% 56% 1% 25% Hounslow 3% 5% 14% Negligible 46% 5% 27%

3.21 There are 664,000 trips per day originating in Ealing. This is the highest number of trips generated in West London and the third highest in outer London.

Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) and Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) during a Panel meeting

Page 9 of 114 PUBLIC TRANSPORT ACCESSIBILITY LEVELS (PTALS) IN LONDON BOROUGH OF EALING

Page 10 of 114 EALING PASSENGER TRANSPORT USERS’ GROUP 3.39 John Gashion (Co-optee) explained the role of the Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group (EPTUG). EPTUG was formed around the millennium by John Beeston, who has been its Chair ever since and had also served as a co-opted member of Ealing Council’s previous Transport Standing Scrutiny Panel. John Gashion is one of the original members and the current Vice Chairman. His specialisation is buses but is quite knowledgeable on the railway matters in this area.

3.40 The organisation is self-supporting, mainly from its members’ subscriptions (£5 per year) but recruitment of new members is challenging particularly amongst younger people. EPTUG has had a stand at the local carnivals and open days but this has now stopped due to the increasing costs. More recently, the Chairman's monthly column in the Ealing Gazette has produced a few new members but the column is about to come to an end. EPTUG tends to adhere to its title so does not get involved in cycling, walking or pedestrian routes.

John Gashion (Co-optee) addressing the Panel at the first meeting

3.41 The presentation further highlighted EPTUG’s concerns around:

− Chiltern Rail – lack of a metro service − Piccadilly Line – overcrowding on the Heathrow branch − Crossrail – capacity and fares − The Greenford Rail Branch − High Speed Rail (HS2) – bus connection issues − Lack of uptake on bus proposals to TfL − Bus links in relation to the reshaping of North West London medical services − The lack of democratic accountability in TfL

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Key Issues • Acknowledged the valuable role that the Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group played in this borough.

• Queried when an appropriate West Ealing shuttle service would be in place and were advised that the service would commence in January 2017. Though the service would still only have two trains per hour it was expected that there would be no more than five minutes’ wait at the West Ealing interchange. However, Members felt that a better service could be in place and that Councillors and officers should work together on achieving this.

• Expressed concern at the lack of transport accessibility in the Norwood Green ward as the area had seen the addition of several new schools and housing to the local infrastructure yet no bus service at all went through some parts of the ward. The lack of service to Tentelow Lane/Armstrong Way was an area of particular concern.

• Questioned whether an estimated timescale was in place yet for a bus connection between Southall Broadway (west of South Road) and Southall Rail Station. There was concern that this would only be implemented once Crossrail and/or the Southall Gasworks/Waterside project were active and this was considered to be too far into the future.

• Observed that as well as lacking north to south routes, there was also a paucity of diagonal routes within the Borough. Officers agreed and would look into this with Transport for London.

• Recognised the lack of transport accessibility in the local deprivation levels. There was a desperate need for new housing but most recent housing that had been built was in poor scoring PTAL locations. It was contended that there needed to be a more holistic approach to housing and public transport accessibility.

• Learnt that deprivation was a factor and the transport service officers liaised with the planning colleagues on this issue. Northolt certainly had concerning areas of linked deprivation and poor transport accessibility. The feasibility of mapping transport accessibility to areas of deprivation within the borough would be looked into more closely.

• Noted that PTALS did not tell the full story because whilst these indicated the level of transport available to take the public ‘somewhere’, that somewhere might not always be the place that most people wanted to get to.

Page 12 of 114 • Asked when the Great Western franchise would be up for renewal and were advised that this would not be until the early 2020s so was responsible for maintaining the lines until then.

• Asked how much Council money was being invested in the bridge widening scheme for Southall Gasworks/Waterside.

RAIL CONNECTIVITY IN THE BOROUGH 3.42 At the second meeting, the Panel received presentations from Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager), Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner), Georgina Barretta (Borough Engagement Manager (West), Transport for London), Ian Brightmore (Stage 2 Delivery Manager, MTR Crossrail), Sarah Kelly (Regional Station Manager East, Great West Railway) Tom Peirpoint (Regional Development Manager, Great West Railway) and Kieran Taylor (Principal Transport Planner, Hounslow Council), on rail connectivity in the borough.

Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager) and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) providing an overview of rail connectivity

Background 3.43 Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager), Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) explained that Ealing has quite an extensive rail and Underground (Tube) network predominately arranged on a radial basis to and from central London. The Central, District and Piccadilly lines as well as the Heathrow Express, Heathrow Connect, Great Western Railway, Chiltern and London Overground all serve stations within the borough. However, whilst there are strong east-west, radial connections, there are limitations on north-south, orbital connections to other parts of

Page 13 of 114 west London to and from Ealing. The network coverage is best in the east and central of the borough with most of these areas being within a 12- minute walk (960 metres) of at least one station. However, in the west the rail and tube networks do not provide good coverage (see Map 1).

3.17 Although in recent years there have been improvements in physical access to public transport, problems of inadequate stops and particularly stations remain. Currently, 11 of the London Underground Limited (LUL) stations within the borough are without step free access. The table below shows the usage of these non-step free stations:

Table 1 – Usage of LUL Stations Without Step Free Access Usage Change in usage LUL Station (Million Per Annum) 2011-2014 North Acton 5.68 22.40% Northolt 4.99 16.66% Northfields 4.21 11.08% Hanger Lane 3.84 14.29% South Ealing 3.70 11.45% Ealing Common 3.57 9.85% Perivale 2.34 12.50% Chiswick Park 2.39 21.32% Park Royal 1.98 25.32% West Acton 1.67 3.09% North Ealing 0.89 -5.32%

3.18 Greenford Station was made step free in October 2015 and feasibility designs have been drawn up for North Acton, Northolt, Northfields and Perivale Stations. However, local physical restraints and particularly costs are significant barriers to achieving full accessibility at the remaining stations. The most likely next station to be resolved will be North Acton where a detailed next stage of design work is out to tender. Even where buses, trains, stops and stations are accessible in themselves, for many who cannot get to the stops or stations independently, the system remains out of reach.

3.44 Rail and Tube journeys account for 10% of trips starting in Ealing, and are split 2% and 8% of trips respectively. The table below shows Ealing’s modal split compared to the west and outer London borough averages.

Rail/Tube Mode Share Comparison Borough Rail Tube Ealing 2% 8% West London 2% 8% Outer London 4% 4%

3.45 There are 49,280 daily tube trips and 12,320 daily rail trips per day out of an all modes total of 616,000 trips per day originating in Ealing.

Page 14 of 114 3.46 Due to the very high costs associated with new rail/tube stations and extensions, there need to be significant levels of either new or existing development to satisfy the challenging business case requirements. Railway proposals would be compared to proposals in other areas for the benefits and disbenefits. Any new rail infrastructure is also likely to require taking land from existing buildings and/or green space. Whilst tunneling may be a method of reducing impacts on surface uses, the costs are extremely high with planning and construction taking several years to complete (see Crossrail and High Speed 2 examples).

3.47 In recent years therefore, Ealing officers have focused on improving the reliability and frequency of services on the existing networks. For example, officers helped to negotiate four trains per hour through Hanwell Station as part of the Crossrail plans. As train paths (capacity) get filled up, future enhancements could be investigated for lengthening trains to provide more seats. This approach has been used on London Overground (North London Line). However, stations may need to be modified to accommodate longer trains, particularly where platforms require lengthening.

3.48 Ealing is set to benefit from two new railways with enhanced stations currently being designed to serve the borough, Crossrail and High Speed 2. There are also proposals for possible future rail links between Southall and Brentford plus Hounslow to Old Oak Common via Acton.

High Speed 2 Railway 3.49 The government is promoting the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway to provide a new link between London and Birmingham (phase one) with extensions also proposed to Leeds and Manchester (phase two). The total cost of HS2 Phase 1 is estimated at £42.6 billion.

3.50 Within LB Ealing HS2 would be in a tunnel from East Acton to the boundary with Hillingdon at Northolt broadly following the alignment of the Central line, West Ruislip branch (see Map 2). A new station in Hammersmith and Fulham is proposed on the current site of the Old Oak Common railway depot (immediately to the east of the borough boundary at Old Oak Lane). Officers are working with schemes promoters HS2 Ltd, to minimise the impacts of construction and operation on local residents and businesses. A Hybrid Bill to attain consent for this scheme will be going to the House of Lords this autumn. Construction is due to begin in 2017 and last until completion of phase one in 2026 and 2033 for Phase Two.

Other Future Rail Infrastructure 3.51 Two new railway projects with alignments through London Borough of Ealing are being promoted by Hounslow Council. Kieran Taylor (Principal Transport Planner, Hounslow Council) also attended the meeting and provided details of these projects to the Panel.

3.52 The first is a proposal to introduce passenger rail services on the freight railway line between Southall and Brentford (circled on Map 1). This project would require track and signalling works to provide a three train an hour

Page 15 of 114 ‘shuttle’ service from Southall station (and Crossrail services) to the development area beside the A4 Great West Road. The estimated cost of this project is over £40,000,000.

3.53 The second proposal is to provide passenger rail services between Hounslow to Old Oak Common using the ‘Kew curve’ alignment currently used by freight trains to provide a link between the ‘Hounslow Loop’ railway line (including Brentford) to the NLL to connect with Crossrail and HS2 (see Map 2). This proposal would provide additional services to South Acton and Acton Central. However, the level crossings adjacent to these two stations would also be affected. The estimated cost of this project is around £20,000,000.

Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) presenting to the Panel

3.54 TfL is currently planning and designing a second new railway in tunnels across London, Crossrail 2. This will link south west London to north east London via central London with stations at Victoria and Tottenham Court Road and could be operational by 2030. This ‘Metro’ route is expected to cost £27 billion in total. Whilst a longer, ‘Regional’ option running from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire to Epsom in Surrey, passing through central London via stations, is estimated to cost £32 billion.

Tube Services 3.55 Ealing is served by three Tube lines, the Central, District and Piccadilly services (see Map 1).

3.56 The Central line consists of two branches within LB Ealing, the Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip branches which are joined at a junction to the west of North Acton station. The Ealing Broadway branch includes West

Page 16 of 114 Acton and, at its terminus, Ealing Broadway, stations. The West Ruislip branch includes Hanger Lane, Perivale, Greenford and Northolt stations within LB Ealing. The Central lines connects Ealing to central and east London and other significant stations on this route include Shepherds Bush, Oxford Circus, Bank and Stratford.

3.57 The District line consists of the Ealing Broadway branch only within the borough and serves Chiswick Park, Acton Town, Ealing Common and Ealing Broadway. The District line connects Ealing to south west London (Richmond and Wimbledon), central London (including direct trains to Gatwick Airport from Victoria Station) plus east London. New rolling stock offering more space and walk-through carriages have been introduced on the District line within the last two years. This will be followed by a signaling upgrade soon as part of TfL’s Four Lines Modernisation programme. When these improvements are complete by 2023, the capacity of the District line will increase by 24%, which means it will be able to carry about 10,000 more passengers an hour. The extra capacity improves the attractiveness to users to commute further and more often on this service.

Laura Compton (Crossrail Interface Manager, Great Western Railway) addressing the Panel

3.58 The Piccadilly line has two branches within the borough, the Heathrow and Uxbridge branches and these join at a junction to the west of Acton Town station. The Piccadilly line stations within the borough are Acton Town, South Ealing and Northfields (Heathrow branch) and Ealing Common, North Ealing and Park Royal (Uxbridge branch). A number of Piccadilly line stations lie just outside the borough boundary but serve our residents. These include Boston Manor (Heathrow branch), Alperton, Sudbury Town and Sudbury Hill (all Uxbridge branch). The Heathrow

Page 17 of 114 branch suffers from extra overcrowding in addition to peak hour commuters due to large numbers of airport passengers using it from other parts of London to access Heathrow Airport.

3.59 On the deep tube lines there is also a plan to develop one signaling system and new train fleet, with walk-through, air-cooled carriages. These will be introduced first on the Piccadilly line from the early 2020s (dates to be confirmed) and, following this, on the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines.

3.60 Numbers of tube passengers have generally been increasing across the borough with an average 15% increase from 2007 to 2015, shown in Table 4 above. Growth has been particularly strong among stations in the north of the borough with Hanger Lane showing a 34.3% increase. However, growth has been small on the Piccadilly Line (0.5% at Northfields) whilst there have been decreases at Chiswick Park and Ealing Broadway. There were 63,372,300 entries and exits for all stations within the borough for 2015 in total with passengers using Ealing Broadway accounting for around 27% of this total. The number of tube passengers tends to be higher than rail passengers. This is mainly due to the higher service frequencies and more extensive network offering more destinations thus making the underground a more convenient service.

Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) shadowing a tube driver

Page 18 of 114 Night Tube 3.61 The first Night Tube services were launched on the Central and Victoria lines on Friday 19 August 2016. Thereafter, night services on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines commenced in the autumn. The Night Tube offers a 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan during the launch of the night tube

3.62 On the Central line, trains run approximately every 10 minutes between White City and Leytonstone and approximately every 20 minutes between Ealing Broadway to White City and Leytonstone to Loughton/ Hainault. There is currently no service between North Acton and West Ruislip, Loughton and Epping and Woodford and Hainault.

Cllr Aysha Raza at the launch of the night tube

Page 19 of 114 3.63 The Piccadilly line trains run approximately every 10 minutes between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5. There is no service on the Terminal 4 loop, or between Acton Town and Uxbridge.

3.64 There are also plans to expand the night time service to parts of the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines once the relevant modernisation programmes have been completed. Additionally, services could operate on parts of the London Overground in 2017 and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021.

Rail Services 3.65 The Great West Mainline railway runs through the London Borough of Ealing and the Great West Railway (GWR) provides both long-distance and local train services on this line into London Paddington (see Map 1). Local services run through the west London suburbs and in the Thames Valley towards Reading and Oxford. GWR serves Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall as intermediate stations within the borough. There are around eight trains an hour between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington Monday to Saturday with a journey time of around ten minutes.

3.66 Train services between Paddington, Ealing borough and Heathrow Airport are provided by Heathrow Connect. This is a joint venture between GWR and Heathrow Express. Heathrow Connect also serves the same intermediate stations within the borough as GWR. This service runs two trains an hour Monday to Saturday and one train an hour on Sundays.

3 3.67 The Greenford Branch Line is a 2 ⁄4-mile (4.4 km) Network Rail suburban railway line in west London.. It runs northerly from a triangular junction with the Great Western Main Line west of West Ealing to a central bay platform at Greenford station which is also on the London Underground Central line. A triangular junction near Greenford connects to the Acton- Northolt Line (formerly the New North Main Line). The line serves mainly the suburbs of Ealing and Greenford. It is one of the few remaining true branch lines in the Greater London area. The passenger service is provided by Great Western Railway. Trains from the branch continue on the Great Western Main Line to reach Paddington, typically in 24 minutes, and call at the three intermediate stations: West Ealing, Ealing Broadway and Acton Main Line.

3.68 London Overground provides train services on the North London Line (NLL) running through the east of the borough (see Map 1 below). The NLL has stations at South Acton and Acton Central and serves north and east London (including West Hampstead, Highbury & Islington and Stratford stations) plus south west London to Richmond. There are four trains an hour in each direction Monday to Saturday. The train car sets were lengthened from three cars to four cars in 2011 and again from four cars to five cars in 2015. A new station is being planned at Acton Wells adjacent to North Acton with a pedestrian link to the Old Oak Common

Page 20 of 114 Interchange for Crossrail/HS2. This station is currently scheduled for completion in 2026.

3.69 The Chiltern Railway serves Northolt Park station with services to London Marylebone, Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe. There is one train an hour to London Marylebone Monday to Saturday with a journey time of around 20 minutes. Northolt Park station will be refreshed with repainting and additional signage during 2017.

