Agenda item

The Committee considered an update on Active Travel documents in North Yorkshire and how to respond to the Notice of Motion on the adoption of an active travel strategy that had been submitted to Full Council.

As the proposer of the motion, Councillor Hannah Gostlow provided an overview of her reasons for proposing the motion. 

·       She noted the officer report and that it highlighted the positive work undertaken and ongoing to improve active travel provision, but felt a strong, clear statement of active travel vision and values was still required. She felt that active travel can help with overall place making and does not just sit within Highways, but across areas such as the local economy, health, wellbeing and environment.

Councillor Gostlow listed examples within her Knaresborough East division of:

·       In submitting the motion, Councillor Gostlow felt a dedicated Active Travel Strategy was required in the near future, rather than waiting for it to be incorporated into the new York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan. She argued that a dedicated strategy would ensure a sustained focus and accountability for walking and cycling improvements, rather than having them as secondary considerations. Delaying until the Local Transport Plan would be seen as postponing crucial work on infrastructure, accessibility and safety improvements, at a time when active travel is needed to address public health, congestion and climate change goals.

·       It was also argued that local authorities that are forward thinking and proactive on active travel get more funding, and waiting for the York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan may put the council at a disadvantage for future national funding opportunities. A well-designed strategy was felt would also strengthen bids for funding such as Section 106 agreements and regional investments.

·       Whilst the North York Moors National Park and Yorkshire Dales National Park are developing active travel plans is to be welcomed, Councillor Gostlow noted that she felt their focus is on tourism and visitor access, not the every day travel needs for North Yorkshire residents. Local communities would benefit from well planned active travel infrastructure integrating with, but not depending on, other initiatives.

·       Without a standalone strategy, clear targets, measurable outcomes and a clear timeline for active travel improvements, Councillor Gostlow felt that active travel schemes may be diluted when factored in as part of a broader new York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan. Creating a separate strategy for North Yorkshire would contain specific goals, a monitoring process, to ensure active travel is seen as a future priority rather than as an afterthought.

In response, the officer spoke about the work already underway to develop and adopt Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) for each principal town in North Yorkshire. These plans, along with the work of the National Parks, will give a strategic view of the future active travel infrastructure required.

It was felt that the proposal in the motion to create a standalone Active Travel Strategy for North Yorkshire would not help to speed up the overall process, as it would be carried out alongside the development of a cohesive York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan. It was also argued that a standalone policy would act as a duplication of the work which will take place as part of the wider Local Transport Plan.

It was also noted by the officer that new guidance on Local Transport Plans and also an Integrated National Transport Strategy has not been released yet, and is expected to be published later this year. As both documents are likely to include guidance and information around Active Travel and the monitoring and evaluation of active travel schemes, it would seem sensible to wait for this information to be available before writing new strategies.

Committee Members held differing views on the motion text which included:

·         A suggestion of a working group was put forward to explore some of the more achievable aspects of the motion text to help inform the development of the wider Local Transport Plan. Given the cost of fuel, car tax, insurance and the maintenance of vehicles, investing in active travel would improve the health and the wellbeing of residents and help to support the local economy.

·         With the ongoing process of developing and adopting Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) and the new Local Transport Plan, it is felt that it was not the right time to also be working on a separate Active Travel Strategy for North Yorkshire.

·         A separate Active Travel Strategy would allow a focus to be put on North Yorkshire, rather than the wider region, where it may become diluted. The differences in the geography and demographics of York and North Yorkshire mean that active travel provision may not be fully addressed in a regional Local Transport Plan document.

·         There is a role for the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny committee to hold the Combined Authority to account around the inclusion of active travel in developing a Local Transport Plan for York and North Yorkshire. Work to create and scrutinise a separate policy document for North Yorkshire at the same time would work against this.

In the debate and discussions that followed, the proposal to form an Active Travel Working Group of the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee was put forward. In proposing this, it was felt that the working group would focus on how the vision, values and priorities for active travel integrate within the Council Plan document, but also more widely how it can feed into the development of the emerging new York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan. This was approved.

Following the committee decision to set up a working group, the officer report recommendations were approved to go back to Full Council

Therefore:

Full Council is asked to consider the recommendations of the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee to:

i)               Note the update on Active Travel documents in North Yorkshire

ii)              recommend back to Full Council at its meeting on 26 February 2025 that an Active Travel Strategy is pursued as part of the York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan in collaboration with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and City of York Council.

Separately, to these recommendations back to Full Council, the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolved to:

iii)             Set up a working group on Active Travel. The terms of reference are to be drawn up, but it is set to focus on how the vision and values for Active Travel integrate within the Council Plan document and also to engage and contribute to the wider development of the new York and North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan.