Agenda item

To hear from and ask questions to Councillor Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parks and Sport in respect of the various aspects of her portfolio (circulated with the agenda).

This item was considered in conjunction with item 6, Cabinet Member Interview, Deputy Cabinet Member for Clean Air and Active Travel due to the close linkage of the portfolios.

In introducing the item the Chair informed the committee of the areas the cabinet members had been asked to cover as part of their initial presentation which were as follows:

·  Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) / Street Space Reviews – how they will be continually monitored, evaluated and reviewed and how new schemes/programmes will be introduced

·  TfL – cuts to bus services

·  Air Quality

·  Parks and Green Spaces, Biodiversity and Trees

·  Accessibility to transport, encouraging use of public transport

·  Cycle parking/storage – introduction of new cycle hangars and future role out

Councillor Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parks and Sport provided the committee with information and updates in respect of her portfolio areas.  In light of her previous recent attendance at the committee to discuss LTNs, Councillor Rose proceeded to provide the committee with an update on where the various LTN/Street Space schemes had reached in respect of the various processes involved towards their implementation.  Councillor Rose informed the committee that the Dulwich street space scheme had been made permanent, the Walworth scheme was in its latter stages and communication would be sent to residents within the coming weeks.  In respect of the smaller schemes, Great Suffolk Street, Bermondsey Street, East Faraday, Brunswick Park, North Peckham, Peckham Rye East, Councillor Rose advised that these would all be concluded over the coming weeks and that the process would be replicated across all the schemes in relation to notifications, information communicated to residents, traffic orders, and statutory consultation process.

In relation to air quality, Councillor Rose informed the committee that the current Air Quality Management Strategy was coming to the end of its natural lifecycle (end of 2022) and that there was an obligation to ensure there was a new strategy in place from 2023.  A member / officer framework had been commenced to begin stakeholder engagement prior to the public consultation process that would take place in the latter half of 2022, working towards having a new air quality management strategy in place for the period 2023 – 2027.  In recent years the council had been working towards expanding the monitoring network of the air quality management area and was looking to ensure that the whole borough was covered and included within the air quality management area and that correlated with the decision on the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) extension to the south circular.

In relation to air quality audits on schools, Councillor Rose reported that 55% had been achieved and the council wanted to expedite and increase that going forward.  Anti-idling enforcement strategies had commenced, and the council was also supporting the GLA wider air quality agenda - the council was waiting to see how the Mayor and the GLA responded to the ambitions of the World Health Organisation targets around air quality and emission levels.  Councillor Rose indicated that there was work to be done/being done around how the council integrated and ensured that the issue of air quality and exposure to air quality was dealt with, conveyed and understood by people in relation to traffic intervention measures.  There was also work the council wanted to do around improving the quality of its vehicle fleet.  In terms of progress, there had been a 22% reduction of NO2 emissions in the borough since 2016.  Councillor Rose noted that there was more work to do around the distinction and nuance of the different types of emissions and the councils understanding around emissions.

In respect of parks, green spaces and biodiversity, Councillor Rose reported that an incredible track record had been maintained – The council had come joint third place in the Good Parks for London rating, had maintained 30 green flags and were joint third in the UK for the number of green flags.  The council was on track to exceed its target of the planting of 10,000 new trees by the end of March/April.  There had been a large volume of tree works over the last two years with nearly 20,000 tasks and jobs completed.  Biodiversity had been impacted in terms of volunteer engagement throughout the pandemic, but there had been over 262 days volunteer days hosted, and 31 biodiversity events throughout the pandemic.  There had also been a range of interventions and engagement online.

