7 REPORT OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE 2ND MARCH, 2011 At its meeting on 9th February, 2011, the Cabinet received a report of the Executive Director, Place on the South Yorkshire Transport Plan, and the Cabinet made a recommendation which is required to be approved by the City Council. The Cabinet minute, including the recommendation required to be approved by the Council, is set out below:- SOUTH YORKSHIRE TRANSPORT PLAN The Executive Director, Place, submitted a report referring to and containing, as appendices, the South Yorkshire Transport Plan, which was a statutory document setting out how transport would help support the development of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) over the next 15 years and which comprised three elements namely, a 15 year strategy document covering the Sheffield City Region (2011-2026), a set of four-year Implementation Plans covering South Yorkshire and a series of annual capital programmes. The Plan would, as would be the case for the Plans of other local authorities, be used nationally by Government and the Department for Transport (DfT) for, amongst other things, the nationwide allocation of funds for transport projects. RESOLVED: That (a) the City Council, at its meeting on 2nd March, 2011, be recommended to adopt (i) the draft 15 Year Transport Strategy for the Sheffield City Region and (ii) the on-going development of the first four-year South Yorkshire Transport Implementation Plan; and (b) the fact that the Annual Capital Allocations for the Plan will be incorporated in the Annual Corporate Capital Programme reports received by Cabinet, be noted. (NOTE: A copy of the Executive Director’s report has been circulated to all Members of the City Council.) Lee Adams Deputy Chief Executive SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL Cabinet Report Report of: Executive Director of Place ________________________________________________________________ Date: 9th February 2011 ________________________________________________________________ Subject: The South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan ________________________________________________________________ Author of Report: John Bann, Head of Transport & Highways ________________________________________________________________ Summary: The Local Transport Plan (LTP) is the process used nationally by Government and the Department for Transport (DfT) for local authorities to set out their transport strategy, and for the nationwide allocation of funds for transport projects. The LTP has been administered in five-year cycles, and the next cycle – LTP3 – will commence in April 2011. LTP3 will be different. It will be a statutory document which sets out how transport will help support the development of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) over the next 15 years, and will have three parts: A 15 year strategy document covering the Sheffield City Region (2011-2026) A set of four-year Implementation Plans covering South Yorkshire A series of annual capital programmes The South Yorkshire LTP Partnership has therefore been developing the first two of these documents so that the LTP is ready for April 2011. The strategy builds upon and is very closely linked to the recently approved Council Strategy ‘‘Excellent Transport in Sheffield’, to enable people to make informed choices about the way they travel, and to help transport contribute to the social, economic and environmental improvements we want to happen in the city. The Sheffield Transport ‘Vision’ is also compatible with the just-published DfT Guidance for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), a new Government initiative to support transport interventions that support economic growth whilst reducing carbon. The LTP, the LSTF and the Sheffield transport Vision are all geared to deliver common broader objectives. This report sets out our aspirations for the LTP process and what we want to achieve, both in the short term and over the longer term. Appended to the report is the final version of the Strategy, and a penultimate version of the Implementation Plan which will be finalised in time to become a ‘legal document’ in April 2011 ________________________________________________________________ 1 Reasons for Recommendations Cabinet is asked to endorse The South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan documents, building on the recent ‘Excellent Transport in Sheffield’, so that the Council has a clear strategic approach to transport for the next 15 years and an agreed funding strategy for the short and medium term. Recommendations: 1. The City Council, at its meeting on 2nd March, 2011, be recommended to adopt (i) the draft 15 Year Transport Strategy for the Sheffield City Region and (ii) the on-going development of the first four - year South Yorkshire Transport Implementation Plan. 2. Cabinet notes that Annual Capital Allocations for the Plan will be incorporated in the Annual Corporate Capital Programme reports received by Cabinet. ________________________________________________________________ Background Papers: None Category of Report: OPEN 2 Statutory and Council Policy Checklist Financial implications YES Cleared by: Paul Schofield Legal implications YES Cleared by: Julian Ward Equality of Opportunity implications YES Cleared by: Ian Oldershaw Tackling Health Inequalities implications YES Human rights implications NO Environmental and Sustainability implications YES Economic impact YES Community safety implications NO Human resources implications NO Property implications NO Area(s) affected All Relevant Scrutiny Board if decision called in Culture, Economy and Sustainability Is the item a matter which is reserved for approval by the City Council? Yes Press release YES 3 1.0 SUMMARY 1.1 The Local Transport Plan (LTP) is the process used nationally by Government and the Department for Transport (DfT) for local authorities to set out their transport strategy, and for the nationwide allocation of funds for transport projects. The LTP has been administered in five-year cycles, and the next cycle – LTP3 – will commence in April 2011. 1.2 LTP3 will be different. It will be a statutory document which sets out how transport will help support the development of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) over the next 15 years, and will have three parts: A 15 year strategy document covering the Sheffield City Region (2011-2026) A set of three-year Implementation Plans covering South Yorkshire A series of annual capital programmes 1.3 The South Yorkshire LTP Partnership has therefore been developing the first two of these documents so that the LTP is ready for April 2011. The strategy builds upon and is very closely linked to the recently approved Council Strategy ‘‘Excellent Transport in Sheffield’, to enable people to make informed choices about the way they travel, and to help transport contribute to the social, economic and environmental improvements we want to happen in the city. 1.4 The Sheffield Transport ‘Vision’ is also compatible with the just-published DfT Guidance for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), a new Government initiative to support transport interventions that support economic growth whilst reducing carbon. The LTP, the LSTF and the Sheffield transport Vision are all geared to deliver common broader objectives. 1.5 This report sets out our aspirations for the LTP process and what we want to achieve, both in the short term and over the longer term. Appended to the report is the final version of the Strategy, and a penultimate version of the Implementation Plan which will be finalised in time to become a ‘legal document‘ in April 2011 2.0 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SHEFFIELD PEOPLE? 1.1 LTP3 will continue the change of emphasis set out in ‘Excellent Transport in Sheffield’, focussing on how changes can be made in our travel culture by empowering people to make informed choices and on how the Council and its partners can enable and encourage people to make different decisions about how they travel. Examples of what this means in practice include: An increased role for local people through Community Assemblies in how we change our travel culture People will be empowered to make informed choices about how they travel through better targeted information A bus service that is more integrated, reliable and accessible that better meets passenger’s needs Sheffield and South Yorkshire aspire to be amongst the leaders in electric/low emission vehicles. The highways Private Finance Initiative for Sheffield will bring about a step change in how the highway network is maintained Better information management systems will also change the way the highway network is operated and maintained 4 2.2 A summary of the key transport challenges faced by Sheffield people together with an outline of the main benefits the LTP3 can deliver for Sheffielders is included in Appendix A. 3.0 OUTCOME AND SUSTAINABILITY 3.1 The Sheffield Transport Vision will involve empowering people to choose to travel less and also to choose to travel in different ways. The outcome of this will be more people travelling by bus, tram, train, bicycle, walking and car sharing – in other words a culture where the car is not always the first choice. This will contribute to increasing opportunities for everybody; a competitive low-carbon economy; a better environment; a healthier population. 3.2 The South Yorkshire LTP3 looks at how transport can contribute more towards wider local priorities, whether they relate to economic, social or environmental goals, rather than “transport being an end in itself”. The LTP3 will reinforce ‘Excellent