Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were noted as above.

No declarations were made.

None.

None.

P Kennan would like item 9 of the previous minutes amending to read ‘Ipsos Mori’ not ‘I Murray’.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2022 be agreed as a true record.

A Linton provided an update on the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and informed TEB of the report being presented to the MCA Board on 21^st March 2022, seeking delegated approval to submit the bid.

A Linton informed the Board that the bidding process opened last year. Each MCA was eligible for one successful bid capped at £50m.  A Linton confirmed that SYMCA’s first round bid was unsuccessful and shared the feedback from DfT with the Board.  

A Linton confirmed that only one MCA was successful in the first round of bidding. 

A Linton confirmed that the submission deadline for round two is 6 July and confirmed that work had already started on reviewing the feedback received from DfT to inform the development of our subsequent bid.

As the bid preparation is in its very early stages M Swales will bring back an update on regarding bid content to the Leaders and co-chair in due course.  M Swales confirmed that initial discussions with the MCA team and Heads of Service about the general theme of the bid had taken place.  A workshop was to be arranged to discuss with Heads of Service/Heads of Transport to develop the detail.  M Swales confirmed that the submission would be complementary to the current challenges facing public transport.

Cllr D Johnson asked if the Board would have an opportunity to input into the submission.  M Swales confirmed that ideally the submission would be brought to Board but due to time constraints and the pre-election period, this may not be possible.

P Kennan highlighted that the work of TfN is aligned with the Region’s key rail schemes and EV charging projects, as well as focussing on the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis. P Kennan would like to see activity included that addresses the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis and considered the role of EV charging in addressing this.  P Kennan would welcome the opportunity to input into the submission. 

Cllr D Johnson – questioned the role of EV charging points in the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis but agreed it would be beneficial to discuss some basic strategic points to address this in the bid.

P Kennan commented that surveys have revealed that most travel across the country is done by car and efforts needed to be made to decarbonise car travel.

RESOLVED – M Swales to circulate the submission to Board members.

J Gardner presented the report to Board. 

Cllr D Johnson stated that he was impressed with the active travel schemes and asked whether any further walking/cycle infrastructure was planned for the schemes at Parkgate and Wakefield Road. J Gardener confirmed that cycle stands were planned at the Park & Ride site and the securement of the land enabled further development of wider footways/cycleways in addition to this project, future proofing the area for further active travel development. 

Cllr D Johnson questioned whether the car park at Parkgate was to be used as a Park & Ride or just a car park.  S Edwards confirmed that it was a Park & Ride scheme and was intended to provide additional capacity for tram train, the current arrangements were only a temporary measure.  S Edwards confirmed that Park & Ride facilities are being looked at across the Tram network as many of the current Park & Ride sites are on private land.

Cllr D Johnson stated there were lots of positives in the schemes.

P Kennan welcomed the Parkgate scheme as a way of hopefully easing the congestion on the Junction 33/34 corridor of the M1 but would also like to see proposals developed for the inclusion of significant EV car charging facilities. P Kennan also questioned what the level of bus provision would be at this location? S Edwards confirmed that there is provision for EV charging, which will be installed when it is opened but also the potential to increase public transport capacity will require further investigation. S Edwards will review the buses that travel around Parkgate currently and also provide some more information about Active Travel access at the next meeting.

P Kennan commented that although the A61 scheme looked like a road scheme from the report, it is supportive of our overall Transport and SEP Agenda. P Kennan would have welcomed more information in the paper on the parallel Transforming Cities Fund A61 active travel scheme and encouraged Board members to view the paper in that context. 

Cllr C Read welcomed the Tram/Train scheme and was pleased the improvements would open up the site to the wider area and ease congestion.

J Gardner provided a verbal update regarding the Active Travel Fund 2 / Gainshare programme consisting of 8 schemes across 4 South Yorkshire local authorities totalling £7.70m. A change request was presented, seeking endorsement prior to MCA Board approval to a) replace 1 scheme (Goldthorpe Active Neighbourhood) with an alternative in the same location and b) revise the deadline for the Active Travel Fund 2 delivery and expenditure until September 2022.

RESOLVED –

The Board endorsed

(i)        Progression of ‘T24 Parkgate’ to MCA for full approval and award of £11.55m grant from Transforming Cities Fund (TCF2) to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) subject to the conditions set out in the Assurance Summary;

·    A new link road across a former steelworks and railway siding site from the A6123 Aldwarke Lane into the rear of the Parkgate Shopping complex;

·    A 268 space Park  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

C Shepherd introduced the report to the Board.

C Shepherd confirmed that the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) had been published in November 2021 regarding Government spending on rail in the North and Midlands, which impacts the efficiency of the rail network and delivers wider benefits.  The IRP covers investment in HS2, NPR and other key elements across the Midlands and the North. 

C Shepherd confirmed that the plans published in the IRP for HS2 are  broadly in line with previous proposals but there is a disparity between what was proposed and what was published with regard to NPR.  The paper sets out recommendations to develop a post IRP action plan in partnership with each Local Authority/LEP members to address the gaps.  C Shepherd asked the Board to consider the list of schemes affecting South Yorkshire and invited any initial views/priorities from the list below:-

·           Asecond fast train per hour from Sheffield to Leeds

·          A third fast train per hour from Sheffield to Manchester

·          Capacity enhancements at Sheffield Midland and Doncaster stations

·          Securing Midland Mainline electrification and upgrade to Sheffield

·          Input to the study on how to serve Leeds by HS2 with a focus on Sheffield to Leeds

·          Ensuring the East Coast Mainline upgrade benefits Doncaster

P Kennan agreed that it was disappointing for the region that the IRP did not deliver all of the region’s original priorities.  P Kennan expressed his priority would be the Sheffield to Leeds connection, due to the Government’s study on how to connect the East Midlands with Leeds via Sheffield.  P Kennan expressed his concern that until the study is complete the residents and communities of South Yorkshire would continue to be impacted by blight..