In terms of public transport, Councillor Rose reported that it was still yet to be known whether there was a funding settlement for London.  The implication for the borough of Southwark was that the funding bid for the council’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP) programme (the borough specific element of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy) was still unresolved.  It was not known whether the council would get the full amount of money that it had bid for and that notification of how much money the council would receive might not come until much later in the year, which had a level of risk and consequence for the borough.  Councillor Rose explained that during the pandemic, the patronage on public transport and the demand and revenue of TfL had been reduced.  The concentration around the impact of the pandemic in relation to central and inner London had resulted in fewer commuter trips within the core of the city/central business districts.  There had also been changes in commuter patterns locally and further out in the borough.  The council was facing a situation that the best case scenario was a level of reduction in bus services – 4% reduction in the amount of kilometres operated by the bus network by 2024/25.  Councillor Rose further reported that the Mayor had indicated that there would be two key consultations during the summer, both in terms of realignment of bus services, and potential options for road user charging throughout London. 

In relation to public transport more generally, Councillor Rose reported that the councils transport policy team continued to work with Network Rail and train operating companies to increase and improve access to services.  There would be an impact on work around step free access at some of the key stations in the borough as a direct consequence of reductions to TfL funding.  Some good work had however been seen, especially around improved access at Denmark Hill station but there was still a lot more to do.  Councillor Rose indicated that there was a real concern that some of the projects that were thought to be in the pipeline and about to be delivered were now looking precarious, especially to Peckham Rye Station step free access.  Councillor Rose stressed the need to ensure that the money that was already invested in relation to Elephant and Castle (tube loan investment) had a real and meaningful return for local residents.

The provision and uptake of cycle parking at stations was constantly being reviewed and was something that the council was keen to develop as part of those interchanges of active travel, walking and cycling to access other forms of transport, such as bus or train – this was fundamental going forward.

The committee then heard from Councillor Radha Burgess, Deputy Cabinet Member for Clean Air and Active Travel.

Councillor Burgess referred the committee members to a document she had circulated to them regarding ambitions around ‘streets for people’, and the location of interventions in a framework of social justice, and the ways in which that could be done.  Councillor Burgess informed the committee that there was a need for a holistic set of interventions that worked together in order to satisfy the council’s goals of increasing active travel and tackling air pollution in an effective and equitable way.  Councillor Burgess advised that there had been a recognition through a lot of the webinar series that the council had undertaken and through contact with constituents and other groups, that there was no single solution to tackle the issues and that different areas would need a different set of interventions because one area was not the same as another.  Councillor Burgess advised that the topology of the area or the makeup of the communities that were there would demand a different set of interventions in order to be successful. 

Following the presentations, there were questions and discussion around the following:

·  Proposed traffic light interventions at Herne Hill to help alleviate problems on Croxted Road.

·  The narrative around the council building on parks and green spaces.

·  Availability of burial spaces in the borough, and impact on the Muslim community who are having to bury family members outside of the borough.

·  Future plans for consultation around the wider conversation around climate emergency, neighbourhood place shaping and air pollution.

·  Work around stimulating behaviour change.

·  Mayors plans for road pricing and its potential to avoid cuts to TfL and enabling continued support for infrastructure projects, and the conversation the council was having with TfL around this.

·  Position regarding funding for Elephant and Castle Tube station.

·  Cycle loans for council tenants.

·  Public consultation around Dulwich traffic schemes, and consideration of survey results (in particular returning the junction back to its original state).

·  Council’s assessment process of LTNs impact on climate change.

·  Council work with Network Rail to get smaller projects off the ground (the need for step free access at Nunhead Station given as an example).

·  Council’s relationship with TfL.

·  Work being done with TfL on improving air quality on routes that are the responsibility of TfL.

·  Environmental impact of cutting down trees and work being done to protect mature trees going forward.

·  Campaign for the Installation of a Progress Pride crossing in Southwark.

·  Investment to streets / roads that are not part of LTNs (requests for investment by residents for non LTN initiatives, such as pavement widening).

·  Incentives to reduce car use.

·  Freight.

·  Number of home delivery (personal shopping) vehicles in the borough at any one time, their contribution to pollution, and the need for a London wide response for the electrification of delivery vehicles.