3.70 Chiltern Railway has been lobbying for access to the future Crossrail/ HS2 Interchange station at Old Oak Common. A business case for this proposal is currently being investigated by HS2 Ltd and will report back on its viability in 2017.

3.71 Investment in improving train services and capacity continues. Great Western Railway have recently signed a multi-million-pound deal with train manufacturer Bombardier and leasing company Porterbrook for 37 Class 387 four-carriage electric trains. These will join the eight already ordered by GWR. This brand new fleet of trains will replace their diesel Turbo trains that operate in the Thames Valley. The trains can be run in four, eight- and 12-carriage formations; with the latter providing 97 more seats per train than the longest Turbo train today. The first of the Class 387 trains (GWR Electrostars) were introduced on new Hayes & Harlington to London Paddington services in September 2016. This will help to provide an additional 1,400 seats at the busiest times every day for commuters. The Greenford Branch Line service became a shuttle service terminating in a bay platform at West Ealing to accommodate this change and the future Crossrail services.

3.72 Rail passenger numbers have increased dramatically by an average of 89% from 2006/2007 to 2014/2015 as shown in the table below. The North London Line (London Overground) and Greenford branch line in particular have seen particularly large rises notably South Acton (139.9%) and South Greenford (233%). Total rail passengers at stations within Ealing Borough numbered 15,127,554 during 2014/2015, whilst passengers at Ealing Broadway accounted for 38% of this total.

Rail Station Usage Station Name 2006/2007 2014/2015 Percentage Entries and Entries and Change Exits Exits Acton Central 1,334,016 2,940,598 120.43 Acton Main Line 309,456 454,106 46.74 Castle Bar Park 97,263 180,504 85.58 Drayton Green 75,414 152,710 102.50 Ealing Broadway #3,479,699 #5,817,932 67.20 Greenford #85,234 #232,160 172.38 Hanwell 324,857 449,490 38.37

Page 21 of 114 Station Name 2006/2007 2014/2015 Percentage Entries and Entries and Change Exits Exits Northolt Park 221,451 201,254 -9.12 South Acton 367,851 882,356 139.87 South Greenford 14,207 47,324 233.10 Southall 1,558,579 2,422,096 55.40 West Ealing 1,078,954 1,347,024 24.85 Source: Office for Rail Regulation # Rail passenger ticket sales only

3.73 Passengers can also access Gatwick Airport changing at Clapham Junction by using rail services operated through London Borough of Hounslow by SouthWest Trains on the Hounslow Loop line from Brentford or Kew Bridge stations.

Key Issues • Specified Council officers and their colleagues in the various transport providers needed to think laterally to ensure good connectivity in future. There needed to be improvements to existing infrastructure issues whilst also looking right now at future impacts and demands.

• Expressed concern that fares to Heathrow on Crossrail services had still not been finalised. It was explained that an announcement was expected from the Mayor’s office soon and that Crossrail was also seeking to extend oyster card travel to Reading.

HOUNSLOW COUNCIL’S PERSPECTIVE 3.74 Kieran Taylor (Principal Transport Planner, Hounslow Council) debriefed the Panel on the work that was being undertaken in Hounslow on improving connectivity within the West London sub-region.

3.75 He explained that two of the proposed schemes would impact directly upon Ealing. These were a rail link between Brentford and Southall and a Hounslow to Old Oak Common (via Acton) extension on the London Overground network.

3.76 The Southall to Brentford link would be a three train per hour service between Brentford Golden Mile and the Southall Crossrail station. Currently there would be no further boarding/alighting stops between these two stations (a 4.9km distance taking approximately 8 minutes).

Page 22 of 114 Map 1

Page 23 of 114 Map 2 – High Speed 2 Railway and Proposed Hounslow to Old Oak Common Link

Page 24 of 114 3.77 This was a particularly attractive scheme to Hounslow, as it would allow the borough to benefit from the expedited commuting advantages that Crossrail would bring. The scheme would also largely make use of existing infrastructure that was currently only used for freight trains. The most expensive element of the scheme would likely arise from the need for an extra platform at Southall.

Kieran Taylor (Principal Transport Planner, Hounslow Council) addressing the Panel

3.78 The cost of the whole scheme was in the region of £40m and this includes a variety of elements including a new platform at Southall, double tracking of entire route, new signalling and new station building in Brentford.

3.79 Hounslow Council was currently in discussion with TfL regarding a London Overground extension and the possibilities of Old Oak Common being the link point at which an extension starting at Hounslow and travelling through Isleworth and Brentford would join the rest of the network.

Key Issues • Expressed concern regarding the proposed Brentford to Southall link in that a schedule of three commuter trains per hour would be difficult to achieve. Members felt that two commuter trains per hour would be a more realistic ambition as both commuter and freight trains would be using the same track and the pinch-point underneath the M4 where the line would need to remain as a single track would potentially lead to delays.

• Advised that Hounslow had paid Network Rail to do a full Governance of Railway Investment Projects stage 2 pre-feasibility study including

Page 25 of 114 elements such as the scheduling and their estimates were fully researched. It was also advised that full modern signalling equipment would be in place which would alleviate any capacity issues on the line.

• Queried the high costs associated with the Brentford to Southall link as most of the infrastructure required was already in place. It was explained that the largest cost would be the need for a new platform at Southall Crossrail Station. There would also be significant costs associated with the station at the Brentford end and the conversion to twin tracking throughout the route (other than the M4 pinch-point).

• Asked what Ealing as a borough could gain from a Brentford to Southall link. It was stated that this would provide Ealing with stronger ‘orbital’ links which were currently lacking – linking a major new residential development area with a major employment area. A case study had been undertaken which, amongst various justifications for the project, indicated that as a benefit outer London car usage would be reduced. The Panel would be provided with a copy of the case study.

• Agreed that the orbital links for Ealing were weak compared to the east to west links. With that in mind whether there was scope for further orbital links in the borough. Heard that there were possibilities around Ealing joining the Hounslow studies being undertaken and that there were opportunities around orbital connections should Councillors be interested in considering it further – but it needed to be recognised that rail developments were very expensive and disruptive during the construction phase (and may be subject to objections from due to compulsory purchases from affected property and landowners).

• Asked whether there was any danger that the Southall to Brentford link would make Hounslow borough a business hub to the detriment of Ealing. Learnt that studies estimated that the opening of the link would deliver 19,000 travel minutes saved for residents of Hounslow, and would also deliver 16,000 travel minutes saved for residents, thus it would provide a significant boost to residents of both boroughs.

• Expressed concern at the disruption required to adapt the Southall to Brentford line such as the need to consult with landowners around the track but reassured that the land required for the adaption was already owned by Network Rail.

• Asked for confirmation on how long it would take to complete the Southall to Brentford link if it went ahead and it was advised that in a best case scenario it would take four years. Heard that the local residents’ concerns were mainly around signalling and capacity issues and the problematic nature of the M4 tunnel pinch-point.

• Questioned whether locally based businesses that would benefit from the opening of the Southall to Brentford link, such as Sky Television;

Page 26 of 114 could help to fund the cost. It was advised that officers at Hounslow were looking into this type of contributory funding.

TRANSPORT PARTNERS’ PERSPECTIVE 3.80 The various transport partners then addressed the Panel on some of the rail connectivity issues. Georgina Barretta (Borough Engagement Manager (West), Transport for London) explained about the work being undertaken by TfL in improving connectivity across the borough.

3.81 She stated that the Night Tube had been launched and early reports indicated that it had been a success with only 15 complaints registered so far.

3.82 The TfL officers provided a brief summary of the Crossrail project and the associated works in this borough.

Georgina Barretta (Borough Engagement Manager (West), Transport for London) addressing the Panel

Crossrail Services (now renamed Elizabeth Line) Outline 3.83 The Elizabeth line is a new railway, stretching over 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It will stop at 40 accessible stations, 10 newly built and 30 newly upgraded, and serve approximately 200 million people each year.

3.84 The line, currently being constructed by Crossrail Ltd, will be named after the UK’s longest serving monarch when the central tunnels open in December 2018. Services will be operated under a concession by MTR Crossrail. The total cost of this project is £14.8 billion.

Page 27 of 114 3.85 Crossrail will take over both GWR local services and Heathrow Connect into London Paddington in May 2018 (see Map 2). From January 2019 Crossrail will extend current train paths through a central London tunnel to provide direct services across London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in to the east with intermediate stops underground including Bond Street and Canary Wharf.

Key Messages − London needs more and better rail services to support its rapidly rising population. This means building new rail links and improving existing suburban routes so that we can support new homes, jobs and growth.

− Stretching from Reading and Heathrow in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the Elizabeth line will change the way people travel around London and the south east.

− When the railway fully opens it will represent a much-needed increase in central London’s rail capacity, carrying over half a million passengers per day. It will serve 40 stations, with up to 24 trains per hour in each direction, giving around 1.5 million people better access to the jobs and opportunities of London’s main employment centres, and adding an estimated £42bn to the UK economy.

− Once fully open, a fleet of brand new fleet of 66 205-metre long trains will run on the line, featuring nine walk-through carriages, air conditioning, CCTV and real-time travel information. The trains are being built by Bombardier in Derby.

− All 40 stations will be step-free from street to platform level. The 10 newly built stations from Abbey Wood to Paddington will be step-free from street to train.

Timeline May 2015 - The Liverpool Street (mainline) to Shenfield stopping service became the first section of operational railway, currently operated as ‘TfL Rail’ by MTR Crossrail. May 2017 - The first new train enters passenger service between Liverpool Street Main Line and Shenfield. Dec 2017 - MTR take over as SFO at stations between Acton Mainline and Taplow (except Slough). May 2018 - TfL Rail service opens between Paddington (National Rail) and Heathrow Terminal 4, replacing the existing Heathrow Connect service and part of the Great Western inner suburban service. Dec 2018 - The Elizabeth line opens between Paddington and Abbey Wood; Liverpool Street to Shenfield; Paddington Main Line to Heathrow Terminal 4. May 2019 - The Elizabeth line through service extends from Shenfield to Paddington.

Page 28 of 114 Dec 2019 - The Elizabeth line is fully open, extending to Reading and Heathrow Terminal.

Some of the Crossrail works

Fares 3.86 Elizabeth line fares will be fully integrated into the TfL structure with passengers able to use Oyster and contactless payments. TfL fares are set by the Mayor of London and within the London boundary; the fares will be in line with TfL zones.

3.87 All TfL concessions and discounts that currently apply to London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway, and London Overground will apply on the rail services transferring to TfL. This will include:

− Free travel for under 11s accompanied by an adult − Lower ZIP photocard fares for under 16s − Free travel for customers with a 60+ London Oyster photocard, Freedom Pass or Veterans Oyster photocard

3.88 Customers can already use Oyster and contactless payments to Shenfield and is likely to be rolled out for journeys to Reading.

3.89 It is expected that Elizabeth line fares to Heathrow Airport will be similar to those currently charged on the Heathrow Connect. Precise fares will be confirmed closer to Elizabeth line services to Heathrow Airport coming into operation.

Page 29 of 114 Future Capacity Provisions 3.90 Some provision has been made in the design for future lengthening of trains and for higher frequency services. The basic construction of the central section station platforms makes provision for 240m long trains, compared to the 205m that will be fitted out for the operation of trains when the Elizabeth Line opens. Some of the tunnel infrastructure, including the signalling and ventilation, has been constructed with provision for increased frequency, potentially up to 30 trains per hour in the future. However, there would need to be a strong business case as increases to both length and frequency of services would require significant further investment, including additional infrastructure on the network rail tracks either side of the central tunnel and more carriages/trains.

The Ealing Picture 3.91 The introduction of Crossrail services in January 2019 is expected to bring significant accessibility benefits to the five Crossrail stations in the borough. All of the stations (Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall) will be step-free and the enhanced service pattern (up to ten trains per hour) alongside significantly improved journey times into London will raise the PTALS in many parts of the borough. For example, the journey time from Southall to the West End will drop down to 19 minutes with no change required. Outside of Crossrail, however, there remain Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park and South Greenford stations that still do not have step free access.

Timetable Peak Services from Stations in London Borough of Ealing

Station Peak Other peak Off peak Other off peak services services Southall 10 - 8 - Hanwell 4 - 4 - 2 2 West Ealing 4 4 (to Greenford) (to Greenford) Ealing Broadway 10 2 8 2 Acton Mainline 4 - 4 -

3.92 The full timetable, including destinations, will be confirmed closer to the start of operations.

3.93 Crossrail is predicted to generate significant increases in passenger numbers for the stations it serves. For example, at Ealing Broadway there will be 21.15 million passengers by 2026 a 25.9% increase on 2015 levels (see table below), this and further future increases have been accounted for with a capacity of 27 million passengers per year.

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Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) and Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) at the Ealing Civic Society Lecture: Crossrail and its Impact in Ealing that was held in Ealing Town Hall

Tube Station Usage Entries & Entries & Percentage Station Name Exits Exits Change 2007 2015 Acton Town 5,770,000 6,235,000 8.06 Chiswick Park 2,220,000 2,148,500 -3.22 Ealing -3.94 Broadway *17,530,000 *16,840,000 Ealing Common 3,420,000 3,516,600 2.82 Greenford *3,520,000 *4,716,500 33.99 Hanger Lane 2,940,000 3,949,500 34.34 North Acton 4,990,000 6,106,300 22.37 North Ealing 870,000 892,600 2.60 Northfields 4,060,000 4,080,100 0.50 Northolt 3,410,000 5,026,000 47.39 Park Royal 1,590,000 2,019,400 27.01 Perivale 1,970,000 2,405,600 22.11 South Ealing 3,450,000 3,699,800 7.24 West Acton 1,560,000 1,736,800 11.33 Source TfL *Includes rail passengers

3.94 The Council has also secured £7.3 million from TfL to invest in the areas around each of the five stations through Crossrail Complementary Measures (CCM) funding. This will see improvements to public realm and

Page 31 of 114 wider public transport connectivity through revisions to bus infrastructure and more integrated station frontages.

Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) speaking at the Ealing Civic Society Lecture on Crossrail

3.95 The Greenford to Paddington service would terminate at West Ealing from early 2017 whist Crossrail work was undertaken on the track. Greenford residents travelling to Central London would need to alight at West Ealing and swap services.

3.96 Ian Brightmore (Stage 2 Delivery Manager, MTR Crossrail) explained that there were sharp bend issues on the Chiltern Lines which would be unnavigable for larger trains. Also, the signalling was very old stock and the upgrade would be prohibitively expensive.

3.97 Andrew Dickinson (Regional Performance Manager, Great Western Railway) advised the Panel that there were opportunities around the future of the Greenford Line, such as offering later train services and a Sunday service.

3.98 The Panel was in agreement that the lack of later trains and Sunday service options were a concern, and proceeding with such opportunities would be welcomed. The Panel was keen to know what sort of help Great Western Railway would require to ensure that these opportunities were taken forward.

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Ian Brightmore (Stage 2 Delivery Manager, MTR Crossrail) addressing the Panel

3.99 The current franchise would be in place until 2019. A consultation process was due to take place in 2018 for future refranchising. Great Western Railway and the Council would need to work together to ensure that additional monies were available to help fund future works.

Andrew Dickinson (Regional Performance Manager, Great Western Railway) addressing the Panel

Page 33 of 114 3.100 Cllr Bassam Mahfouz (Portfolio Holder for Transport, Environment and Leisure) was present for some of the meeting and commented on the sound work that was being undertaken with partner organisations. He also emphasised the importance of these relationships to the future of connectivity improvements within the borough.

