Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 11^th January 2023

(b)  Matters arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 11^th January 2023 were agreed and signed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Briefing Note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Business, Economy, and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a presentation and briefing note of the Director of Transportation and Highways, that provided the Board with an update on the Council’s plans to encourage walking and cycling, including how the Council was engaging with the public to promote the benefits of cycling.

Coventry’s Transport Strategy (CTS), adopted in December 2022, set out how the Council aimed to deliver a safe, sustainable, and reliable transport network for the City of Coventry. The promotion of walking and cycling for local journeys within the city was fundamental to achieving the objectives of the Strategy which were supporting the city’s economic recovery and enabling long-term growth; delivering a sustainable, low carbon transport system; ensuring equality of opportunity; and maximising health and wellbeing.

The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), set out detailed policies and infrastructure requirements necessary to support walking and cycling in the city.  Currently a West Midlands LCWIP identified a strategic regional cycle network, that included the Binley Cycleway currently under construction. The LCWIP, developed in 2019, formed the basis for investment planning in new cycle routes at a regional level.

National Context: Active Travel England

The executive agency was sponsored by the Department for Transport. It was responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England. The objective was for 50% of trips in England’s towns and cities to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030. By making every day journeys simple, easy and fun, Active Travel England was working to give people the choice to leave their car at home.

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Active Travel England worked alongside councils to fund new, protected routes and junctions, quieter roads & neighbourhoods and ensure that government investment on active travel delivered to new high national standards. It was a Statutory Consultee to embed active travel into major new developments.

Network and Route Development 

Networks and routes should be Coherent; Direct; Safe; Comfortable and Attractive. On busier and faster highways, most people would not be prepared to cycle on the carriageway without protection, physically protected space for cycling would enable most people to cycle. On quiet residential streets, most people would be comfortable cycling on carriageways if speeds and traffic volume were low. Traffic calming and traffic management could help reduce motor vehicle speeds and volume (as in Liveable Neighbourhoods). Motor traffic free routes away from the highway could form useful links as part of the overall network. 

Work was continuing, following the adoption of the CTS, on a local LCWIP for Coventry that would drill down into more local detail and enable the identification of the local cycling network necessary to complement the regional network that has already been identified. Engagement with the public, local communities and the business community on the development of the LCWIP was planned with the aim that the LCWIP would be adopted by the end of 2023.

The LCWIP would identify improvements to existing cycling facilities or the installation of new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Business, Economy, and Enterprise Scrutiny Board received a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator, that detailed items that had been considered by the Board during the Municipal Year 2022/23 and the proposed issues to be included on the Board’s Work Programme for 2023/24.

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy, and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

1)  Notes the issues considered at meeting of the Board for the Municipal Year 2022/2023 and the proposed issues to be included on the Board’s Work Programme for 2023/24.

2)  Requests that a further item headed ‘Gigafactory’ be added to the proposed issues to be included on the Board’s Work Programme for 2023/24.

There were no other items of public business.