Minutes:
The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Place, which set out a strategic transport investment strategy ‘Connecting Coventry’ and the opportunities for achieving this including working with Midlands Connect, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The report was due to be considered by Cabinet and Council at their meetings on 24th January, 2017.
The report indicated that Coventry was a dynamic and rapidly growing city where transport investment was essential to keep pace with continuing change. In 2004 the city’s population was under 300,000. It had grown steadily since to 345,000 and was forecast to reach over 415,000 in the next 20 years. In the proposed next Local Plan period up to 2031 it was forecast that investment and development in Coventry would create 50,000 jobs, with a consequential growth in housing to meet the needs of the growing city.
The Council had been very successful in obtaining funding and delivering schemes from a number of sources for investment in the city’s transport infrastructure, with £150m of improvements delivered over the last 5 years. There was now an opportunity to continue to build on this success. However in order to maximize the economic potential of the city and to take full advantage of developments such as High Speed Rail (HS2), it was essential that the Council looked to get investment both directly within the city and also in strategic cross boundary transport schemes that support Coventry’s growth aspirations.
The principal objectives of this strategy included improving the resilience of the road network (so the strategic road network did not come to a halt when a motorway had to be closed); ensuring connectivity to HS2 and job opportunities around the new station and linking key developments and employment sites to HS2 including Friargate and Jaguar Landrover; and an expansion of railway capacity and reconnecting Coventry to the East Midlands by rail. A summary of the strategy was set out at Appendix 1 of the report.
One major opportunity to help deliver this strategy was the £247m strategic transport package agreed as part of the WMCA Devolution Deal package approved by Council in May 2016. Although an outline package of schemes was included at the time, it was for the City Council to determine which schemes went forward for funding. The WMCA had an ‘assurance framework process’ which all schemes would have to go through, the main purpose of which was to ensure that all schemes across the region were aligned to the policies of the adopted West Midlands transport strategy entitled ‘Movement for Growth’. The main aims of this strategy were to drive job creation and growth and were in line with the City Council’s own priorities.
The report outlined the schemes that it was proposed to take forward as part of this package, which were summarised in four programmes:
· Coventry South – major highway and rail proposals to facilitate growth, especially around Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Warwick and to provide connectivity to HS2 and UK Central;
· City Centre – a major increase in capacity at Coventry Railway Station (this is subject to a separate Cabinet Report on the ‘Coventry Station Masterplan’ and improvements to selected ring road junctions);
· Coventry North – road capacity improvements to the North West of the city and on the A444 and M6 junction 3;
· Rapid Transit – investment in the development of Very Light Rail and subsequent implementation.
The report set out the detailed financial implications associated with the schemes.
Members questioned the officers on a number of issues and responses were provided, matters raised included:
· Progress with light rail
· Links with UK Central, the HS2 hub
· Other opportunities for light rail in the city
· A concern that members hadn’t had the full opportunity to scrutinise the issues contained in the report and that further updates on progress should come to Scrutiny as a matter of course.
RESOLVED that:
(1) The recommendations to Cabinet be endorsed.
(2) Cabinet be requested to:
(i) Include the following aspiration for the city in the report: ‘That a light rail link be provided to the UK Central HS2 hub as soon as possible and that links be developed to the other major destinations in the city including the hospital’
(ii) Ensure that Scrutiny is included in the reporting process relating to Connecting Coventry – Strategic Transport Investment Plan.
(3) Arrangements be put in place for Members of the Committee to attend a fact finding visit to Warwick Manufacturing Group.