To receive information on the Taunton Town’s Cycling Infrastructure Project.
Minutes:
Charter Trustees were given information on the Taunton Town’s Cycling Infrastructure Projects.
Matt Parr, Project Manager (Somerset West and Taunton Council) was in attendance along with Kate Murdoch. Kate Murdoch clarified that the purpose of this item was to seek a contribution from the CIL pot to the cycling infrastructure for the Coal Orchard development. However, Councillors may wish to make a wider contribution to address the concerns already raised. Councillors may have been made aware that SWT’s bid to the Future High Street Fund was initially successful. As part of the Community Engagement Workshops that were undertaken one of the major issues raised was the need to improve cycling and walking pedestrian infrastructure in the Town Centre as well as cycle parking. A detailed draft business case was to be submitted to Government by the end of January, with the final one by April 2020. Officers were seeking an in principle decision to make a contribution from the CIL allocated to the Unparished Area pot to provide match funding SWT has already identified for cycling and walking infrastructure improvements. The Council would attract investment from Government if match funding was secured from the Charter Trustees. Officers would come back with further detail on what those projects were. Somerset County Council were currently working on the Local Cycling Infrastructure Plan, supported by the Taunton Area Cycling Campaign. Out of that work a list of projects would be prioritised and more detail would be provided.
During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and asked questions which included:-
· Councillors were keen to be provided with more detail and when this could be brought back for final decision?
· Somerset County Council would submit to the Department for Transport at the beginning of November. The priority actions for the Town Centre from that plan will go into the Future High St Fund Bid. Officers could then come back to this body and ask for explicit support.
· Councillors were supportive in principle but it was queried as to how much was required, was it the whole pot and how much were SWT providing? More detail was required for Councillors to have a view.
· It was felt that the Charter Trustees needed to create a set of priorities for the CIL pot before it was allocated to this project.
· Councillors felt that the Town Centre should not just be the sole focus of this pot of money as the Unparished Area encompassed a wider area than that.
· Officers clarified that in terms of mitigating the impact of development cycling pedestrian developments were already on the Councils list and can be justified. Officers would be happy to come back when these projects were costed. SWT had £1.5 million for the Strategic CIL pot which could support the cycling pedestrian improvements in the bid. Officers were at this stage seeking a steer for an in principle commitment of some of that money or none at all?
· It was considered that £100,000 would not pay for very much when it came to infrastructure.
· Some Councillors expressed support for putting the total amount of CIL money towards the High Street Fund Bid for improvements to the cycling pedestrian offer.
· Some Councillors were not in favour and felt this could be used towards a project of a cycle track from the Park and Ride into Taunton.
· Councillors queried when was the last opportunity to participate and decide whether in favour of committing funds to the Bid?
· The Draft bid would be submitted in January and so it was considered there was time to come back and for the Charter Trustees to identify their priorities in the interim.
RESOLVED that the Charter Trustees hold a meeting as soon as possible to discuss and agree the priority areas in recommending the allocated CIL funds in advance of a decision to provide financial support to the cycling pedestrian improvements in the Future High Street Fund Bid to Central Government.