Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were noted as above.

Declarations of Interest by individual Members in relation to any item of business on the agenda.

None.

None.

None.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 19 July 2019 be agreed as a true record.

A paper and accompanying presentation was submitted to provide an overview of the current economic landscape in Sheffield City Region and the emerging evidence to structure future priorities/activities in the SCR in relation to transport, to be included within the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and Local Industrial Strategy (LIS).

Information was received to explain the process and timescales for development.  It was noted that the SEP and LIS were scheduled for publication in December 2019, but acknowledged there were a number of factors that may affect this intention.

Regarding sign-off, it was noted the SCR effectively owned the SEP and could sign this off when considered appropriate.  However, the LIS was co-owned with government and subject to other procedures and expectations (to be agreed with government).

Further information and evidence was presented with specific relevance to transport interventions such as connectivity to Doncaster Sheffield airport and the expansion of the tram/train network.

Members felt it was important that the SEP didn’t deviate from the already agreed Transport Strategy.

Members were presented with the proposed ‘people-focused’ vision for the SCR’s SEP and LIS and its proposed supporting policies and outcomes.  The Board welcomed the people focus and looked forward to it being developed further.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A report was presented which provided an update on the progress in developing the final strategic outline business case (SOBC) for Sheffield City Region’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) submission.

Members were reminded that SCR was confirmed as one of 10 places across the country to be shortlisted for the next phase of TCF.  The requirement was to submit a draft SOBC to the Department of Transport (DfT) by the 20^th June 2019 (before submission of the final business case in November 2019) for consideration as part of a £1.22bn funding pot.

The SCR bid included three types of schemes:

·         Public Transport

·         Active Travel

·         Rail

The draft SOBC submitted in June included three funding scenarios for the four-year programme as requested by DfT – these were labelled ‘Low’ (£183m), ‘Medium’ (£204m) and ‘High’ (£227m).  All of the values allowed for 5% inflation across the funding period and 10% for risk.

Written feedback on the draft SOBC had now been received from the DfT which would shape the work required for the submission of the final SOBC on 28^th November 2019.

The written feedback had been positive and the report listed particular points of note.

The main issue was the need to enhance the Economic Case for the final SOBC with clear evidence of programme benefits.  This would require additional data collection, discussions with the DfT on the assumptions for how the active travel schemes are to be appraised and more details of the public transport schemes to be modelled using the SCR Transport Model.  In addition, the submission would require an enhanced management case illustrating a strong governance proposition for the implementation of the programme.

The TCG Project Board had agreed a work programme through to the submission of the final SOBC, this was detailed within the report.

Members were informed that the SCR was continuing to speak to other shortlisted bidders to share good practice and ensure consistency in any discussions with the DfT.

RESOLVED – That the Board:

i)        Note the feedback from the DfT on the work undertaken to date on the Strategic Outline Business Case.

ii)      Note the required tasks and key deadlines in advance of the November submission of the Full Business Case.

A report was submitted which updated the Board on issues concerning the East Coast Mainline (ECML), one of the two key inter-city rail lines linking Sheffield City Region to London, and a key link to Leeds, York, the North East and Scotland.

Members noted that the ECML had suffered from a lack of investment in recent years; significant investment was now required to enhance performance and maintain the key role it played in the UK’s transport network and economy.

Network Rail had recently undertaken a route study of the ECML.  The study identified the key issues, constraints and areas requiring investment over the period up to the 2040’s, these were detailed within the report.

The report also included suggested solutions and enhancements such as additional platforms, operational flexibility, improved track layouts and line speeds at Doncaster station.

It was noted that alongside all the enhancements detailed in the report, SCR along with Doncaster MBC, had an aspiration for a new rail link and station to serve Doncaster Sheffield Airport.  A feasibility study had been carried out and further work was currently being undertaken to decide on the best way to progress the scheme which would likely involve a phased approach.

The Board were informed that SCR had recently become a paying member of the East Coast Mainline Authorities consortium which acted as a co-ordinating and lobbying body for authorities along the whole of the ECML.  The body did some valuable work to raise the profile of the ECML in parliament and within the rail industry and it was thought important that SCR continued to engage with this group.

RESOLVED:  That the Board:

i)       Agree that the Combined Authority and LEP should continue to engage with the rail industry processes and groups lobbying for improvements on the East Coast Mainline, recognising its vital importance to the economy of Doncaster, SCR and the wider east coast corridor.

ii)      Agree to the formation of a Doncaster Station Project Board to assist with engagement on those issues.

iii)     Agree to nominate a LEP member to the East coast Mainline Authorities consortium, if a political representative was required this would be a Doncaster MBC member.

A report was submitted that informed the Board of a piece of work that had been commissioned by SCR in relation to Future Mobility.

Members were informed that in March 2019 the DfT produced a strategy called Future for Mobility:  Urban Strategy.  The document recognised the impact that technological advances would have and highlighted nine principles that underpinned Government’s approach to future mobility.

The Board was informed that SCR had submitted an Expression of Interest to the DfT’s Future Mobility Zone Fund in May 2019.  The fund had been established to support the trial of new mobility services, modes and models through the creation of globally significant demonstrators.  Unfortunately the Expression of Interest had been unsuccessful.