Cllr Bassam Mahfouz (Portfolio Holder for Transport, Environment and Leisure) speaking at the second meeting

Key Issues • Highlighted that with many areas now being served by the night tube, would it not be appropriate to make some of the night buses (all of which headed outwards from the centre of London) into orbital links, connecting the outskirts throughout the night.

• Heard that a review was being undertaken in relation to night bus links, with priority corridors being looked at initially. Research had indicated that only 9% of West London bus travel was used to alight in central London, with 78% of travel staying within the local area.

• Concerned that commuters who used the service from Drayton Green onwards experienced many issues with the service and that custom from Drayton Green was already noticeably diminished due to this. Of particular concern was the lack of information that had been provided to regular users of the changes to the service.

• Expressed concern that that the reduction in use of the Greenford Line resulting from these works would lead to studies which would use the lack of usage as justification for discontinuing services.

Page 34 of 114 • Queried about the engineering work on the Central Line especially when these might take place at the weekend and whether this would affect the night tube service. Learnt that there would be a replacement bus service provided when any engineering work undertaken affects the night tube service.

• Questioned what work was being undertaken to help transport users with disability issues. Heard that step-free access at North Acton station was being prepared for. The area around the station was now ‘booming’ and it was clear that the station was no longer sufficient. A brief was in place and it was just awaiting the sign-off of the ODPC (Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation).

• Asked about the cost of providing the step-free access and how the funding for it was being arranged. Learnt that the final cost would be about £12,000,000 and detailed funding arrangements would be provided in due course.

• Questioned whether the Chiltern Lines could be used to form part of an orbital service to assist the Ealing residents. Heard that Chiltern had put forward a proposal for a direct link into HS2 and Crossrail at Old Oak Common and this was currently being investigated by HS2.

• Asked if TfL had plans in place should Gatwick get the go-ahead for runway expansion and, if so, how would West London be linked up with Gatwick for faster connections. Heard that plans were being prepared for this possibility pending the outcome of the impending government decision on airport expansion.

No. Proposed Recommendation R1 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to ensure that the Greenford spur line is made more reliable to accommodate the increased population in Greenford. R2 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to explore new routes and links onto other main line tracks e.g. Chiltern line and into Waterloo via Brentford R3 The present connections to Gatwick Airport are poor compared to those for Heathrow Airport. The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to investigate an orbital rail link in connecting all the London airports thus increasing capacity and reducing pollution.

Page 35 of 114 WALKING AND PEDESTRIAN ROUTES 3.101 At the third meeting, Susannah Miller (Project Co-ordinator, Quietways, Canal & River Trust), Chris Bunting (Assistant Director, Leisure), Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager), Justin O’Neill (Highways Maintenance and Network Manager), Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) and Louise Taylor (Public Health Specialist) made presentations on the various aspects of walking and pedestrian routes in the borough to the Panel.

The third Panel meeting

3.102 As part of this review, Cllr Ayesha Raza (Chair), Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair), Cllr Karam Mohan and Cllr Gurmit Mann (in part) undertook the following site visits in Southall on 29 November 2016:

- Blair Peach Primary School, Beaconsfield Road, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 1DR to observe their walking bus for the 8.45am school start.

- Grand Union Canal (from behind the school to Uxbridge Road) to see the unchanged and the transformed towpaths along the canal. Susannah Miller joined the Members at this site.

- Southall Broadway to see the unchanged and the highly acclaimed revamped pavements.

- South Road to see the relatively narrow unaltered and restored pavements in existence.

Page 36 of 114 Background 3.103 The quality of the roads and pavements in the borough is also integral to how people access public transport. Ealing Council uses independent surveyors to carry out an annual inspection of the standard of every road and footpath in the Borough. Each road is given a condition rating out of 100 and the highest scoring roads qualify for resurfacing within available budgets. Of the total road renewal budget for this year, the Council will spend £2.9million on resurfacing roads and £570,000 on pavements. In addition, TfL has contributed £766,000 to repair sections of main roads in the borough that it manages.

3.104 The Panel gathered that walking is the most important form of transport because it forms a part of every journey (for able bodied people). Apart from ‘pure’ walking journeys, walking is the most popular method to reach bus stops, rail and tube stations. Importantly, it should be remembered that people have to walk to their cars in car parks or parking bays and even their cycles when they park them.

3.105 Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier. Although walking is underrated as a form of exercise it is ideal for people of all ages and fitness levels who want to be more active. It can also help build stamina, burn excess calories and give a healthier heart.

3.106 Regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers.

3.107 To get the health benefits from walking, it needs to done at least moderate intensity, this will raise the heart rate and make breathing faster and you feel warmer. One way to tell if you're working at this level is if you can still talk, but you can't sing the words to a song.

3.108 Activity can be broken up into 10-minute chunks, provided it is undertaken at a moderate intensity. Examples of ways to include walking into daily routines include: − walking all or part of your journey to work − walking to the shops − using the stairs instead of the lift − leaving the car behind for short journeys − walking the children to school − doing a regular walk with a friend − going for a stroll with family or friends after dinner

3.109 Walking can be done almost anywhere, at any time, and in any weather with appropriate clothing.

3.110 The new Mayor of London wants to place an increased emphasis on walking with a ‘feet first approach’ and a ‘Healthy Streets’ initiative to make streets safe, pleasant and less vehicle dominated.

Page 37 of 114 3.111 Pedestrian trips account for almost one-third (31.1%) of all trips starting in the borough. The table below shows that Ealing’s walking mode share is higher than both the west and outer London borough averages.

Walking Mode Share Comparison Area Ealing 31.1% West London 29.9% Outer London 28.0% Source: TfL

3.112 There are a number of websites and ‘apps’ such as www.walkit.com and www.google.com that provide walking routes (both mapped and written directions), journey times, distances and calories burned. The TfL journey planner www.tfl.gov.uk also shows walking information (both between public transport stops and walking only journeys).

3.113 There are 191,576 daily trips on foot compared to an all mode total of 616,000 trips per day originating in Ealing (see graph 1 below). Walking is the second most popular travel choice in Ealing after car travel. Currently there are more pedestrian trips in Ealing than rail, underground, bus, taxi, motorcycle and cycle trips combined (29.2% or 179,872 trips).

Graph 1 – Mode Share Breakdown

Source: TfL

3.114 Pedestrian trips in Ealing are at their highest level in recent years (see graph 2 below). There were 181,980 pedestrian trips (27%) in 2005-2008 with a fall to 155,220 trips (26%) during 2008/2009-2010/2011 before increasing year on year to the latest level of 191,576 trips (31.1%). To a certain extent this

Page 38 of 114 data reflects the growing population of the borough which is approximately 3,500 more people or increasing by 1% each year.

Graph 2 – Historical Walk Trips

Source: TfL

Public Health 3.115 The “Start active, stay active: report on physical activity in the UK” and was produced in 2011 and updated in March 2016. This is a UK-wide report with guidelines on the frequency and type of physical activity required to achieve general health. The guidelines produced are grouped according to age range, and the guidelines specific to 19-64 year olds is seen below:

Physical Activity Guidelines for: Adults (19–64 years) − Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.

− Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.

− Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.

− All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

Page 39 of 114 (Individual physical and mental capabilities should be considered when interpreting the guidelines)

Louise Taylor (Public Health Specialist/Long Term Conditions & Physical Activity) addressing the Panel

3.116 It is recommended that for good general health people should walk 10,000 steps a day. The average person walks between 3,000 and 4,000 steps per day.

3.117 Being active is a lifelong health habit. It is great for preventing weight gain, lifting the mood and reducing the risk of many serious diseases such as heart disease.

3.118 Being active has a whole range of benefits when it comes to mental wellbeing including: improving self-perception and self-esteem, mood and sleep quality, and it reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue.

3.119 Physically active people have up to a 30% reduced risk of becoming depressed and staying active helps those who are depressed recover. In older people, staying active can improve cognitive function, memory, attention and processing speed, and reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

3.120 The physical improvements gained by walking can help to improve mental health too. If you feel fitter and in control of your weight then your body image and confidence can also increase.

Page 40 of 114 3.121 Walking can be great for your social life seeing friends and neighbours through more casual interaction plus knowing you have the support of people around you is a great way to start and keep going. Walking offers opportunities to make friends, encourage each other, develop a network of supportive fellow walkers and discover new walks in and around your area.

3.122 Being physically active significantly reduces the risk of several major health conditions by between 20% and 60%, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. It also helps maintain a healthy weight, improves cholesterol levels, reduces blood pressure, builds healthy muscles and bones, improves balance and reduces the risk of falls.

3.123 Regular brisk walking improves the performance of your heart, lungs and circulation. It can also lower your blood pressure. It can also reduce your risk of strokes, as well as the UK's biggest killer - heart disease. Walking will improve the flexibility and strength of joints, muscles and bones too and will reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

3.124 People do not always think of walking as exercise perhaps because it is so normal and easy that it is often taken for granted. Nevertheless, walking is a great way to get active and prevent illness and can make all the difference. It is a low impact exercise so it is easy to get involved even if you are not feeling your best.

Ealing Walks Programme 3.125 Ealing Walks Programme is commissioned by the Ealing Public Health Team as the team recognises that walking is an important means of being active. For a number of people, particularly middle/older age people, it is often the only form of activity they are comfortable in doing.

3.126 The service is delivered by the One You Ealing Service (operated by West London Mental Health Trust). The walks programme delivers a number of walks across the borough on different days and times to try and engage with as many people as possible. The walks are delivered by trained volunteers. 3.127 The reasons that people give for enjoying the walks programme include being outdoors in the fresh air, feeling safe and comfortable to participate, it is free to them and no special equipment is required, and they get a chance to socialise whilst being active.

Streets and Footways 3.128 There are over 450km (300 miles) of streets in the borough, ranging from busy town centres to quiet resident streets and lanes (see map 3). Therefore, well maintained and accessible street infrastructure is vital and fundamental to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the Ealing community. It provides access to business and local communities, helps to shape the character and quality of the local area, as well as

Page 41 of 114 influencing the quality of life of the community. It also makes an important contribution to wider Ealing Council priorities, including health and community safety.

3.129 Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 all local authorities are required to expedite the movement of traffic, including pedestrians, safely on their own and other highway networks including footways (i.e. neighbouring boroughs and the TfL Road Network).

3.130 Securing improvement in the safety and serviceability of footways, in particular network integrity and accessibility, is a necessary component for encouraging active travel, e.g. walking as an alternative to the car. It is important for the council’s maintenance strategy to positively address this. This is particularly important when considering areas of high footfall such as town centres, stations, local shops, religious centres and entertainment venues.

3.131 It is also important in determining priorities for footway maintenance to ensure that opportunities are taken to aid social inclusion, particularly improving accessibility for older and people with disabilities and also the use of prams and pushchairs. Proposed treatments may include the provision of dropped kerbs in suitable locations and textured paving adjacent to crossing points during the course of maintenance and improvement works. Overarching all the Council’s works is a statutory duty on service providers under the Equality Act 2010 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to take reasonable steps to remove or alter physical features to improve access for people with disabilities, or provide an alternative method of making services available.

3.132 People, groups of people, or organisations that can affect or be affected by the policies and actions of the authority are all stakeholders of the highway network.

3.133 In the context of the highway service, stakeholders are many and diverse and may need to be considered in different ways. They include local road users, local communities, businesses, services such as emergency services, people travelling through the area, highway maintenance service providers, and organisations that have an impact on the network such as utilities.

3.134 There are also a number of national and local interest groups that have an important part to play in raising awareness of issues important to their members. Interest groups include business groups, freight associations, pedestrian groups, cycling and motorcycling groups, disability and mobility groups, and other motoring groups.

3.135 All TfL funded transport improvement projects undertaken by the Council seek to take account and improve conditions for walking. Projects are designed as either ‘Corridors’ or ‘Neighbourhoods’ and also encompass road safety, traffic congestion relief and cycling improvements.

Page 42 of 114 Map 3 – Streets in London Borough of Ealing

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Justin O’Neill (Highways Maintenance and Network Manager) addressing the Panel

3.136 The successful Southall Broadway Boulevard (Corridor 1B) project was funded by Transport for London (£2.9m), Mayor’s Regeneration Fund (£2.5m) and Ealing Council/Developers (£0.6m).

Panel Members examining the unchanged pavement on Southall Broadway

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3.137 The Southall Broadway ‘Boulevard’ is the largest part of this and aims to have a proportionate effect on transforming the town centre. The Broadway was a very congested shopping street which had high reported numbers of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists. The scheme seeks to radically improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists by installing a series raised crossings, narrowing the carriageway and reducing the speed limit to 20 miles per hour.

3.138 The public realm improvements to Southall Broadway were conceived as part of a larger £11m scheme: the Big Southall Plan, designed to regenerate the area. By upgrading the public realm, the Big Plan aims to boost the local economy, reduce antisocial behaviour and encourage investment.

Panel Members admiring the revamped pavement on Southall Broadway

3.139 Traffic lights have been removed to reduce stop/start movements to smooth traffic and help vehicles to negotiate more easily. The street has separate zones to cater for pedestrians, crossings, buses and business needs, facilitated by central islands bus stops and loading bays which alternate along the street.

3.140 Footways have been widened to cater for the high numbers of pedestrians during peak hours. Trees, benches new lighting and bins have been implemented and will help to make the streetscape a more sociable environment.

3.141 The scheme was ‘’highly commended’’ at the London Transport Awards 2015 for the success of its innovative design and it won the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation Streets Award 2015.

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Panel members testing out the new street furniture in Southall Broadway

Southall Broadway (Before) Southall Broadway (After)

Southall Broadway (Before) Southall Broadway (After)

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3.142 The Transport Planning Service has implemented successful schemes to improve access to rail and underground stations, such as the Ealing Broadway forecourt improvements completed in 2014. This project included improved pedestrian crossing facilities and the removal of a section of wall to create a more direct walking route and reduce crowding at the station entrance. Going forward, the Crossrail Complementary Measures (CCM) projects at the five Crossrail stations (Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall) will further upgrade pedestrian access to these stations. These projects are being designed to cope with a significant increase in passengers that Crossrail (or Elizabeth Line) is expected to bring.

3.143 A key feature of these ‘station access’ type schemes is to improve and encourage pedestrian access to stations in order to reduce traffic congestion, improve road safety and create a more pleasant environment.

Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) explaining to the Panel Members about the works that have been undertaken in South Road, Southall

Parks and Open Spaces 3.144 One of the reasons people love and want to live in Ealing is that it is one of the greenest boroughs in London. Over a quarter of its land area is open space. This includes ten miles of tranquil canals and river and over 1,000 hectares of space designated as natural conservation areas. These open spaces define the historic character of Ealing and provide amazing traffic- free and diverse spaces for residents to enjoy for all sorts of activities.

3.145 Well-presented parks and green spaces provide focal points for the whole community. They are the spaces where communities come together so we want everyone to feel welcome and safe and to enjoy the wealth of

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parks and green spaces and the biodiversity that Ealing has to offer. From one of the newest and most innovative parks in the popular Northala Fields to the richly bio-diverse Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve Ealing’s green spaces are areas that local residents are rightly proud of.

3.146 Parks and green spaces are good for the mind as well as the body. Improving such spaces and ensuring appropriate provision is fundamental to making Ealing an attractive place to live, work and visit.

3.147 Much of the green space within the borough is publicly accessible. Nevertheless, while the Borough is well served by large (regional, district and local) open spaces, distribution is not even as some areas have limited access to open spaces.

3.148 The Green Spaces in Ealing are valued and well used by residents and visitors. From consultation we understand the most visited parks to be Walpole Park, Ealing Common, Lammas Park, Southall Park and Acton Park partly due to their proximity to town centres. Other data suggests that green space use is strongly influenced by where residents live.

