Agenda item

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways which indicated that the Council’s transport capital programme has secured a further £115.9 million, which takes the total investment in Coventry’s transport network to just over £250 million for the next 5 years.  This enables the Council to further its reputation as an innovative city and to tackle corporate priorities – including tackling the causes of climate change.  The report sought approval to enable the funding to be drawn down and the schemes designed and delivered.

As reported to Cabinet on 15 March 2022, (Minute 89/21 refers) the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) submitted a bid to Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for a £1.05 billion package of transport schemes for the period 2022-27.  The Department for Transport (DfT) has subsequently confirmed the CRSTS funding award for the WMCA. For Coventry this includes the following:

·  Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) - £54 million

·  Coventry South Sustainable Transport Package - £17 million

·  Foleshill Transport Package - £4.5 million

·  Regional Park and Ride including Tile Hill Station - £4.5 million

The £80 million CRSTS capital investment will be supplemented by up to £23 million match funding which is a mix of public and private sector investment, taking the total programme value to £103m for the 4 schemes. The majority of match funding is already secure and has been previously approved by Cabinet, and was detailed in the report.

In addition, £30.6 million funding is allocated within the five-year CRSTS programme for Highway Maintenance and the Local Network Improvement Plan.

The WMCA is the accountable body for the CRSTS funding and has put in place a Single Assurance Framework (SAF) process that will need to be followed to draw down the funding.  This requires the preparation and submission of business cases that will require WMCA approval.

Due to the scale, and innovative nature, of the project, the CVLR scheme has been designated a retained scheme, which means that the DfT will need to approve the business case in addition to the WMCA.

The Highways Maintenance and Local Network Improvement Plan funding allocation is not subject to the SAF process and is being allocated direct to the Council.

In addition to the CRSTS funding, the Council has recently been successful in securing £5.3 million additional funding for cycling and walking improvements from two additional sources:

·  Active Travel Fund 3 – the Binley Cycle Route has received an additional £2.7 million Active Travel funding, taking the total scheme funding to £8.6 million. WMCA has allocated a further £1 million for two Active Travel Neighbourhoods, in the Earlsdon and Naul’s Mill areas of the city.

·  Paths for Everyone - £1.63 million has been awarded from this fund, administered by Sustrans for the DfT, for improvements to the National Cycle Network routes linking to the University of Warwick campus.

The WMCA has also been awarded revenue funding through CRSTS for scheme development.  The Council has already been awarded £0.6 million from this award, and it is anticipated that further revenue funding will be made available during 2022/23.  This funding is intended to assist with the cost of developing a pipeline of new schemes that can come forward as and when additional funding becomes available. This also helps to create contingency in the event that any schemes in the CRSTS programme are delayed.

In total, this represents additional investment of almost £116 million in the City’s transport network over the 2022-27 period, alongside already committed funding on projects including the Local Air Quality Action Plan and the Active Travel Programme.  In order to deliver this ambitious programme, the Council is proposing to use a procurement compliant framework in order to procure professional consultancy services, whilst bespoke procurement frameworks are likely to be required for the CVLR project, given its’ innovative nature, alongside a framework for construction under the wider capital programme.

RESOLVED:-

1)  That the Cabinet delegates authority to the Chief Legal Officer and the Director of Transportation and Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to agree the most appropriate procurement route for the works to be delivered for CRSTS Programme and wider Transport Capital Programme related works, subject to approval by Procurement Board.

2)  That the Cabinet recommends that the City Council:-

i.  Approves the submission of Business Cases to the WMCA and, in the case of CVLR, to the DfT, to secure CRSTS funding and delegates authority to the Chief Legal Officer, Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Transportation and Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to accept the CRSTS £80 million funding and add to the Council’s Transport Capital Programme.

ii.  Retrospectively approves the award of £2.7 million Active Travel Fund for Binley Cycle Route, £1 million Active Travel Neighbourhood and £1.63 million Sustrans ‘Paths for Everyone’ Funding and approve the addition of this funding to the Council’s Transport Capital Programme.

iii.  Delegates authority to the Chief Legal Officer and the Director of Transportation and Highways following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to finalise the terms of, and enter into, the relevant legal agreements as well as any associated documents deemed necessary to complete the projects relating the CRSTS Funding up to £80 million, Active Travel Fund £2.7 million for Binley Cycle Route, Active Travel Neighbourhood £1 million and £1.63 million Sustrans ‘Paths for Everyone’ Funding, including any match funding which is not yet secure up to the amount of £5 million.

iv.  Delegates authority to the Director of Transportation and Highways following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to approve the programme of public consultation and engagement and works to be undertaken for the Council’s Transport Capital Programme, including the CRSTS projects.

v.  Delegates authority to the Director of Transport and Highways following consultation with Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change and the Cabinet Member for City Services, to approve the programme of works and public consultation and engagement to be undertaken for the Active Travel Neighbourhood schemes.