Agenda item

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

To consider the petitions regarding Save Upper Hill Street

(a)  Petition bearing 950 signatures (e-signatures and hard copy signatures, petition reference E33/21) which is being supported by Councillor Simpson, a Sherbourne Ward Councillor, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item along with the petition organiser.

(b)  Petition bearing 44 (hard copy signatures, petition reference 46/21) the petition organiser has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways concerning 2 petitions, bearing 950 and 44 signatures, requesting that the Council abandon plans to open Upper Hill Street to through traffic. The petition was supported by Councillor R Simpson, a Cheylesmore Ward Councillor, who, together with the Petition Organiser, attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of the petitioners.  A plan of the proposed works at Upper Hill Street was appended to the report.

The Cabinet Member had considered the petitions prior to this meeting and requested that the petitions were dealt with by determination letter rather than a formal report being submitted to a meeting, to be able to deal with the matter more efficiently.  The determination letter advised that the petitions be added to the record of the public consultation carried out in November and December 2021.  On receipt of the determination letters the petition organisers advised officers that they wanted the matter considered at a Cabinet Member for City Services meeting.

Since 2017 the Council had been working closely with the Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) to develop an action plan to reduce Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) levels, to below the legal limit of 40ug/m3, in the shortest possible time. The Council developed a Local Air Quality Action Plan (LAQAP) following consultation in 2019 and 2020.  To develop the plan, around fifty individual packages of measures were assessed using traffic and air quality models, with the resulting preferred option being approved by Cabinet in July 2020 (their minute 16/20 refers).  A Full Business Case for that option was submitted to Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) in December 2020 following further approval from Cabinet (their minute 47/20 refers).  A further consultation was held in November and December 2021 on the details of the infrastructure schemes which formed a key part of the approved package of measures.

The mandated scheme which formed part of the Legal Direction (Environment Act 1995 (Coventry City Council) Air Quality Direction 2021), issued by Government in May 2021, was a left in and left out junction arrangement that linked Upper Hill Street to the slip road at Junction 8 of the A4053 Ringway.  As part of the public consultation carried out in November and December 2021, the Council shared an alternative left in only option at Upper Hill Street.

The LAQAP measures allowed Coventry City Council to achieve its legal obligations under the Direction without the need for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which would require all non-compliant vehicles entering the zone to be charged. With a daily charge of £12.50 for private cars and an impact on an area where 82,000 residents live, a CAZ would have had severe economic and social impacts for the city.

During the public consultation there was significant opposition to the proposed left in only option.  Local residents, St Osburg’s School, and St Osburg’s Church all voiced significant opposition.

Construction of the new junction between the Ringway and Upper Hill Street represents some significant engineering and programming difficulties. In particular, the impact of major services on costs and the programme had become more apparent as site investigation works had begun, as part of the detailed design process.  Additionally, the construction of the left in only option required the re-dedication of some school land as highway, which required the approval of the Secretary of State for Education.

The Council were investigating alternative engineering options that could achieve the required reduction in NO2 levels to meet the outcome required in the Ministerial Direction, but which could be delivered quicker than the current proposals.  However, any change would be subject to agreement by JAQU and the Council would need to go through a formal change process to get this agreed.

The Petition Spokesperson understood the need to reduce pollution in the area but raised concerns about the risks generated by the proposal, to add a slip road outside a school and mother church (the oldest Catholic church in the City).  The proposal increased the dangers to young people and parishioners by creating a traffic island.  She urged the Council to consider alternative solutions that would not put people at risk.  The Petition sponsor Councillor Simpson also recognised the need to reduce pollution but felt that there was also a need to listen to local communities regarding the proposed actions.  He felt that it had taken a long time for the Council to recognise local views and residents felt that a lot of work had been wasted.  The Deputy Cabinet Member requested that other residents who had been involved in previous meetings be included in any further discussions.  The Shadow Cabinet Member asked about other options explored including a Park and Ride.

Officers reported that the Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) were very thorough about approval of any proposals put forward, detailed evidence must be submitted by the Council and the thresholds for approval were high.  The achievable impact of each proposal must be great enough to warrant compliance and funding.  The Park and Ride proposal was an example of a proposed action discussed but the evidence of impact on NO2 was not enough to achieve compliance and funding.

Any alternative engineering options that could achieve the required reduction in NO2 levels to meet the outcome required in the Ministerial Direction, must be delivered quicker than the current proposals.  Also any change would be subject to agreement by JAQU and the Council would need to go through a formal change process to get this agreed.

The Cabinet Member felt it was important that the local community felt listened to and she was optimistic that an alternative solution could be discussed and investigated further.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services having considered the petitions that have been raised in objection to the construction of a junction, from the Ringway into Upper Hill Street, notes that work is continuing to seek a solution that can be delivered in a shorter time and with less impact on Upper Hill Street.