Chris Bunting (Assistant Director of Leisure) addressing the Panel

3.149 Based on responses to the Residents Panel and other market research we estimate that there are 18 million person visits per year to Ealing's parks and green spaces. Many visitors typically use parks and green space on a weekly basis or more frequently. In 2010, 6% of park users visit daily and a further 41% use a park at least once a week.

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3.150 The table below shows the most frequent reasons given for visiting parks and green spaces.

Most Frequent Reasons for Visiting Parks and Green Spaces Reason (%) For fresh air 57 For exercise 43 To take the children out 32 To enjoy the surroundings 19 To take the children to the playground 16 To walk the dog 10 Pass through them on the way to somewhere else 7 To socialise with friends e.g. picnic 6 To play sport (e.g. football, cricket, etc.) informally 6 To visit Ealing festivals in the park 3 To visit other community events (except Ealing festival) 2 e.g. funfairs/markets To use sports facilities (e.g. a tennis court or football pitch) 2 To visit the parks permanent attractions (animal centres) 1 Other 2

3.151 Around 80% of visits to the parks and open spaces are made on foot. Significant physical barriers such as main roads and railways can make a significant difference to the ability of neighbourhoods to access space that is local to their dwellings.

3.152 Survey data indicates that a significant minority, some 18%, of the borough’s residents do not currently use parks or open spaces, whilst others restrict their use in some way. In terms of personal security, just 8% of people feel that the parks and open spaces are unsafe or very unsafe.

3.153 It is a both an Environment and Leisure service and strategic aim to improve physical access and to remove or address the barriers to usage.

3.154 The Ealing Green Space Strategy has the following overarching outcomes:

− To improve the overall quality of current provision of open spaces within the borough by having no poor quality sites as defined in the quality assessment. − To create wherever possible new publicly accessible open space in areas identified as deficient in open space through effective use of planning powers and obligations. − To improve accessibility to existing and new open spaces through effective use of transport links, creation of green chains, new entrance points and opening up of suitable restricted access open spaces. − To prioritise public safety in parks through designing out crime introducing CCTV where feasible and working collaboratively with partners, contractors and residents.

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− To maximise external funding opportunities arising from planning obligations benefits, lottery applications, partnership funding and any other opportunistic funding that supports the strategic aims and action plan.

3.155 Footpaths are a relatively expensive facility to provide in public parks but are also essential to create good access in and around the green space. Tarmac paths or other solid surfaces have the longest life span and provide the most even surfaces but have the highest impact environmentally, being non-permeable. Where suitable the Council uses a self-bonding gravel material (hoggin) instead of tarmac. This is particularly appropriate for nature conservation and rural sites. The current capital programme provides approximately £150,000 per year to renovate and replace tarmac surfaces. On average, this amount has allowed for about three parks in the borough per year to have a significant of the footpath renewed. Over 166 sites (although not all of them host tarmac), £100,000 each year would provide for a completion of the entire programme of 30- 50 years. The average lifespan of a new tarmac path is about 25 years. The current value of investment over the last seven years has started to make a good impact on the stock of tarmac paths in parks in the borough although there are still many sites where new footpath works are desperately needed.

3.156 There is a presumption against lighting in any park or open space for two reasons. Firstly, the parks and open spaces of the borough are a habitat for the wildlife that live in the borough and artificial light pollution has a proven negative effect on many species. Secondly, experience has shown that lighting in parks encourages use of the spaces at night which can lead to night time antisocial behaviour and crime in parks. Some sites have lit public rights of way across them and the Council has recently upgraded these streetlights. However, the current Council policy is not to introduce any further street lighting in parks.

3.157 Recently, Ealing Council has invested in the provision of 26 outdoor fitness areas and 23 parks now have measured exercise routes around them.

3.158 The Council is also currently installing new park signage across its parks and open spaces. Where parks are significantly large; these maps will also include timing for walking distances.

Canal Towpaths 3.159 The Canal and River Trust (CRT) is responsible for over 2,000 miles of towpath in England & Wales. The towpaths in Ealing are urban, rural and everything in between. In addition to giving access for traditional activities like boating or angling, they offer sustainable journey choices, responding to the boom in walking, jogging and cycling.

3.160 As well as connecting people and places, towpaths are important places in their own right. Their underlying condition is often very variable as they pass from one area to another. To support their continued popularity, they

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need to be fit for purpose, through care and investment, and free for people to use safely for a wide range of activities.

3.161 CRT does this by adopting clear principles of towpath use and by delivering better infrastructure, better signs and better behaviour.

3.162 The Trust state in their 2015 policy document that they aim to improve towpaths to achieve a good towpath condition throughout its network, consistent with the character of the area in which the towpath is located.

3.163 The Trust recognises the incorporation of towpaths as part of walking and cycling routes and, where designated as a bridleway, or as a permissive route, towpaths are also available for horse riding.

3.164 The Trust’s Towpath Design Guidance specifies physical characteristics of towpaths and also includes requirements for signage, recognising shared use and the historic waterside character.

Susannah Miller (Project Coordinator, Quietways, Canal & River Trust) presenting at the meeting

3.165 Where there are concerns over towpath capacity or condition, they seek opportunities to secure further external investment.

3.166 The Council’s park rangers have been involved in a range of projects related to canal and towpath improvements. These have recently included:

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− Ranger tasks managing canal-side trees (Elthorne Park, Horsenden West) for safety and to ensure sightlines for pedestrians using canal- side path.

− Work supporting Canal and River Trust on an area by the canal towpath at Osterley Lock badly affected by street drinking and associated anti- social behaviour. We provided power-tool support to volunteer group clearing vegetation to open sight-lines. Subsequently we facilitated re- use of land as community orchard by local voluntary group.

− Work supporting CRT/Catalyst on clearance of antisocial behaviour problem areas by canal towpath at Bixley Field, Southall where drug use and rough sleeping caused problems for towpath users. Subsequent reseeding and planting ‘edible hedge’ and fruit trees with volunteers. The Council now cuts the grass here to retain sightlines.

Members being debriefed by Susannah Miller (Project Coordinator, Quietways, Canal & River Trust) during the visit to the Grand Union Canal by the Uxbridge Road in Southall

− Supporting successful joint CRT/Hanwell and North Greenford Orchard Trail (HANGOT) application to Tesco Bags of Help scheme obtaining £12,000 to improve canal-side environment around Osterley Island/ Elthorne Park.

− Supporting successful joint CRT/Catalyst application Tesco Bags of Help application improve long section of canal-side at Havelock Estate, Southall including towpath surface improvements and restoration of ancient hedgerow.

− Developing links and joint working with CRT’s team of voluntary lock keepers from Lock 90 to Lock 98, including tree planting, etc.

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− Practical support to CRT’s volunteer team on ‘towpath tidy’ litter picking events in Southall and elsewhere.

− Work with Historic England and CRT to maintain the Hanwell Flight of Locks (part owned by Ealing Council), a scheduled ancient monument, including work to project and restore historic St Bernard’s Hospital boundary wall (part owned by Ealing Council), nature conservation advice etc.

Grand Union Canal Towpath Enhancements

Before After

Before After

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Before After

Under Construction

Canal ‘Towpath Tidy’ volunteer event, Southall Canal-side community orchard planting with CRT lock-keepers

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Schools 3.167 There are 115 schools within the borough with a school population of approximately 55,900 pupils (based on 2014/2015 school census but excluding some attending independent schools). The total borough population was recorded as 338,400 at the last census in 2011 and Ealing is the third largest London borough. The Greater London Authority estimates the total 2016 population to be 353,218. In 2010, the birth rate was 33% higher than in 2002. During 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 there was a considerable school expansion programme to ensure places for primary school children. During 2015/2016 the plans have been developed for increasing the number of places available at secondary (high) schools.

3.168 The 2014/2015 National Child Measurement Programme recorded 37.8% of Year 6 pupils were overweight (14.6%) or obese (23.2%). For Reception pupils, 20.9% were recorded as overweight or obese.

3.169 Based on 2014/2015 figures, 63% of primary school children live within ½ mile (800 metres or about 10 minutes’ walk) of their school and a further 22% live within 1 mile (1,600 metres). For high school students 53% live within 1 mile of their school and 37% live between 1 and 3 miles (1,600 to 4,800 metres) of the school. These figures suggest that active travel is suitable for the majority of Ealing pupils.

3.170 Sustainable travel to school (including walking) helps meet the Ealing Corporate Objectives, the Local (Transport) Implementation Plan (LIP), the Ealing Health and Wellbeing Strategy and mitigate the impacts of the Education Plan. The impact of the programme can be crossed referenced with Ealing’s Road Safety Plan and Cycling in Ealing report. The school travel programme is delivered in partnership with other Council departments including Education, Highways, Planning, Public Health and Parking Enforcement.

3.171 School travel measures specific to walking include: pedestrian training (road safety awareness), walking buses, parking controls near school entrances and the construction of pedestrian crossings (where appropriate). The proportion of children walking has increased from 48% in 2012/203 to 50% in 2014/2015.

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Panel Members and the Blair Peach Primary School Staff observing the children walking to the school for the 8.45am start

3.172 The school travel programme is primarily funded via the TfL LIP grant, plus specific TfL funding streams such as Borough Cycling Programme, Sustrans Bike It project and project-specific grants. In addition, when new schools or school expansions are approved, funding from the developer is secured to mitigate the highways impacts of the development. The funding is used to employ School Travel Advisors, deliver school travel behaviour change events and projects and road safety engineering. Year on year the work aims to reduce the number and length of journeys made to and from schools by car in order to reduce congestion, improve air quality and health and well-being of the Ealing community.

Members talking to the Police Neighbourhood Support Officers outside Blair Peach Primary School in Southall

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Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2012-2018 3.173 The Sport and Physical Activity Strategy includes an action plan prepared by Ealing Council’s Active Ealing and Public Health Teams along with a range of partners including those represented on the Ealing Community Sport and Physical Activity Network (CSPAN), a strategic partnership committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity borough wide and to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles.

3.174 This three year action plan will be one of several that feed into the Council’s overall Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Board activity. Ealing Council will lead on the delivery of the priorities and actions in this strategy in partnership with a range of different organisations from the statutory and voluntary sector.

3.175 The vision is to: “Improve the quality of life for people living, going to school or working in Ealing by increasing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in both informal (including walking) and formal sport and physical activity in a range of places across the borough”.

James Guest (Local Resident and Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) addressing the Panel

3.176 The key aims are to: − Promote physical activity as part of everyday life − Create the environment for key organisations to work effectively together to build a healthier borough with a reduced incidence of disease − Promote the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle to all sections of the community

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− Enable and support health, independence and wellbeing − Offer sustainable and affordable access to quality, cost effective sport and physical activity services − Proactively tackle health inequalities − Bring additional resources into the borough to drive an increase in sport and physical activity participation − Promote opportunities for stakeholders and partners to develop and deliver the strategy

3.177 This has been done by focusing the work on the following five themes: − More people more active on a regular basis, particularly low participant target groups as identified in this and other strategic documents. − Improved awareness of the sport and active leisure opportunities available. − Ensure future sustainability of sport and leisure in Ealing through sport and physical activity networks, involving sports clubs and other delivery organisations. − Appropriate indoor and outdoor sport and recreation facilities in the right place and at the right price. − Champion the wider benefits of sport and being active.

A Panel meeting

Key Issues • Queried about the results of the Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ campaign which offered to donate grants for community preservation schemes as a section of the Southall Canal had been shortlisted as a nominee.

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• Expressed concern at the lack of leaf clearance in many of the borough’s streets especially when the leaf fall coincided with heavy rainfall as this led to a dangerous situation with very slippery pavements. Was there any way to improve or expedite the leaf clearance?

• Heard that leaf clearance could never be an exact science, with the periods of leaf fall happening at different times each year, this can prove difficult. An eight-week programme takes place every autumn, with 40 operatives dedicated to leaf clearance. Mainly due to weather conditions, some years worked better than others when leaf fall happened over a gradual period. Whilst in other years it may happen over a very quick period of days.

• The general street cleansing programme for the borough was subsequently fed back to the Panel as follows:

Location Frequency Town Centre, Primary Retail or Cleanse twice per day, Transport Hub 7 days per week Secondary Retail, Transport Hub Cleanse before 17.00 hours, or Very Busy Road 7 days per week Busy Roads, Schools or Heavy Cleanse when required or once Footfall every three weeks Residential Roads, Paths or Cleanse a minimum of every three Subways weeks or when required Warehouse Industrial Roads Weekly Cleansing on a Sunday Gated, Adopted Alleyways Every six months Housing Estates; various Various Frequencies frequencies Street Bins in Zone One to Five, Empty before 17.00, TFL and Car Parks 7 days per week TFL Trunk Roads Footway only Cleansed Weekly, traffic management required for slips and traffic islands Neighbourhood Bring Recycling Cleanse before 17.00, Sites 7 days per week Car Parks Cleanse Weekly Rural Roads Cleanse every 4 weeks

• Suggested that that work could be done with schools on the most important leaf clearance routes to allow young children to walk to school with a reduced risk of falls.

• Asked how much scope there was for expanding the Ealing Walks Programme. It was advised that some of the present walks were well established whilst others took a lot of officer encouragement to get going (with winter being a factor). Officers were always looking to engage with more people both to attend the walks and be trained as walk leaders to help deliver more walks across the borough.

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• Questioned whether there was potential for installing low level lighting in off road areas such as parks and canal towpaths. During winter when daylight ended quickly, this did not allow much scope for walking outside of work hours, due to the anxiety and fear of crime associated with walking through unlit areas away from public activity.

• Learnt that the Green Spaces strategy did not promote the use of lighting in the Borough’s green spaces. There were various reasons for this:

o Light pollution concerns are an issue –there are very few places left in the Borough where local wildlife can find areas of darkness.

o The potentially large cost associated with the installation and maintenance of the lighting.

o The Police did not like the idea of installing lighting in parks due to concerns around congregation of groups and the raised potential for antisocial behaviour in these locations at night.

• Heard that there were similar concerns about installing lights on towpaths. It would affect local wildlife, the towpaths had no infrastructure for electricity and there was a reluctance to promote towpath usage during hours of darkness for personal security reasons, as many of the towpaths had long stretches with no exit from them.

• Suggested that solar lighting could deal with any electricity issues and that whilst it would be unreasonable to expect it to be available late at night but it would be helpful during early evenings in winter when people were walking home from work and shopping.

• Raised concern regarding park exercise machines needing maintenance and in some cases replacement. It was advised that an inspection regime was in place for the park exercise machines and a lot of equipment in Southall was reaching the end of its current lifespan.

• Acknowledged that the general street lighting in the borough was very good and this was largely due to the PFI funding and concurred with the Police concerns on park usage after dusk.

• Expressed concern about road users not paying heed to the road markings outside schools. This posed a risk to children who were walking to school so asked whether there was a possibility for wardens to patrol these areas at school arrival and departure times or for cameras to be installed in these locations.

• Learnt that a number of parking offences were no longer enforceable by camera but school zig-zags still were. Therefore, six semi-permanent cameras were being installed at schools around the borough, beginning with those considered to be the worst trouble spots. In addition, a new School Travel Advisor was appointed by the Council and would shortly be taking up the post. One of the suggestions given by the new advisor was

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to inaugurate new initiatives with school children to encourage their parents not to park on zig-zags or double yellow lines near schools.

• Suggested that ‘safe areas’ could be created outside of school gates during school peak hours – a space in which no vehicles could approach or park other than emergency services, staff or residents.

• Queried how long a car had to be stopped on a set of zig-zags outside a school to be ticketed. It was advised that this is instant on yellow zig-zag lines and there are some white zig-zag lines that are advisory.

