Agenda item

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Environment and Transport concerning the progress being made in setting up a Local Transport Body (LTB) for Leicester and Leicestershire as a consequence of the Government’s devolution of major transport scheme funding to local highway authorities. A copy of the report, marked ‘B’, is filed with these minutes.

Prior to discussion, the Director of Environment and Transport clarified the following points for the benefit of the Commission:

·           The new system for allocating funding for major transport schemes as set out by the Department for Transport was overly prescriptive and took away some control from local authorities. This issue had been questioned by some local authorities. The Council would be submitting its draft response to the proposals on 28 February in collaboration with the City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), who would each be represented on a new “Leicester and Leicestershire Transport Board” (LLTB);

·           The LLTB would be made up of one voting member each from the City Council, the County Council and the LLEP. The member from the LLEP should not be an elected representative, in order to comply with the rules of representation set out by the Government. The Board would be supported by officers of both the City and County Councils;

·           It was felt that Overview and Scrutiny had a key role to play in ensuring the accountability of the LLTB. More would become known about this role as the plans evolved. The City Council would be acting as the “accountable body” and all information pertaining to the operations of the LLTB would be transparent;

·           The viability of major schemes would be based on economic benefit and value for money. It would be for the LLTB to make decisions on how to allocate the funding based on the evidence provided by officers;

·           It was expected that there would be in the region of £24 million available to the County and City over the period 2015-2019.

Arising from the debate, the following points were noted:

·           Following briefings from government about the likely availability of capital finance, there were no major schemes currently in the planning stages. The cost threshold for projects had up until now been £5 million. The Government’s change in direction was a marked departure from previous guidance and the Council would be working with the City Council and the LLEP to develop a ranked list of major projects to benefit both areas;

·           The ranked list would be projected to 2019 and would be submitted to both Councils’ Cabinets and then Government in July 2013. There would be an opportunity for the Commission to scrutinise the proposals prior to submission;

·           It was important to note that projects earmarked for this funding were not likely to be schemes such as bypasses, as these were too costly compared with the benefits they might bring. It would be important for the LLTB to focus on achievable projects within the context of the likely funding allocation;

·           It would be possible to fund projects with the aid of the Community Infrastructure Levy and other pots of funding, for instance the Growing Places Fund. It was hoped that the LLEP would be able to provide insight in this regard and open up the possibility for joint-funded projects;

·           Although the district councils were not represented on the LLTB, they would have a voice on all proposals as the Local Planning Authorities;

·           Both the City Council and the County Council were signed up to the use of the Leicester and Leicestershire Integrated Transport Model. This would be the sole vehicle through which the potential projects would be screened;

·           It was acknowledged that there was a danger under the new arrangements that the collective impact of a series of smaller schemes might be get lost amongst the search for single major schemes. The Council was already looking at alternative funding avenues for such projects and more would be known about these in due course.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted and that the Commission be informed of progress made with the prioritised list of schemes prior to its submission to the Department for Transport in July.