Agenda item

Motion submitted by Councillor Gary Christy concerning Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP).

Councillor Christy presented his motion regarding the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP).

Councillor Mrs Davis seconded the motion and Councillor Meekins opened the motion for debate. Members made comments as follows:

·        Councillor Hoy stated that she was interested to read the letter from the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority that was sent to the Leader of Peterborough and whilst there has been some ridiculing, in her opinion, he is a hero due to the fact that he is the only person who has been able to block a LTCP. She made the point that the Leader along with the Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council have also been against it, but as they are outnumbered on the Board, the only person who can stop it currently is the Leader at Peterborough City Council. Councillor Hoy stated that the reason she feels that it is so important is due to the fact that, in her view, it is a poor document and in the letter it states that people have misunderstood it and should, therefore, read it. She made the point that if you go to the website called Your LTCP, it does not work, along with another link in the letter for the LTCP document. Councillor Hoy expressed the view that one of the issues that concerns her is that they advise that it is going to bring an increase in buses to the area but that is not correct and they appear to dislike cars so much and will make proposals which are damaging. She added that one of the proposals being put forward is to introduce a bus lane on the Elme Hall roundabout in Wisbech and made the point that there is one bus an hour which uses that stretch of road and there is a proposal to include a fast bus lane on a road which already suffers from severe congestion and will be limited to one lane of traffic. Councillor Hoy stated that she finds the proposal ludicrous and such proposals cannot be supported, need to be opposed and if such proposals are implemented it will only lead to more congestion in the Fenland towns.

·       Councillor Nawaz stated that he attended a meeting in Huntingdon and, in his opinion, it is evident that doctrinaire politics are in place rather than pragmatic policies to address the real needs of the real people particularly in places away from Cambridge City. He explained that if you visit Cambridge Station, a clear queue of buses can be seen that are waiting for passengers, however, in Whittlesey it is the opposite, and a queue of passengers can often be seen waiting for 30 or 40 minutes which also do not appear to service the Whittlesey area after 7pm. Councillor Nawaz made the point that this causes problems for those parents whose children go to school as the bus timetable, in his view, is totally inappropriate and the train service which operates and stops in Whittlesey is also very infrequent. He expressed the opinion that a comprehensive plan is required  which considers the needs of all the residents in Cambridgeshire and not just one particular area of the county which sustains the ruling group of politicians who appear to favour their political constituency rather than the real concerns and issues of the residents. Councillor Nawaz stated that he will fully support the motion and endorses everything that has been said.

·       Councillor Count stated that there is currently the Greater Cambridge Partnership which has failed  to deliver their vision for the future, which was to deliver £80,000,000 a year and to produce a high specification strategy for Cambridge City and South Cambridge, including some outlying areas. He stated that the Mayor wanted to bring forward his Local Transport Plan, which relied on congestion charges to deliver some of his aims and objectives, however, that also failed. Councillor Count stated that the appointed Labour representative for the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership has suggested that other proposals will need to be considered such as paying for parking and he expressed the view that it appears that the knee jerk reaction is to consider how to raise taxes. He made reference to a previous administration where the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership was introduced and £30,000,000 a year was secured from the Government in order to deliver transport solutions and due to the amount of tax that this area pays into the Government the figure commenced at £20,000,000 and rose to £40,000,000 a year. Councillor Count explained that the Combined Authority was then formed, and they received £30,000,000 a year to deliver transport solutions, however, there are now two separate bodies receiving £70,000,000 a year and the only ideas coming forward appear to be deciding how to receive a further income from the local residents. He expressed the opinion that consideration should be given to spending some of the £70,000,000 a year to make a difference, with the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership funding of £50,000,000 could be considered being put forward to improve bus services ahead of the congestion charging proposal which failed. Councillor Count stated that issues like these need to be highlighted and he stated that a local transport plan is needed but it needs to be based on sound and reasonable decisions. He stated that there needs to be a projection on what the money is going to be spent on which is something that everyone can unite together on to include Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City and Huntingdonshire, if it is all fair and equal because at the present time it is not fair and equal and appears to revolve around Cambridge City because of their unique problems which does not suit everybody else. Councillor Count stated that he fully supports the motion.

·       Councillor Mrs Davis stated that she fully endorses everything that other members have expressed their views on and made the point that the whole transport policy appears to be in compete disarray which was evident when the contracts were all renewed for the bus routes. She made the point that there was one particular bus route in Fenland which did not know until the night before whether it would be operating a service the next day and this caused a great deal of anxiety for those people who did not know whether they would be able to get to work or get to school. Councillor Mrs Davis stated that information has become known recently which details that grants have been given to at least four bus routes which have just been approved and that funding equates to thousands of pounds so that trials can take place for on demand services. She explained that the one route that had caused the issues for the bus users she referred to previously would have been the ideal route for an on-demand service but as that route is in Fenland it was not selected and she feels that there is a complete disregard for Fenland in all policies and not just transport and, in her opinion, this needs to change.

·       Councillor Christy stated that he has also found numerous errors with the GCP document which Councillor Hoy had referred to and from a transport perspective there are many innovative ideas which can be undertaken in Fenland and all that is needed is the funding in order to make that happen which is why it is important for the motion to be supported.

Council AGREED that the Combined Authority Mayor should show some flexibility on this issue so that all of the Constituent Members of the Combined Authority can support a revised LTCP and work together in effecting its provisions and that this resolution should be sent to all Board Members of the Combined Authority and that FDC Members whom the Council has appointed as its representatives on the CPCA Board and its committees, and Officers who interact with the CPCA and CCC as Highways Authority, reflect the sentiment within this motion when interacting with CCC, or when representing this Council at meetings of the CPCA or its committees.