• Heard from the local resident that concern had been expressed locally over the Little Ealing School drop-off point whereby the road surface was higher than the pavement in this area and ‘corner cutting’ was often seen near the school. Consideration should be given to the installation of bollards on the corners to mitigate the risk of a child being hit. These would be highly visible and provide some extra protection. When this had been raised previously, the resident was advised that the bollards could not be funded as no accidents had occurred. This appeared to be an unfair catch-22 situation.

• The service officers responded that they understood the frustrations around such catch-22 type scenarios but the strained budgets available for such works meant that identified accident hotspots had taken precedence. They advised that Ward Forum funding may be the best solution for addressing this issue and the Councillors should look do this in their Wards.

• Expressed concern about the high level of dog fouling still seen in the streets and park pathways of the borough and were advised that if instances were reported then arrangements would be made to clear it as soon as possible. The current preference was to encourage educating instead of fining the dog owners who were caught allowing their dogs to foul without clearing up after them.

• Questioned whether regulations were in place regarding cycling on pavements. It was advised that this was a legal grey area and that enforcement of any regulations would be near impossible to police. The best that could be hoped for in reality was to educate on sensible behaviours.

• Asked at what point loose paving slabs were officially deemed to be hazardous and were advised that once a slab was out of place by 25mm (or 1 inch) it was deemed a hazard (this was revised to 19mm on main streets). If a slab was out by 19/25mm and ‘rocking’ then it would be replaced as soon as possible.

• Queried whether utility companies were scrutinised on pavement repairs when they had to remove paving for works. It was advised that regular walking checks took place after works had been undertaken. However, reporting by residents needed to be encouraged.

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• There was a general consensus on the importance of engagement and that walking needed local championing to encourage uptake. It was advised that the concept of ‘walking champions’ was being considered as was the possibility of a ‘walking festival’. The ‘Walkit.com’ app was also a useful mechanism.

No. Proposed Recommendation R4 The Highways Service should ensure that the borough’s footpaths are well lit and maintained in order to encourage more walking. R5 The Transport Service should work with the other Council services to implement walking initiatives e.g. the walking school bus programme in the borough’s primary schools. This will discourage traffic build up and pollution as well as improve road safety around schools. R6 The Highways Service should enforce the proper resurfacing of the pavements when these are dug up for essential works by the utility companies and others. R7 The Planning Service should ensure that the footpath quality is maintained consistently following development work and cross- departmental processes are in place to safeguard this requirement. R8 The Environment Service Officers should liaise with the schools in the borough regarding the leaf and snow/ice clearance programme by prioritising school routes to make these safer for the users. R9 The Transport Service should liaise with the Ward Forums to consider funding traffic management measures (for example, installing bollards, CCTV, etc.) outside schools within their Wards to help make these areas safer.

BUS CONNECTIVITY IN THE BOROUGH 3.178 At the fourth meeting, the Panel received presentations on bus connectivity in the borough from Georgina Barretta (Borough Engagement Manager (West), Transport for London), Daniel Nichols (Senior Transport Planner, Transport for London), James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing), Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing), Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager) and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner).

3.179 Susan New (a local resident and member of Transport for All) and Sian Vasey (a local wheelchair resident and a frequent bus user) also addressed the Panel on issues affecting disabled and older people in using the pavements and the buses.

Background 3.180 Bus connectivity is the effectiveness of the bus network to enable people access to a wide range of destinations to obtain goods and services. The key destinations looked at include town centres (both inside and nearby outside the borough), hospitals and high schools. Town centres

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themselves contain many other services including rail/underground stations, higher/further education establishments, professional and leisure services.

3.181 Bus travel is the most popular form of public transport and there are over 4,300,000 bus journeys each day in Great London with nearly 95,000 trips each day originating in the borough. London’s bus system is one of the largest in the world, with almost double the number of bus passengers compared with New York or London Underground (each around 2,500,000 trips each day). Buses are used for many journeys particularly to rail and Underground stations by people commuting, for instance from Greenford to Ealing Broadway. Other popular journey purposes are to access education and shopping.

3.182 TfL is responsible for managing bus services across London. The London Buses section of TfL is responsible for the planning, scheduling and commissioning of services on the network as well as the provision and location of bus stands and flags. Bus services are provided by private companies on contract to TfL, usually for a period of five years. TfL specifies the service requirements to a high level including vehicle type, colour, frequency, key performance indicators (such as reliability) and hours of operation. TfL takes the financial risk and is responsible for collecting the fare revenue from Oyster cards and travel passes. The operators are then paid to run the services by TfL from these fares and other revenue sources.

3.183 This model of off-road franchising is more costly to operate than on-road competition which is used outside London. However, off-road franchising allows TfL to specify and hold operators to higher service standards together with long-term contract commitments compared to on-road competition.

Bus Mode Share Comparison Area Mode Share Ealing 16.2% West London 14.3% Outer London 13.5% Source TfL

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Daniel Nichols (Senior Transport Planner, Transport for London) addressing the Panel

3.184 There are 94,864 daily trips by bus compared to an all mode total of 616,000 trips per day originating in Ealing (see graph 1 below). Bus travel accounts for 60% of all public transport trips and is around one and a half times more than the rail and underground travel. Currently, there are more bus trips in Ealing than rail, underground, taxi, motorcycle and cycle journeys combined (83,160 trips).

Graph 1 – Mode Share Breakdown

Source: TfL

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3.185 Bus journeys in Ealing have fluctuated in recent years (see graph 2 below). There were rises from 87,620 to 100,480 trips from 2005-2008 to 2006/2007- 2008/2009, before a fall to 86,940 in 2007/2008-2009/2010. Trips then increased to 106,240 in by 2010/2011-2012/2013 and fell back over the next two years to the current level. This marginal upward data trend may reflect the growing population of the borough which is approximately 3,500 more people or 1% each year.

3.186 Ealing residents make around 3.8 bus trips each per week, on average, compared to 3.3 for residents of outer London as a whole. Network coverage is such that approximately 91% of Ealing residents are within five minutes’ walk of a bus stop and 99% are within seven minutes (both at average walking speed).

3.187 Average bus journey length within the borough is 3.5km (2.1 miles), which is equivalent to travelling between Ealing Broadway to Ealing Hospital. This shows that buses are predominantly used for short distance local trips.

Graph 2 – Historical Bus Trips

Source: TfL

Accessibility 3.188 All 8,500 London buses (except heritage Routemaster buses) are low- floor, accessible vehicles to comply with the Equality Act 2010. These low-floor buses enable all customers, including people with wheelchairs, baby buggies (prams/strollers), assistance dogs, and other mobility impairments to get on and off easily. Every bus also has a retractable ramp which is required to be in full working order at all times.

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3.189 Wheelchair users have priority over everyone else for use of the wheelchair space on buses. All buses have space for one person using a wheelchair up to a size of 70cm wide (28 inches) by 120cm long (47 inches). There is no limit on the number of assistance dogs allowed on the bus as long as there is space. All bus drivers are required to receive training to assist mobility impaired users and this is reinforced by a set of rules and regulations laid down by TfL.

3.190 The Council has upgraded almost all 700 bus stops within the borough to wheelchair accessible standard through its Bus Stop Accessibility programme. Ealing now has 98% accessible bus stops and this will be 100% complete by 31 March 2017. This allows step-free access onto buses and also has the advantages of making boarding easier for people with shopping and quicker for all.

The Bus Network 3.191 Buses offer a convenient and relatively cheap way to travel and include some 24 hour services on key routes. There are around 38 bus routes serving 700 bus stops in the borough (see maps 4 and 5 below). The majority of bus routes operate around 20 hours each day (from around 5.00am to 1.00am the following day), seven days a week (except Christmas Day). Ten bus routes in the borough operate 24 hours a day also offering a night service.

3.192 The bus network within the borough is mainly centred on Ealing Broadway and is also very comprehensive in the east of the borough (Acton) – see maps 4 and 5 below. Further to the west (Southall, Greenford and Northolt) the bus network is more dispersed due to a less built up and more suburban environment. In these areas there are also barriers to north-south movement such as rail lines and the A40 highway with a very limited number of crossing points (bridges) which can often be traffic congested.

3.193 Bus fares in London are paid using either, an Oyster smart card, Travelcard or contactless bank card. Each single bus fare costs £1.50 for adults. In September 2016, the Mayor introduced the ‘hopper’ fare enabling passengers to make a second bus journey for free within one hour of first touching in. Also, users of buses (and trams) in London only have to pay a maximum cap of £4.50 per day for unlimited journeys provided the same ticket or contactless payment card is used. Passengers can also make use of the ‘one more journey’ function if they don’t have sufficient credit on their Oyster card to go into a negative balance once only.

3.194 Free bus travel is provided to a number of priority groups including children, pensioners and disabled people. This is done through child Oyster cards and the Freedom pass. Passengers buying weekly, monthly or annual season tickets also receive free bus travel throughout London for the duration of their ticket.

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3.195 The bus network in Ealing is under continuous review by London Buses and they take account of aspirations from the borough and others as part of this process. The bus network across Ealing was comprehensively reviewed in 2015. TfL Buses is responsible for the planning, scheduling and changing of services on the network as well as the provision and location of bus stands and bus stop flags.

3.196 The Council has the responsibility for most of the highway elements in bus planning. This includes the road condition and markings to ensure that the Highway is suitable for bus operation. The borough can also make representation on some elements such as the location of bus stops. Therefore, as the Local Planning Authority, it has an opportunity for early influence over highway and public space matters. This can make using the bus network more attractive. The Council also leads on bus priority for most roads that buses operate on.

3.197 Information from boroughs in their role as local planning authorities is key to ensure that the implications of proposed development for bus transport are understood and given appropriate responses.

3.198 The operational and customer data to support planning and appraisal is collected on a continuous basis by TfL. This also includes customer satisfaction, quality of service, journey patterns, passenger volumes and bus stop data.

3.199 All potential changes to the local bus network are assessed by London Buses for value for money against TfL’s standard business case appraisal framework. This tests whether benefits for passengers (such as shorter waits) justify any additional cost. The approach is applied consistently to investment options across the network.

3.200 TfL has contact points for people who wish to comment on any aspect of a bus service in the borough, including current performance and suggestions for future development of the network. There is also a dedicated customer service centre for Oyster cards.

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Map 4 – Bus Routes

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Map 5 – Bus Routes Within London Borough of Ealing

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Recent Enhancements 3.201 There have been a number of enhancements to bus services within Ealing borough in recent years which include the following:

• 94: Acton Green to Piccadilly Circus – introduction of hybrid vehicles (low emission and quieter), 2011. • E8: Ealing Broadway to Brentford (now Hounslow) – capacity increase introduction to double deck vehicles and extended to from Brentford to Hounslow town centre, April 2016. • 70: Acton to South Kensington – extension Chiswick Business Park (CBP) serving Acton Town Station and South Acton, May 2015. • 27: Chiswick to Chalk Farm, Camden – extended to Chiswick Business Park, May 2015. • E9: Yeading to Ealing Broadway – capacity increase introduction to double deck vehicles, July 2016. • 483: Ealing Hospital to Harrow Town Centre – replaced the 83 Alperton (Ealing Hospital) to Golders Green route, September 2016. • 65: Ealing Broadway to Kingston – introduction of hybrid vehicles (low emission and quieter), October 2016.

3.202 Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 all local authorities are required to expedite the movement of traffic, including buses, safely on their own and other highway networks (i.e. neighbouring boroughs and the TfL Road Network). Ealing Council has recently implemented a number of schemes which relieve traffic congestion which also have delay reduction benefits for bus passengers. These include Southall Broadway Boulevard, Church Road Hanwell and Acton town centre.

Future Improvements 3.203 The new Mayor has stated that only low emission buses will be used in London from 2018 onwards. There will also be a programme to retrofit older vehicles with cleaner engine technology. Ealing Council officers have formally requested that the Mayor prioritises the introduction of more low emission vehicles in Ealing to address areas of poor air quality, especially around Haven Green.

3.204 The 112 Ealing Broadway to Brent Cross bus service is proposed to be rerouted to serve Madeley Road, between Haven Green and the A406 Hanger Lane. Subject to the outcome of the public consultation, this change is scheduled to take place from summer 2017.

3.205 A number of missing links within the local bus network have been identified. These are listed below but need to be considered in the context of the new TfL Business Plan, November 2016. This plan sets out the expected overall profile of development over the next five year period to 2022. The overall scale of the bus network (measured by service volume) will be maintained at broadly present levels (approximately 500 million kilometres a year). Additional TfL money for extra bus service coverage is unlikely to be made available unless savings in bus service coverage are made elsewhere or additional ongoing external funding is put forward.

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Ealing Hospital – Hanwell Station 3.206 Hanwell is the nearest station to Ealing Hospital and will be served by Crossrail from 2018. There are existing high frequency bus connections from the hospital to both Ealing Broadway and Boston Manor stations, the latter newly-introduced in recent years.

3.207 Routes E1, E3 and E11 serve North Hanwell. The journey to the hospital can be made by interchange between route E3 (Greenford-Chiswick, 9 buses per hour) and other routes at Hanwell Broadway. It is accepted that interchange is not attractive within shorter journeys. However, there is insufficient additional demand to justify providing this direct link in addition to the existing high level of service in the area.

Southall/Greenford to Northwick Park Hospital 3.208 With the rationalisation of facilities at Ealing Hospital, residents of Southall and Greenford will need to travel further to access medical facilities. One way of achieving this would be to extend the 105 Heathrow Airport to Greenford service from Greenford to Northwick Park Hospital.

Southall Gas Works 3.209 The site has development consent for up to 3,750 homes and a new commercial development forming part of an expanded Southall town centre.

3.210 TfL and the Council have worked together to develop a series of potential bus improvements as part of the agreed Section 106 funding for the development. More details on the potential changes will be developed through an established transport working group.

Southall Station-Southall Broadway 3.211 There is no direct bus service between the western arm of Southall Broadway and the area around Southall Station, including the shopping areas near the station.

3.212 There are high frequency services on all the relevant roads. However, an interchange is necessary to travel the relatively short distance between western and southern Southall. TfL will consider this service aspiration as part of reviewing the potential for service enhancements in connection with Crossrail and in connection with the Southall Gas Works development.

Tentelow Lane and Windmill Lane 3.213 Tentelow Lane and Windmill Lane are currently not served by buses. A new route from Southall via these roads, running to the Gillette Corner area and possibly further on has been suggested.

3.214 Tentelow Lane runs through a low-density residential area with houses on one side of the road only. Some residents are close to bus services at Norwood Green or in the Toplocks Estate. Windmill Lane also runs through Osterley Park where there are no residents.

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3.215 Route 195 (Charville Lane-Brentford, five buses per hour) has provided a direct link from Southall to the employment areas at the Brentford end of the Great West Road since 2009. Given the relatively low density of likely demand along the Tentelow Lane-Windmill Lane alignment, although some new links would be created, TfL feel it is not possible at present to justify provision of a new bus service via these roads.

Park Royal 3.216 The Council’s development strategy refers to an aspiration for new links between Ealing and Park Royal, and also to Wembley.

3.217 Route 226 links Ealing Broadway and the centre of Park Royal, every 12 minutes. Route 483 links Ealing Broadway and Wembley, every 8 minutes. Both are well-used services. Maintaining and enhancing the speed and reliability of these services is the first priority.

3.218 Additional routes over either link are unlikely to be justified in the short term. Maintaining good reliability and adequate capacity on the current alignments will deliver greater benefits. TfL has worked with partners to determine the optimum pattern of network development in the area. However, in the longer term the redevelopment and intensification of Park Royal and Old Oak Common, officers will work with London Buses to explore opportunities to increase bus services

Express Services 3.219 There is currently only one express service in Ealing which is the 607 White City to Uxbridge route. It has been suggested that express services might be worthwhile on other routes e.g. 65 (Ealing-Kingston) and 140 (Harrow Weald-Heathrow).