P Kennan confirmed that TfN are still considering how this corridor can be developed and funded.

M Swales agreed that it is a very important issue and that a meeting to discuss the study had been arranged with Network Rail and each of the Local Authorities.  M Swales stated that following the last TEB meeting the MCA team had done some work internally and confirmed that he is meeting with other Heads of Service next week and wanted to reassure Board members that a joint South Yorkshire approach was being taken to this issue.

M Swales informed the Board that there may be some disruption to the expected rail timetables due to run from May to December 2022 and would bring back further details to a future meeting.  P Kennan confirmed that a backlog of driver training and increase in covid cases had contributed to the disruption.

Cllr D Johnson said he thought there was merit in progressing all of the projects and would be interested to see how they all fit together. Cllr D Johnson questioned what the purpose of responding to the IRP was and asked what the region expected to get out of it.

C Shepherd reiterated that the recommendation is to investigate further and produce an action plan regarding how to respond and how to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

C Shepherd presented the report which sets out the result of the public and statutory consultation on the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme for South Yorkshire and the recommended next steps.  The report will be presented at the MCA meeting seeking approval on 21^st March 2022 to ‘make’ the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme. The report also outlines the principles of the supporting governance arrangements for the Enhanced Partnership Board, who will have responsibility for delivering the Enhanced Partnership Scheme.

C Shepherd confirmed that the consultation was positive overall so no changes will be made to the scheme, though the levels of support varied between questions.

Cllr D Johnson questioned why 11% of respondents have opposed a long term focus on reliability with a cleaner/greener fleet, and whether any groups had responded to the consultation.

C Shepherd confirmed that groups had responded to the consultation and that there was a larger report which will contain more detailed responses which will be published on our website in June 2022.  This may provide more insight regarding why this answer was chosen as opposed to another. 

C Shepherd confirmed that 22 groups had been consulted and as stated previously the larger report might contain more details of the responses received.

P Kennan referred Cllr D Johnson back to the previous bus review which contained responses from individuals and groups which may show a correlation with those answers received from the Enhanced Partnership (EP) consultation.  C Shepherd stated it was important to keep the results separate as the EP consultation was on a specific issue.  It was noted that despite conducting the consultation during a time of instability and against potential price rises, the consultation had a positive outcome overall.

C Shepherd confirmed that the larger report would offer more insight into any perceived anomalies.

Cllr D Johnson enquired as to whether there were already any forums for public members to voice their opinions at.

C Shepherd had covered in a previous meeting the need to establish a Bus Partnership Board, which would oversee the delivery and put the public voice back into bus policy.  C Shepherd confirmed there was already a forum being considered surrounding the Enhanced Partnership, but members were yet to be decided and that the EP Board needed to be established first.  S Edwards confirmed there were a number of user groups that already existed, and meetings took place on a regular basis.

P Beijer spoke about the consultation responses and that consideration should be given tto how we could use these in the development and implementation of future schemes. 

Cllr D Johnson questioned where Local Authorities fit in to the consultation and C Shepherd assured Cllr D Johnson that the EP Board would have a balanced structure and a link across to the TEB.

M Swales assured members that the appropriate governance process was being followed through TEB and which members would be selected.

S Edwards confirmed that although there will be an EP Board and forum elements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

P Beijer gave a verbal update on the decision that was made on 4^th March 2022 MCA meeting.  The decision was made to give formal notice and P Beijer confirmed that the planning process has started, with completion due in around 12-18 months’ time.

RESOLVED - APPROVED

S Edwards gave a verbal update on the funding that was being received from DfT and confirmed an extension on the current funding for bus and Light Rail had been granted.

S Edwards confirmed that although there has not been an official announcement it is expected that roughly £146m will be awarded to buses, of that roughly £39m will be coming to our Local Transport Authorities.  There may be some changes to implement when the monies are received but that is currently being discussed as there is already an increased burden on transport from across the country.

S Edwards stated that the Light Rail funding still has not yet been agreed but the overall funding could be roughly £188m which is being discussed and confirmation should be given next week.

S Edwards confirmed that at present it is unclear how we will receive this, at present DfT are giving different views as to whether it will be split for bus and Light Rail, but neither us nor the operators are aware.

Discussions are still ongoing with operators and an update will be provided at the next meeting.

RESOLVED – S Edwards to confirm when DfT decide on funding and operators update at the next meeting.

P Kennan would like thanks to be noted for Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner for South Yorkshire, who leaves at the end of March 2022.

P Kennan mentioned that the Great British Railways HQ tender submission bid had been submitted yesterday (16^th March 2022) and had received a good level of support.  The bid itself was across South Yorkshire with both public and private support.  P Kennan will circulate to members and asked if elected members could support it as it runs through to the next stage. 

P Kennan stated that at present there were no future meeting dates set. M Swales said he would pick this up and members would be invited accordingly.