ARUP had been appointed by SCR to produce a think piece on Future Mobility to take a national steer presented by DfT’s Urban Strategy and o apply this to a SCR Context.  The outcomes of the work would be used to strengthen any applications to future rounds of Government funding.

The first stage of work was underway and a workshop with stakeholders would take place in early September to gather evidence of work and projects that were being undertaken by (mainly) private sector partners in the field of future mobility.  Findings and recommendations would be presented to the next Transport Board for members to recommend next steps.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

The Board considered a report which gave an update on the latest progress within Transport for the North (TfN) Integrated and Smart Travel (IST) Programme.

The IST comprised of three phases:

1.      Smart on rail – allowing customers to travel on the rail network in the North using ITSO smart cards.

2.      Customer information – fares data, disruption information in real time and standardised data for ease of sharing.

3.      Account-based travel – would provide a fair-price capping system of transport fares across the North.

The Board were informed that smart on rail went live across the North in January 2019.  Around 60% of all season tickets were now being issued onto a smart card and as at the end of June 2019 3,874,000 journeys had been loaded to smart cards.

With regard to customer information, the Fares Build Data Tool was still in procurement.  The tool was expected to be available by September 2020.

The disruption messaging tool had been through a number of design phases and, after testing, was expected to go live in February 2020.

The Account-based travel solution had proved problematical and the project had encountered a number of challenges with progressing the business case given the scale and complexity of the programme required to make it work.

Furthermore, as the business case had progressed so had alternative technological solutions.  Bus operators across the region were now delivering contactless payment for travel and First South Yorkshire were proposing to pilot daily and weekly fare capping in the region from October.

As a result, levels of support from the large bus operators had diminished as they were finding their own solutions either as individual operators or as part of a regional ticketing scheme.

TfN were now considering alternative options to take the programme forward, maintaining the same vision but with different delivery strategies.  The Board would be kept up to date with developments.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

A report was submitted to provide the Board with an update on progress and issues associated with the SCR Mass Transit and related projects.

Members were reminded that at the Board meeting on 19^th July they were provided with a summary of the need for renewal works to ensure the existing Supertram network could continue to be used safely beyond the end of the current concession agreement in 2024.

The report provided an update on the latest progress made on the production of the Outline Business Case, submission for funding and local contribution and capital costs.

Members were informed that, to date, sources for approximately £14m of funding had been found, which was 50% of what was required if a local contribution of 7% was needed.  The report gave details of further potential sources that had been identified.

Work on proposing that previous expenditure could be used as a match, or as part of a case to reduce the percentage of local contribution continued.  Not having an agreed position on local contribution meant that it was no longer possible to seek full approval for submission for the Outline Business Case to DfT in October 2019.  An update on the position regarding DfT funding and the plan to resolve the local contribution challenge would be given at a future meeting.

Members noted that other issues, such as patronage and costs, continued to affect progress. The delays to date and any future delays to Programme Entry or full approval would reduce the ability to deal with problems that arise between now and the end of the concession.  This was a significant risk; the Project’s Risk Log had been amended accordingly.

Members noted that a submission for funding from DfT was required to secure the necessary capital funding to renew the asset.  DfT had already indicated that the Large Local Majors fund was no longer considered suitable, therefore SCR and SYPTE had been in discussions with DfT about the suitability of a direct funding approach to Treasury as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review process.

A conference call with the DfT on 20 August was positive in how DfT see the need for asset renewal and recognition that there was a need for it to be included in a three-year CSR agreed in 2020.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Board considered a report which provided an update on the development of the Roads Implementation Plan to support delivery of the SCR Transport Strategy.

The Roads Implementation Plan was being developed following the same template as the recently adopted Integrated Rail Plan and would show the interactions between the different hierarchies of road networks within the region.

The plan would also set out the top ten challenges with the existing road network in the SCR and the future opportunities and needs to accommodate planned economic growth.  From these challenges and opportunities a series of objectives would be set along with interventions for delivery.

The interventions would be mapped out to clearly show the location of each of the proposed activities.

The development of the interventions and the shaping of the document was being undertaken in partnership with stakeholders on the strategic Transport Group.

Whilst focusing on roads the plan would also have an increased focus on how to meet zero carbon targets and the accommodation of active travel.  The timeframe for completing the plan was included within the report.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Board’s Forward Plan was presented for information.

It was noted that the SYPTE budget may need to be presented earlier than the February meeting, although meeting the December meeting deadline may be a challenge.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Members discussed the independent review of HS2 and the varying views on the subject across the SCR; it was noted that the TfN Chair was on the panel.

Cllr Read informed the Board that Rotherham MBC had a major scheme business case submission for £45m to widen the Rotherham end of the Parkway.  It was agreed that a letter of support for the scheme would be submitted.

S Edwards informed the Board that Northern had announced that the Pacer trains were to be retained for longer than planned (mainly across South and West Yorkshire).  Timescales were as yet unclear but it was thought it would be until the middle of 2020.