3.220 Route 607 provides express links along the same alignment as stopping services on routes 207 and 427. These services have a combined frequency of over 22 buses per hour due to the very high density of demand on the Uxbridge Road corridor. Demand on routes 65 and 140 is considerably lower – they have frequencies of 8 and 7.5 per hour respectively.

3.221 If an express service were added to either service there would be a balancing reduction in demand for the stopping service and accordingly a frequency reduction. Given that most bus trips are relatively very short and the relatively even spread of demand from stops along both routes, the passengers losing out from the package would be greater than the passengers gaining, even taking account of newly-generated travel.

Key Destinations 3.222 The bus connectivity and modelled bus journey times of the main town and district centres of Ealing Broadway, Southall, Acton, Greenford and Northolt were provided to the Panel. Whilst the journey times tend to be relatively even radiating out from each centre, there are barriers such as the limited number of bridges across the railway line in Southall and crossing the A40 in Greenford. Detailed illustrations were of the key

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neighbouring town and district centres of Sudbury Hill, Shepherds Bush, Harlesden and Chiswick were also provided to the Panel.

3.223 The nearby hospitals (Ealing Hospital, West Middlesex Hospital, Hillingdon Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital, Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospital) are also served by the bus network. The bus access to the North West London hospitals was covered separately by Healthwatch Ealing.

3.224 There are 13 High Schools within the borough (see table below) that are all directly served by the bus network.

High Schools in London Borough of Ealing Acton High School Northolt High School Acton Northolt Alec Reed Academy Cardinal Wiseman High School Northolt Greenford Dormers Wells High School Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls Southall Ealing Common/West Acton Drayton Manor High School Twyford CoE High School Academy West Ealing Acton Elthorne Park High School Villiers High School Boston Manor Southall Featherstone High School William Perkin CoE High School Southall Greenford Greenford High School Greenford

Key Issues • Noted that the focus of services was based around hubs in Ealing Broadway and Greenford Broadway. Areas such as Perivale had a notably ‘stark’ service. Heard that TfL purposefully designed Ealing Broadway and Greenford Broadway as connecting hubs so that upon arrival here passengers could quickly connect to another service without having to wait for long periods. The introduction of the ‘hopper’ scheme had now also made such connecting services cheaper.

• Expressed concern at the lack of north to south/south to north and diagonal connectivity in the borough. The only major forthcoming transport scheme was Crossrail, which would do nothing to alleviate these gaps in the fixed infrastructure. Presently, only the 65 and 105 bus services allowed for any sort of north to south/south to north travel.

• Felt that the reasoning of the A40 inhibiting routes for a north to south connectivity seemed like an excuse and that solutions could be found. Heard from TfL that north to south/south to north connectivity was an issue throughout London and that a ‘7 Corridor Review’ was considering this as a London wide issues for which solutions would be sought.

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• Asked what potential future changes were being pursued and learnt that no specific proposals were in place currently as once there was a better understanding of the changes brought about by Crossrail then recommendations would begin to arise.

• Expressed concern about the transport ‘black holes’, whether extant gaps were being reviewed and if TfL had a vision on the connections between neighbouring boroughs. It was advised that the bus network was under constant rolling review and the reviews regularly considered poorly served areas. Healthcare connectivity between neighbouring boroughs had been a particular area of focus recently and this had led to the introduction of the new 483 service. There had also been plans to extend the E8 bus service to West Middlesex Hospital but objections from the residents of the adjoining Amhurst Gardens meant that the plan had to be postponed.

• Queries were raised about the methodology and data used by TfL for deciding on route changes. It was advised that the public transport assignment model ‘Railplan’ was used for modelling purposes. Data was now also available based on Oyster Card usage (completely anonymised). Regular analysis took place in town centre hotspots and Bus Origin/Destination Surveys were undertaken.

• Invited Sian Vasey’s (wheelchair user resident) views on accessibility issues and heard that very often the wheelchair ramps on some buses particularly the E2 and 235 did not work. This was dangerous and inconvenient for the wheelchair users and whether statistics of such failures were recorded and sanctions imposed on the franchises. TfL responded that statistics were not kept on ramp failures but noted the concerns and would look into this matter.

Sian Vasey (wheelchair user resident) giving her views at the meeting

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• Heard from Susan New of Ealing Transport for All that a lot of concern had been raised regarding the design of the Routemaster hybrid buses as these did not meet the minimum required accessibility standards. TfL explained that this had been raised in an accessibility forum and was being reviewed. Feedback from the review would be fed back as soon as possible.

Susan New (Member of Ealing Transport for All) speaking at the meeting

• The residents also stated that all bus stops needed countdown timers and proper covered shelters. Concern was expressed that the busy hub point of Ealing Broadway was notably lacking a sufficient level of covered shelter. It was suggested that the Council should consider the use of Section 106 monies from big local developments (such as Southall Gasworks) to help fund these.

• Learnt from the officers that space was an issue at Ealing Broadway as Haven Green was protected common land. The option of a purpose built bus station in the locality had been considered but it was found that the costs involved made the project unviable. Officers would continue to progress on having countdown timers installed at further stops throughout the borough.

• Pointed out that there had been lots of complaints about the information totem at Ealing Broadway not working and were assured that the Council officers were working with the manufacturers to fix this problem. This was subsequently repaired and is now functioning.

• Recognised that bus shelters were installed wherever possible but often there were constraints e.g. narrow footways within town centres and sometimes from neighbouring properties.

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• Heard that TfL was reviewing the ‘post-Crossrail’ network and looking at how patterns of usage would change. Consultations would arise from the review to discuss potential network changes with users.

• Expressed concern at the lack of bus service in the Tentelow Lane and Windmill Lane localities of Southall where there were three schools close by. Suggested that Officers should consider extending the existing E5 bus route to serve this locality.

• Asked if much feedback had been received on the success of the Mayor’s bus ‘hopper’ scheme as yet and heard from the TFL representatives that it was still too early into the scheme to have collated a full comprehensive set of feedback. However, early signs had indicated a huge take-up of the scheme. This meant that it was providing significant savings to members of the community.

The Fourth Panel Meeting

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BUS ACCESS TO THE NORTH WEST LONDON HOSPITALS 3.225 At the Panel’s request, James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) and Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing) provided detailed information on the accessibility of the hospitals in North West London using the bus network.

3.226 The bus routes serving the nearby hospitals (Ealing Hospital, West Middlesex Hospital, Hillingdon Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital) are shown in the maps below.

James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) presenting to the Panel

3.227 Healthwatch Ealing has conducted an extensive research on the travelling times involved for those people attending Ealing Hospital and the alternative choices that they could make. As the greatest impact would be felt by the residents of Southall the analysis of the travel times involved was conducted from Southall Town Hall to the various hospital sites.

3.228 As part of this review, several Panel Members joined the Healthwatch Ealing Members in trialing the bus journey from the Dominion Centre & Library in the centre of Southall to the Northwick Park Hospital.

3.229 Healthwatch Ealing has also highlighted some of the concerns at a time of proposed closure of key hospital provision.

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Importance of Access to Transport for Patients, Carers, Family and Friends 3.230 The ability of patients to access hospital based care is critical to their recovery. Not only as a means of ensuring their initial attendance but also facilitating their recovery and early discharge.

3.231 While the London Ambulance Service (LAS) is available to convey the most seriously ill patients to hospital, the majority of patients make their own travel arrangements. The mode of these alternative travel arrangements will vary according to the patients’ circumstances and the hospital’s accessibility.

3.232 Transport is also of immense importance to carers, family and friends. They will wish to accompany a patient during an initial incident, visit them during any hospital stay, and accompany the patient at follow-up clinic visits. The presence of these concerned “stakeholders” should assist in the comprehension and implementation of medical advice provided by the hospital staff, and thereby facilitate the early discharge and post-discharge recovery of the patient. In some circumstances these “stakeholders” will have childcare responsibilities which mean that they have to be accompanied by children.

3.233 It should also be noted that many of the patients who are initially conveyed to hospital by the ambulance service are often reliant on public transport for their homeward journey after discharge from either A&E, UCC or an Acute Ward.

Implications of Deprivation on Mode of Travel 3.234 Where patients, their carers, family and friends live in areas of above average deprivation they are likely to place greater reliance on public transport as they may not have access to privately owned motor cars.

3.235 Small scale comparative studies by NHS NW London in 2014, which are summarised below, indicated that there is a materially lower use of private cars by patients accessing Ealing Hospital, when compared to those who access Hillingdon and West Middlesex Hospitals. This would be consistent with a greater reliance on public transport and especially the bus network. It also indicates that the users of services at Ealing Hospital would expect to continue to access those services by bus if those services were transferred to other hospitals under the proposed NHS reconfiguration.

3.236 Percentage accessing hospital by private car on weekdays (All interviewees – not just Ealing residents)

Ealing Hospital 38% Northwick Park Hospital 53% Hillingdon Hospital 62% West Middlesex Hospital 76%

3.237 This suggests a potentially positive correlation between poverty and the use of buses to access hospitals.

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Journey Times 3.238 The door-to-door time of journeys to and from hospitals is of major importance. At present Ealing Hospital is well served by a bus network across its patient catchment area. This means that the majority of patients, their carers, families and friends can access the hospital in a relatively short period of time.

3.239 A major concern is that NHS proposals to relocate healthcare currently delivered on the Ealing site to other locations will result in a major increase in travelling times.

Multiple Bus Changes 3.240 The optimum bus journey for patients, carers, their families and friends is one which will enable travellers to use a single bus, or at most two buses, from their home to the hospital. Ideally the frequency of both buses should mean that there is minimal waiting time at the change between the buses. At present this requirement is largely met by the bus network serving Ealing Hospital.

3.241 An emerging concern is that the NHS proposed relocation of key healthcare provision away from the Ealing Hospital site will result in significantly increased journey times for those dependant on the bus network.

3.242 There could be a strong case for pressing the NHS not to make any changes to the location of the delivery of hospital provision where this would result in increased bus journey times and/or the use of multiple bus routes.

Concessionary Fares 3.243 With Ealing Hospital serving an area of above average deprivation, there would seem to be a compelling case for ascertaining the entitlement of patients, carers, family and friends to concessionary fares.

3.244 It is possible that some over 60s may have not have registered for 60+ or Freedom passes, and will therefore not be entitled to free bus travel.

3.245 Similarly, carers, family and friends over school age and under 60 years will not be entitled to free bus travel.

3.246 A further concern is that the Mayor’s Hopper fare concession for fare paying passengers only applies to using two bus journeys within an hour. A benefit which is of little value to travellers from the Dominion Centre in Southall who will need three buses to reach either Northwick Park or Central Middlesex hospitals – neither of which can be reached within the ‘Hopper’ maximum of one hour.

3.247 If the NHS reconfiguration of hospital based healthcare is to go ahead, there is a pressing case for the ‘Hopper’ concession to be extended to three buses and to one and a half hours – so that these complex journeys to and from hospital can be completed.

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Time of Day 3.248 In assessing the demand for transport services, and especially bus services, it is important to consider the varying pattern and level of service at all times of the day and night, both for the inward journey to hospitals and the return journey to the homes of patients, their carers, family and friends.

3.249 In many instances bus routes are adversely affected by peak hour traffic flows and overnight service reductions. Any reduction in the bus service during the day or night disproportionately disadvantages those living in circumstances of the greatest hardship with the least access to private motor vehicles.

Existing Concerns 3.250 Ealing Hospital is well served by bus routes which connect it to its patient catchment area and in particular those areas of high deprivation within the patient catchment area. The majority of patients, along with their carers, family and friends, can reach the hospital by either a single direct bus route or at most two bus routes with a single change.

3.251 This highly effective and well established pattern of bus access to Ealing Hospital has been ignored by the following changes to and withdrawal of healthcare provision on the Ealing Hospital site:

3.252 The merger of Ealing Hospital by the trust which runs Northwick Park Hospital means that some patients, many of whom will be elderly, who would have previously visited clinics on the Ealing site have been required to attend clinics at Northwick Park with the associate travel challenges. We are unable to quantify the numbers of patients and medical specialities involved - but have been provided with examples. It is possible that this relocation of clinics could be a reluctance on the part of more experienced Northwick Park medical staff to travel to and staff clinics on the Ealing site. Anecdotal comments at a recent North West London Healthcare Trust board meeting suggest that this might be the case.

3.253 We are also hearing anecdotal accounts that the North West London Healthcare Trust is already relocating some elective day surgery from the Ealing site to the Central Middlesex Hospital in Park Royal. A change of location which will inflict significant travel challenges for patients who live to the west of Ealing Hospital and will almost certainly result in journey necessitating three separate buses and two exposed changes in each direction.

3.254 The closure of Maternity provision in 2015 and Paediatric A&E and In-patient provision in 2016 on the Ealing Hospital site has resulted in extended journeys by patients, carers, family and friends to alternative hospital sites located outside LB Ealing.

Future Concerns 3.255 The proposed reconfiguration of Ealing Hospital will result in the closure of key facilities including Adult A&E and all Acute Wards. This will mean that

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patients will need to be treated by and admitted to hospitals outside Ealing borough.

3.256 This will involve patients, carers, family and friends in significantly longer and more complex journeys to the alternative hospitals than it currently takes them to travel to Ealing Hospital. The research contained in Section 3.6 gives an indication of some of the multiples of these extended travel times.

3.257 ‘Shaping a Healthier Future’ (SaHF), the ‘NW London Sustainability Plan’ (STP) and the ‘Outer NW London Interim Business Case’ (ImBC-SOC1) are founded on the premise that the reconfiguration of hospital based healthcare care across NW London will result in both a reduction in the number of hospital admissions and also a reduction in the duration of the residual hospital admissions.

3.258 At the same time, page 27 of the STP states that out-of-borough patients stay in hospital is 2.9 days longer than patients who reside within the CCG where a hospital is located. There therefore seems to be a disconnect between the NHS aspiration to reduce in-patient ‘hospital days’ and the proposal to close the acute wards at Ealing Hospital and to require these patients to be admitted to hospitals located in other CCGs.

3.259 As the duration of, and discharge from, an acute hospital stay is to some extent a consequence of the patient’s domestic support arrangements – the ease with which the patient’s carers, family and friends can visit them while they are in hospital must be a key factor in facilitating their early discharge.

3.260 It is therefore essential that considerable care is given to ensuring that carers, family and friends are able to visit patients while they are in hospital and engage with the medical staff as to the patient’s post discharge care. The proposed relocation of Ealing Hospital patients to ‘out-of-borough’ acute hospitals, with their poor bus connectivity to Ealing, places significant challenges to the continuum of care for those acute patients whose carers, families and friends are reliant on public transport.

TfL Buses Issues 3.261 A major constraint of the existing bus network in NW London is that it has evolved on a radial, rather than orbital basis. This means that there are only limited north-south bus routes - and those which exist fail to provide residents with direct through routes to the acute hospitals, such as Northwick Park or West Middlesex. Even the radial east-west main road bus route to Uxbridge fails to connect with Hillingdon Hospital.

3.262 Healthwatch Ealing has engaged with senior managers at TfL Buses at numerous times on the subject of bus route connectivity from this borough to the surrounding hospitals. A number of key factors have emerged from these discussions:

− TfL Buses are subject to severe budget constraints and lack the funds to enhance the existing bus network.

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− In these circumstances enhancements to the bus network need to be self- financing, i.e. they need to attract sufficient additional passengers to pay for the service changes.

− Extending a bus route to a hospital does not generate sufficient additional passengers.

− TfL Buses are extremely reluctant to extend what they consider to be longer routes. This also has a bearing on extending existing routes to or via hospitals and the extent of the patient catchment area of the route.

− The TfL Bus planners periodically experience requests from the NHS to modify bus routes following an NHS capital expenditure decision to construct a facility, such as a large health centre/hub, on an NHS owned site which is poorly served by the bus network. There is some disappointment on the part of TfL Buses that the NHS appear to ignore bus connectivity when planning new facilities – especially when the new NHS facility will be incapable of generating sufficient additional passenger movements to fund changes to the bus network. It appears that the NHS can become distracted by developing the sites which it owns, even if these have poor bus network connectivity and therefore patient accessibility.

3.263 The first four matters were explored in some detail with TfL Buses by Ealing Council’s then Transport Scrutiny Review Panel on 11 February 2014.

3.264 There have been two modifications to local bus routes whish may be represented as improving access to hospitals. In both cases the benefit for LB Ealing residents attending the hospitals concerned has been minimal or non-existent. Both modifications are summarised below.

3.265 The former 83 route from Ealing Hospital to Golders Green was split into two routes. The western section, which starts at Ealing Hospital, was renumbered 483 and followed a circuitous route from Alperton to Harrow. The purpose of the change was to connect the new residential developments in Alperton and South East Harrow to Harrow town centre. While this bus passes Northwick Park Hospital, it does not provide any direct connectivity to the residents and patients of Central Southall, something a relocation of the western end of the route to Southall Station would have achieved. As it is the residents of Southall still have to make their way to the Ealing Hospital site before they can board the 483 and then experience an extremely circuitous and therefore lengthy journey before they reach Northwick Park.

3.266 The other route change is the extension of the E8, which starts at Ealing Broadway, from Brentford to Hounslow town centre. Unfortunately, TfL Buses have abandoned their original intention that this route extension would pass the entrance of the West Middlesex Hospital. Apparently, this is due to three mature trees in Amhurst Gardens on the proposed route. A further disappointment is that TfL buses chose to extend the shorter E8 route rather than the E2 which starts at Greenford Broadway and would therefore provide a far greater catchment area for patients travelling to West Middlesex. The TfL buses planning imperative of keeping routes short appears to have

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outweighed the utility of ensuring that they facilitate the direct access to hospital facilities of the maximum number of patients, carers, their families and friends

Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing) addressing the Panel

Healthwatch Ealing’s Recommendations 3.267 Healthwatch Ealing has made the following key recommendations for improvements in bus accessibility to the local hospitals:

− The NHS should be required to produce, and be examined on, a detailed transport statement based upon existing detailed patient activity and the proposed reconfiguration changes.

− A detailed analysis should be produced ensuring that facilities proposed by the NHS are accessible to the residents who need to use them.

− The NHS should defer reconfigurations of hospital based provision that would involve a significant increase in bus journey times over the time it takes to access the Ealing Hospital site.

− The NHS should ensure all key bus journeys to and from hospitals should either be direct or involve only a single change.

− A maximum acceptable waiting time for buses on routes to and from hospitals and the proposed out-of-hospital hubs should be identified.

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− The NHS and TfL Buses should identify ways in which funding could be found to improve bus access to key hospitals and out-of-hospital hubs.

− TfL should reinstate their original proposal that the E8 bus service is routed via West Middlesex Hospital, and that another connecting road is used if Amhurst Gardens is considered unusable.

− TfL should make arrangements for the ‘Hopper’ fare to be extended to three, rather than two buses, and that journey times extended to one and a half hours rather than a single hour.

− A multidisciplinary review should be carried out of off-peak and night bus access to acute hospitals in North West London.

− The TfL Bus Planner should be reviewed to improve the clarity of information available.

− A standing panel should be established by the Council to monitor and comment on travel issues associated with access to health provision.

Site Visit – Dominion Centre, Southall to Northwick Park Hospital 3.268 Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair), Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair), Cllr Gurmit Mann, Cllr Rajinder Mann and John Gashion – Co-optee) together with James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) and Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing) undertook a trial bus journey from the Dominion Centre & Library (112 The Green, Southall, Middlesex, UB2 4BQ) to Northwick Park Hospital (Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3UJ) at 1.35pm on Wednesday 11 January 2017 to test whether this could be accomplished with relative ease using a hopper bus ticket.

3.269 Starting from the centre of Southall meant that the journey would pass through areas where a large number of the patients live and many in locations with high levels of deprivation.

3.270 The outward journey (using three buses – 120, 140 and H14) took 1hr 41mins. The hopper ticket worked successfully for using the first two buses and the daily £4.50 payment cap applied thereafter on using an Oyster card/ contactless card for the third bus and subsequent bus journeys on the day.

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Boarding the 120 bus by the Dominion Centre & Library in Southall

Boarding the 140 bus at Northolt Station

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Waiting for the H14 bus at the Harrow Bus Garage

On the H14 bus to Northwick Park Hospital

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On arrival outside the Northwick Park Hospital

Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) being interviewed on arrival at the Northwick Park Hospital by Eleanor Cunningham (Broadcast Journalist at London Live TV)

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3.371 For the return journey from Northwick Park Hospital (at around 4.00pm), the members decided to use different routes to get to the various locations in the borough and the results of this exercise are as follows:

Total Time Name Destination Travel Mode Taken Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Northfields Underground 45mins Cllr Joanna Dabrowska West Ealing Bus – 483 1hr 04mins (Vice Chair) Cllr Gurmit Mann Buses – 182 Iron Bridge, Southall 1hr 37mins and 92 Cllr Rajinder Mann Buses – 182 Iron Bridge, Southall 1hr 37mins and 92 John Gashion Ealing Common Bus – 483 54mins (Co-optee) James Guest (Chair, Northfields Underground 45mins Healthwatch Ealing) Alan Cook (Member, Ealing Broadway Bus – 483 57mins Healthwatch Ealing) Harjeet Bains (Scrutiny Buses – 483 Southall Town Hall 1hr 30mins Review Officer) and 607

Key Issues • Asked whether TfL and the NHS engaged in regular face-to-face meetings and heard that TfL regularly met with the North West London Transport Advisory Group but often had difficulties in getting to speak to the right person at the NHS. The relationship with the NHS was sometimes inhibited by a lack of communication.

• It was agreed that a standing working group which allowed for a regular open dialogue including transport and health partners would be advantageous and enquired whether EPTUG could be used as a conduit to bring public services together for discussion. The Co-optee advised that EPTUG did not have a large active membership presently so it would be better if the Council had more ownership of the group. It was proposed that the previous Transport Standing Scrutiny Panel could be reinstated or the current Transport Scrutiny Review Panel continued for another year. The Chair has already requested the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to extend this Panel for a further year but a decision has yet to be made on next year’s Scrutiny Panels. It was imperative that any such group should have the buy-in of the NHS otherwise it risked becoming a talking shop reacting to changes made rather than planning for them in advance.

• It was suggested that transport matters involving the NHS should be referred to the existing Health and Wellbeing Board as its standing membership included NHS partners and this could be one of the Panel’s recommendations in the final report.

• Heard that the Ealing Community Transport Pilot had gone out to procurement seeking a new service provider. The offer was considered to be limited and even though it had been implied that the service would be

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available to anyone, in actuality it had been found that would not be the case.

John Gashion (Co-optee) speaking at a meeting

• Surprised to learn that taxi cards which offered subsidised travel in licensed taxis and private hire vehicles to London residents with serious mobility or sight impairments could only be used for social purposes and not for transit to hospitals. Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) volunteered to look into this matter further and report back at the next meeting.

• Recognised the benefit of testing the trial bus journey from the centre of Southall to Northwick Park Hospital to better understand a patient’s perspective of the travel involved in getting there for an appointment.

• Expressed concern about bus links between Southall and Northwick Park Hospital as the test journey had taken close to two hours in either direction. This was a significant concern as it was the cheapest method for residents to get between the two points and there needed to be a quicker link service.

• Suggested that a possible solution to the Northwick Park connection problem would be to extend the current 105 bus route which runs from Heathrow Airport to Greenford Station so that it terminates at Northwick Park Hospital instead as the hospital is only another 2.5 miles away from Greenford Station.

No. Proposed Recommendation R10 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Council services and partners to ensure that there is a robust public transport plan in place for enhanced bus routes. Amenities such as schools and hospitals should be factored into the new routes.

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No. Proposed Recommendation R11 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to ensure that real-time passenger information is available at all the key locations within the borough.

FURTHER EXTENSION OF THE TRANSPORT SCRUTINY REVIEW PANEL 3.372 Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) and Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) felt that it was important for this Panel to cover several additional aspects of transport. For example, night connectivity in the borough (including tube, rail and buses); developments in driving e.g. electric cars, zip cars, driverless cars, car clubs, etc.; public consultation exercise (preferably in Autumn 2017) on the transport black holes in the borough; night tube/bus connectivity; Crossrail development and new cycling routes. Thereby, make some meaningful recommendations on these areas.

3.373 Therefore, Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) proposed the extension of the current Panel at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 12 January 2017.

No. Proposed Recommendations The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should consider extending the R12 Transport Scrutiny Review Panel for another year to review additional aspects of transport matters in the borough.

FUTURE MONITORING 3.374 The Panel suggests that an appropriate Scrutiny Panel should undertake the monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations and further ongoing monitoring.

No. Proposed Recommendations The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should undertake the R13 ongoing monitoring of the accepted recommendations.

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4.0 KEY LEARNING POINTS 4.1 Some of the key learning points for the Panel were:

• Acknowledging the valuable input and different perspective that the Co- optee brought to the deliberations.

• Recognising the numerous and diverse organisations that operate across the borough in different ways in managing transport connectivity.

• Engaging with the community – seeking the views of the local people through publicity, site visits and their attendance at Panel meetings were a very valuable source of gathering information directly from the key stakeholders.

• Benchmarking exercises provided important comparisons.

• Site visits made a significant difference to the information obtained.

• Established good contacts with some external agencies e.g. groups, providers, etc.

• The difficulty in engaging some external agencies and areas of the community.

• The inevitability of identifying problems in the current provision and making suggestions for improvements.

• Through the meetings, have raised the profile of transport issues in the borough and promoted discussion between organisations.

• The review has produced ideas for future development.

• An important element in the success of initiatives is the promotion and communication of activities, opportunities and new initiatives to the widest audience using relevant communication channels.

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5.0 MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE 5.1 The Table below shows the membership and attendance of Panel Members.

Membership and Attendance at Panel Meetings Total Actual Apologies Name Possible Attendance Received

Councillors Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) 5 5 - Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) 5 5 - Cllr Gary Busuttil 5 3 2 Cllr Theresa Byrne 5 4 1 Cllr Patrick Cogan 5 4 1 Cllr Gurmit Kaur Mann 5 5 - Cllr Rajinder Singh Mann 5 5 - Cllr Karam Mohan 5 5 - Cllr Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal 5 3 2 Cllr Gareth Shaw 5 5 - Cllr Alex Stafford 5 5 - Cllr Lauren Wall 5 5 - Cllr Ray Wall 5 5 -

Co-optee John Gashion 5 4 1 (Vice Chairman, Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group)

Substitutes and Other Councillors

Meeting 2: − Cllr Mohammed Aslam substituted for Cllr Theresa Byrne − Cllr Dee Martin substituted for Cllr Patrick Cogan − Cllr Bassam Mahfouz (Portfolio Holder for Transport, Environment and Leisure)

Meeting 3: − Cllr Tejinder Singh Dhami substituted for Cllr Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal

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External Witnesses − Kieran Taylor (Principal Transport Planner, Hounslow Council) − Georgina Barretta (Borough Engagement Manager (West), Transport for London) − Daniel Nichols (Senior Transport Planner, Transport for London) − Ian Brightmore (Stage 2 Delivery Manager, MTR Crossrail) − Laura Compton (Crossrail Interface Manager, Great Western Railway) − Andrew Dickinson (Regional Performance Manager, Great Western Railway) − Susannah Miller (Project Co-ordinator, Quietways, Canal & River Trust) − James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) − Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing)

Service Officers − Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager) − Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) − Chris Bunting (Assistant Director of Leisure) − Justin O’Neill (Highways Maintenance and Network Manager) − Louise Taylor (Public Health Specialist/Long Term Conditions & Physical Activity)

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Site Visits 5.2 In addition to the five formal meetings, the Panel members undertook supplementary site visits as follows:

Site Attendance 1. Ealing Civic Society Lecture: Crossrail and its Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Impact in Ealing Cllr Joanna Dabrowska Liz Cantell Room, Ealing Town Hall (Vice Chair) Tuesday 26 July 2016 2. 40 years of Railways in London Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Crossrail HQ, Institute of Civil Engineering Thursday 11 August 2016 3. Shadowing a Tube Driver Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Central Line Friday 19 August 2016 4. Launch of Night Tube Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Brixton and Oxford Circus Stations Friday 19 August 2016 5. Blair Peach Primary School Beaconsfield Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Road, Southall, Middlesex Cllr Joanna Dabrowska Tuesday 29 November 2016 (Vice Chair) Cllr Karam Mohan 6. Grand Union Canal, Southall Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) (behind Blair Peach Primary School – Cllr Joanna Dabrowska Uxbridge Road (Vice Chair) Tuesday 29 November 2016 Cllr Karam Mohan 7. Southall Broadway Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Tuesday 29 November 2016 Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) Cllr Karam Mohan Cllr Gurmit Kaur Mann 8. South Road, Southall Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) Tuesday 29 Nov 2016 Cllr Joanna Dabrowska (Vice Chair) Cllr Karam Mohan Cllr Gurmit Kaur Mann 9. Bus Trial Journey from Dominion Centre Cllr Aysha Raza (Chair) (112 The Green, Southall, Middx, UB2 4BQ) Cllr Joanna Dabrowska to Northwick Park Hospital (Vice Chair) Watford Road, Harrow, Middx, HA1 3UJ) Cllr Gurmit Kaur Mann Wednesday 11 January 2017 Cllr Rajinder Singh Mann John Gashion (Co-optee) James Guest (Chair, Healthwatch Ealing) Alan Cook (Member, Healthwatch Ealing)

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6.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 6.1 Useful Papers • Ealing Council’s Constitution, available at http://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200892/decision_making/597/council_constit ution • Scrutiny Review Panel 2 – 2016/2017: Transport Terms of Reference, Work Programme, Agendas, Minutes and Reports available at http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_Com mitteeDetails/mid/381/id/34/Default.aspx • Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 2016/2017 Agenda, Minutes and Reports available at http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ViewCMIS_Com mitteeDetails/mid/381/id/279/Default.aspx • Council Petition to High Speed 2 – Report to Council (15th April 2014) http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/89/Committee/2/Default.aspx • Crossrail – Report to Scrutiny Review Panel 2 – Transport (2nd October 2013) http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/116/Committee/37/Default.aspx • West London Sub-Regional Transport Plan https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/sub-regional-transport- plans • ‘A City for all Londoners’ https://www.london.gov.uk/get-involved/have- your-say/all-consultations/city-all-londoners • Overview of Public Transport Connectivity - Report to Transport Scrutiny Panel (30th June 2016) http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/5189/Committee/279/Default.aspx • Sustainable Transport Strategy 2016/17 http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/1285/Committee/3/Default.aspx • TfL Business Plan 2016 https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/business-plan • ‘A City for all Londoners’ https://www.london.gov.uk/get-involved/have- your-say/all-consultations/city-all-londoners • Overview of Public Transport Connectivity - Report to Transport Scrutiny Panel (30th June 2016) http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/5189/Committee/279/Default.aspx • Sustainable Transport Strategy 2016/17 http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/1285/Committee/3/Default.aspx • West London Sub-Regional Transport Plan https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/sub-regional-transport- plans • Ealing Transport for All – www.transportforall.org.uk/ • Borough Bus Review (Cabinet June 2011)

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• Bus Service Provision – Report to Transport and Environment Scrutiny Panel (9th December 2009) • Borough Bus Review – Cabinet Report (7th June 2011) • Bus Access to Healthcare Centres – Presentation by TfL Buses (11th February 2014) • Transport Scrutiny Review Panel – 2013/2014, the papers and minutes of meeting on access to healthcare services – bus planning on 11 February 2014 can be found at http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/ mid/397/Meeting/118/Committee/37/Default.aspx

6.2 Useful Websites • Ealing Council – www.ealing.gov.uk • Centre for Public Scrutiny – www.cfps.org.uk • Government Services and Information – www.gov.uk • Transport for London – www.tfl.gov.uk • Quietways Canal & River Trust – www.canalrivertrust.org.uk • Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group (EPTUG) – www.eptug.org

6.3 Further Information For further information about Scrutiny Review Panel 2 – 2016/2017: Transport please contact:

Harjeet Bains Scrutiny Review Officer Ealing Council Tel: 020-8825 7120 Email: [email protected]

Current agendas and reports for the scrutiny panels are available at http://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Committees.aspx

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7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

Rec Recommendation No. General For a more robust local transport system, the Transport Service should continue to work with the relevant partners to ensure that: - it is accessible to all in the borough; - it is reliable in order to encourage more residents to use the public transport instead of cars; - the frequency and capacity is increased to accommodate increases in the population; - the service times and updates are communicated effectively through the various channels such as countdowns and totems. In the event of a breakdown, these channels should be serviced quickly for a smooth transport interface. - the transfers and intersection junctions should have explicit signage to major local landmarks e.g. hospitals, libraries, theatres, etc. - the related apps are updated and consistent; - the driver personnel interfacing with public is able to communicate politely and effectively to deliver a high level of customer service. Conversely nobody should be subjected to abuse or assault; - the drivers are well trained in smooth driving of buses/trains as abrupt stopping and starting can cause injury to many children and the elderly; - has visible transport police and reliable functioning reporting points at stations and bus stops; - meets the aim of becoming a dementia friendly city and borough by training staff to deal with such sufferers as well as people with learning and mental health issues; - in encourages extra language skills in the transport staff to meet the diverse needs of the local community. The E11 bus service is to be commended for having drivers that speak Somali and are able to facilitate customers better; - addresses the scant provision of the north-south and diagonal transport routes within the borough; - the current transport links to the further reaches of the borough that are not well served are improved; - the night time connectivity is improved and extended to the further reaches of the borough. The present 24-hr E1 bus service is a welcome introduction and is to be commended as it serves a large area; - where appropriate, local staff members with local area knowledge should be retained at stations as the model of moving staff around several stations does not work. Residents prefer to have staff at stations, particularly at night time and local staff are able to advise of alternate routes when necessary; - there is CCTV coverage from the entrance to the platform area of all the rail and tube stations in the borough; and - there is step-free access in all the stations within the borough. Rail/Tube Connectivity R1 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to ensure that the Greenford spur line is made more reliable to

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Rec Recommendation No. accommodate the increased population in Greenford. R2 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to explore new routes and links onto other main line tracks e.g. Chiltern line and into Waterloo via Brentford R3 The present connections to Gatwick Airport are poor compared to those for Heathrow Airport. The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to investigate an orbital rail link in connecting all the London airports thus increasing capacity and reducing pollution. Walking and Pedestrian Routes R4 The Highways Service should ensure that the borough’s footpaths are well lit and maintained in order to encourage more walking. R5 The Transport Service should work with the other Council services to implement walking initiatives e.g. the walking school bus programme in the borough’s primary schools. This will discourage traffic build up and pollution as well as improve road safety around schools. R6 The Highways Service should enforce the proper resurfacing of the pavements when these are dug up for essential works by the utility companies and others. R7 The Planning Service should ensure that the footpath quality is maintained consistently following development work and cross-departmental processes are in place to safeguard this requirement. R8 The Environment Service Officers should liaise with the schools in the borough regarding the leaf and snow/ice clearance programme by prioritising school routes to make these safer for the users. R9 The Transport Service should liaise with the Ward Forums to consider funding traffic management measures (for example, installing bollards, CCTV, etc.) outside schools within their Wards to help make these areas safer. Bus Connectivity R10 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Council services and partners to ensure that there is a robust public transport plan in place for enhanced bus routes. Amenities such as schools and hospitals should be factored into the new routes. R11 The Transport Service should work with the relevant partners to ensure that real-time passenger information is available at all the key locations within the borough. Further Extension of the Transport Scrutiny Review Panel R12 The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should consider extending the Transport Scrutiny Review Panel for another year to review additional aspects of transport matters in the borough. Future Monitoring R13 The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should undertake the ongoing monitoring of the accepted recommendations.

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8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS WITH OFFICER COMMENTS

Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) General For a more robust local transport system, the Transport Service should continue to work with the relevant partners to ensure that: - it is accessible to all in the borough; - it is reliable in order to encourage more residents to use the public transport instead of cars; - the frequency and capacity is increased to accommodate increases in the population; - the service times and updates are communicated effectively through the various channels such as countdowns and totems. In the event of a breakdown, these channels should be serviced quickly for a smooth transport interface. - the transfers and intersection junctions should have explicit signage to major local landmarks e.g. hospitals, libraries, theatres, etc. - the related apps are updated and consistent; - the driver personnel interfacing with public is able to communicate politely and effectively to deliver a high level of customer service. Conversely nobody should be subjected to abuse or assault; - the drivers are well trained in smooth driving of buses/trains as abrupt stopping and starting can cause injury to many children and the elderly; - has visible transport police and reliable functioning reporting points at stations and bus stops; - meets the aim of becoming a dementia friendly city and borough by training staff to deal with such sufferers as well as people with learning and mental health issues; - in encourages extra language skills in the transport staff to meet the diverse needs of the local community. The E11 bus service is to be commended for having drivers that speak Somali and are able to facilitate customers better; - addresses the scant provision of the north-south and diagonal transport routes within the borough; - the current transport links to the further reaches of the borough that are not well served are improved; - the night time connectivity is improved and extended to the further reaches of the borough. The present 24-hr E1 bus service is a welcome introduction and is to be commended as it serves a large area; - where appropriate, local staff members with local area knowledge should be retained at stations as the model of moving staff around several stations does not work. Residents prefer to have staff at stations, particularly at night time and local staff are able to advise of alternate routes when necessary; - there is CCTV coverage from the entrance to the platform area of all the rail and tube stations in the borough; and - there is step-free access in all the stations within the borough.

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) Rail/Tube Connectivity R1 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Accept partners to ensure that the Greenford spur line is made and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) more reliable to accommodate the increased population The Transport Planning Service officers will continue to in Greenford. push for service improvements on the Greenford Branch Line and will raising this with the Department for Transport for inclusion in the next Great Western Rail Franchise. R2 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Accept with partners to explore new routes and links onto other main and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) modifications line tracks e.g. Chiltern line and into Waterloo via Old Oak Common Brentford R3 The present connections to Gatwick Airport are poor Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Reject compared to those for Heathrow Airport. The Transport and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) Service should work with the relevant partners to Deficiencies in orbital public transport to/from Ealing investigate an orbital rail link in connecting all the are well recognised and Transport Planning Service London airports thus increasing capacity and reducing officers will work with TfL and other partners to improve pollution. these connections.

Officers have to prioritise new public transport resources according to need (schools and hospitals within and outside the borough) and demand (employment and leisure such as the Old Oak (55,000 jobs), Golden Mile (18,000 jobs) and Heathrow (12,000 jobs) Opportunity Areas).

The Heathrow Employment Survey found that 5,760 Ealing residents work at Heathrow Airport. The need for these people to commute several times a week plus airline passengers, mean that there will be thousands

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) of journeys each day from within the borough to and from Heathrow. In contrast, the number of commuters to Gatwick Airport resident in the borough is likely to be very small as few will choose to live a significant distance (over 40km or 26 miles) from the airport. The situation would also be similar for Luton Airport, which is a very similar distance away from Ealing.

Public transport connections to reach Gatwick Airport from Ealing are already available as follows: 1. District Line to Victoria, then Gatwick Express or Southern train. 2. Central Line to Shepherds Bush, then Southern trains via Clapham Junction. 3. South West trains from Brentford/Kew Bridge (London Borough of Hounslow), then Southern trains via Clapham Junction. 4. National Express coach Heathrow to Gatwick direct.

Any new transport infrastructure has to have a robust business case to be taken forward to satisfy capital funding requirements from both TfL and government and this would be based on passenger demand. Walking and Pedestrian Routes R4 The Highways Service should ensure that the borough’s Shahid Iqbal (Assistant Director Highway Services) Reject footpaths are well lit and maintained in order to Reject, for the following reasons: encourage more walking. − The borough footpaths are well lit and use the most current LED lighting sources to achieve this.

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) − In respect of lights ON, our performance was 99.5% of lights on at any one time throughout the year. − The council’s on average annual invest over £4.0m on Infrastructure renewal. − The council maintains its Roads and Footways in line with “Well maintained Highways” which is the Industry code of practice that Highway Authorities should adhere to. R5 The Transport Service should work with the other Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Agree Council services to implement walking initiatives e.g. the and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) walking school bus programme in the borough’s primary The Transport Planning Service already promotes schools. This will discourage traffic build up and walking initiatives, including schools in order to meet pollution as well as improve road safety around schools. the policy objectives and targets set in the Ealing Local Transport Plan and will continue to do so. R6 The Highways Service should enforce the proper Shahid Iqbal (Assistant Director Highway Services) Reject resurfacing of the pavements when these are dug up for Reject, for the following reasons: essential works by the utility companies and others. − The enforcement of Utilities works can only be carried out in line with the Traffic Management and New Roads and Street Works Act and which we do robustly. − Where possible, the Network Management Team will promote the idea of utilities undertaking full width footway resurfacing following any works that require large scale footway excavations. However, there is no legal requirement on the utilities to do so, the legal requirement is to reinstate the excavated area only. R7 The Planning Service should ensure that the footpath David Scourfield (Borough Planner, Planning Services) Accept quality is maintained consistently following development Planning Services to work with Highways Services on

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) work and cross-departmental processes are in place to the use of planning informative on decisions to alert the safeguard this requirement. developer that any damage to the Highway (pavement, road or verge) will have to be rectified at the developers cost. Both services to identify electronic methods of communicating the grant of permissions subject to such in formatives.

Shahid Iqbal (Assistant Director Highway Services) This is already in operation. Highways inspectors carryout out regular safety inspections of the Council’s roads and footways. As part of these inspections they will monitor the footway where developments are taking place. Where damage is caused to the footway by the developer then this will firstly be made safe and then a permanent repair carried out once the development has been completed. The cost of all of the works is then charged back to the developer responsible. R8 The Environment Service Officers should liaise with the Catherina Pack (Waste & Street Services Manager) Accept schools in the borough regarding the leaf and snow/ice Leaf Fall Clearance clearance programme by prioritising school routes to At this time of year, Street Services face the annual make these safer for the users. challenge of collecting all of the fallen leaves from trees in the borough. This can last between five and eight weeks depending on the weather.

In order to meet the challenge, we formulated a plan to deal with the issues in order of the following priority:

− Outside schools, hospitals and day centers where our most vulnerable residents may walk.

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) − On busy shopping parades and transport hubs. − On steep hills where slippery surfaces are present. − Other streets with the heaviest leaf fall, where drains could become blocked in heavy rain, with a risk of road flooding.

Using the above as a guide we identified the areas with the heaviest leaf fall based on collective experience. Building on previous trials, in 2016 we had a permanent street orderly (solo road sweeper) in 22 specific areas, so that we do not have to wait to get them made safe.

Normal scheduled cleansing of streets was still carried out but in addition, there were up to 40 temporary road cleaners employed over the leaf-fall period, so that other reported leafy streets can be detailed for cleaning in a timely fashion.

Members and colleagues are sent appropriate briefing notes and residents can report roads in need of leaf clearance online or via the contact centre. Similarly, we can also send information to schools through the Ealing Grid for Learning communication network.

Shahid Iqbal (Assistant Director Highway Services) Snow/Ice Clearance The Council has a comprehensive winter maintenance plan in place and has done for a number of years and which it has delivered successfully each time. The

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) principals of the plan are as follows:

− Each year, the Council produces a revised ‘winter maintenance plan’ to assist in the reduction the risk to the travelling public by the hazardous effects of snow and ice during the winter months. This plan involves spreading grit on the roads and footway, as and when required. The decision to carry out highway winter maintenance functions on the public highway is based on weather data provided by a weather center.

− Prior to the commencement of the Winter Maintenance season, the Council and its contractor ensure that 4,500 tonnes of grit is in storage within the Council’s own salt barn at Greenford Depot.

− Priority footway treatment locations are divided into 20 areas and are only gritted during settled snow conditions. Footway gritting is limited to areas, where high movement of pedestrian traffic is expected. All footways will be gritted full width, to a distance of 30 metres either side of the building entrance, where possible. The exception to this will be town centres, shopping parades and locations which include a combination of differing key establishments, e.g. train stations within close proximity of a school or shopping parade. These areas may include longer lengths of footway gritting to allow full pedestrian access. Subject to weather conditions and staff

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) resources, footway gritting will be applied in priority order as detailed in the table below. In total just over a 100km of footway are gritted as part of priority footway operations. The operation takes 8-10 hours to complete and is carried out by 20 gangs.

R9 The Transport Service should liaise with the Ward Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Accept Forums to consider funding traffic management and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) measures (for example, installing bollards, CCTV, etc.) The Transport Planning Service already seeks outside schools within their Wards to help make these remediation of road safety issues using TfL grant areas safer. funding or Ward Forum budgets (depending on the severity of each issue), including schools in order to meet the policy objectives and targets set in the Ealing Local Transport Plan and will continue to do so. Bus Connectivity R10 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Accept with Council services and partners to ensure that there is a and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) modifications robust public transport plan in place for enhanced bus The Transport Planning Service already works with TfL routes. Amenities such as schools and hospitals should to secure comprehensive and quality bus services be factored into the new routes. across Ealing, including schools and hospitals, in order to meet the policy objectives and targets set in the

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) Ealing Local Transport Plan and will continue to do so. The Scrutiny Panel should note that TfL has legal responsibility for the tendering of bus services in Greater London and except in the case of very large developments, that the Council does not normally have sufficient funding to pay for the provision of additional bus services. R11 The Transport Service should work with the relevant Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager Accept partners to ensure that real-time passenger information and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) is available at all the key locations within the borough. The Transport Planning Service officers will work with TfL to provide real-time passenger information within the available funding.

TfL already provides real-time information at stations, certain bus stops and to mobile devices by text message and any internet connection. Further Extension of the Transport Scrutiny Review Panel R12 The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should consider Keith Fraser (Head of Democratic Services) Accept extending the Transport Scrutiny Review Panel for At its meeting on 6 April 2017, the Overview and another year to review additional aspects of transport Scrutiny Committee agreed to extend the Transport matters in the borough. Scrutiny Review Panel for a further year.

Chris Cole (Transport Projects and Policy Manager and Russell Roberts (Principal Transport Planner) The Transport Planning Service officers can provide some staff resource but the number of meetings and reports may have to be consolidated due to limited resources and other commitments.

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Recommended Rec Service Officer Comments Cabinet Panel Recommendations No. (Including Any Resource and Legal Implications) Response (Accept/Reject) Future Monitoring R13 The Overview and Scrutiny Committee should undertake Keith Fraser (Head of Democratic Services) Accept the ongoing monitoring of the accepted The Overview and Scrutiny Committee normally recommendations. reviews the progress on, a six-monthly basis, all Panel recommendations that have been accepted by the Cabinet/Other Bodies.

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