No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received. 

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Jane Lythgow/Tracey Sugden – 01274 432270/434287)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

At its meeting on 5 April 2018 Keighley Area Committee had considered a report of the Strategic Director, Place (Keighley Area Committee Document “W”) which had asked Members to consider the Highway Maintenance Non-Classified Roads and Surface Dressing Allocation for the Keighley Constituency 2018-2019. 

Keighley Area Committee had resolved –

That with the following substitution in Appendix 2 the proposed programme of works for 2018/19 as shown in Appendices 2 and 3 of Document “W” be approved.

·         The proposed scheme at Wesley Place, Silsden be replaced with the scheme proposed at St Johns Street Silsden and Wesley Place be moved to the reserve list.

The decision of the Committee was subsequently called in.  The reasons for the Call-in were set out below:

“I would like to call in the item about road resurfacing from the meeting on the 5th April of Keighley Area Committee.

There was a substitution of St Johns Street for Wesley Place.  I would like to reinstate the officer recommendation.

The reason for the call in is that the substituted road was almost at the bottom of the reserve list and is a cul-de-sac. The officers’ technical recommendation is that Wesley Place is in far greater need of resurfacing.

Wesley Place is a busier road which provides access to a Bradford Council Car Park.  Additional disabled parking places are being provided in the car park.

The pot holes in Wesley Place will put off people who would otherwise use the car park and potentially restrict the use of disabled Parking places as there are already too few in the town”.

In accordance with Paragraph 8.6.9 of Part 3E of the Constitution Members of the Overview and Scrutiny were reminded that they could, following consideration of the matter, resolve to:

1.    Release the decision for implementation.

2.    Refer all or part of the decision back to the Executive or area committee as appropriate, to reconsider it in the light of any representations the committee may make.  The decision may not be implemented until the Executive or area committee, as appropriate, has met to reconsider its earlier decision.

3.    Refer the decision to full Council for consideration, in which case the decision may not be implemented until the Council has met to consider the matter.

Alternatively, if the Committee made no resolution in accordance with paragraph 8.6.9 above, the decision may be implemented.

The Strategic Director, Place, addressed the meeting and confirmed that the schemes contained in Document “W” were subject to a robust process to ensure they were appropriate and represented the best use of resources. 

It was explained with regard to Wesley Place, the scheme which had been removed to the reserve list, that approximately 40% of existing carriageway had already been potholed to some extent and it was expected that this would rise by at least another 20% during the course of this year which would result in regular visits by streetscene to keep the street safe.

Areas which had not yet started pot  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

Previous Reference: Minute 75 (2016-17)

The Strategic Director, Place will present a report (Document “AJ”) which outlines progress on the on-going collaboration between officers and Friends of Bradford’s Becks over the last year.

Recommended –

(1)  That the Friends of Bradford’s Becks and the Strategic Director, Place be requested to work jointly on studies and proposals for the Canal Road Area.

(2)  That the Friends of Bradford’s Becks be invited to report back in a year’s time.

(3)  That Document “AJ” be noted and that the on-going collaboration between officers and the Friends of Bradford’s Becks be supported.

Edward Norfolk – 01274 433905

The Strategic Director, Place presented a report (Document “AJ”) which outlined progress on the on-going collaboration between officers and Friends of Bradford’s Becks over the last year.

The report revealed a number of developments involving Council Officers and the Friends of Bradford’s Becks including that the Bradford Flood Programme Board had secured local levy funding to help deliver aspirations and work progressed during 2017/18 including:-

• Development of a River Stewardship Programme to create a sustainable and active network of citizens looking after Bradford’s rivers.

• The Shipley Canal Road Corridor Flood Risk and Benefits Study nearing completion with the final study due to be published in April 2018 which would outline the Strategic Outline Case for the renaturalisation works and the measures to be taken to proceed the project to a Full Business Case to attract funds to implement the proposals at that location.

• The BEGIN (Blue/Green Infrastructure through social innovation) supporting the aspirations of the Council’s Green Infrastructure Study and increasing community awareness of the Beck and its catchment.

• The establishment of a Pollution Prevention Working Group to tackle the on-going historic pollution and ecological concerns about the water quality and embankment quality within Bradford Beck.

• The Open Data Institute Leeds in conjunction with the Council’s continuation to maintain the LoRaWAN (long range wide area network) coverage of the City Centre and Canal Road corridor being established to facilitate three sensors in measuring water levels on Bradford Beck and its tributaries. 

A summary of the Friends of Bradford’s Becks activities 2017-18 was appended to Document “AJ” and a representative of the group addressed the meeting to talk about those actions. 

He explained that multiple pollution activities had been followed up by the Environment Agency and approximately half of those had been resolved.  An incident where frequent curry pollution was occurring had been identified as emanating from a food preparation facility which was found to have west pipes plumbed directly into Westbrook had now been solved

Details about the Miss Connection educational project were provided including visits to primary schools and conveying the message about the importance of only putting rain down the drain were provided.

The production of a 32 page booklet identifying six walks around the becks was reported and it was explained that despite distributing 4000 copies there were still some available for interested parties.  Fund raising activities were being conducted to raise funds for sign posts to make the walks more visible to residents.

An employee of the Aire Rivers Trust addressed the meeting to explain his role with the trust to develop stewardship around the River Aire.  He explained his aim to replicate work around the district to complement and enhance the activities of the Aire Rivers Trust/FOBB and to look at flood resistance and community awareness.  Flyers to promote that work were tabled.

The report revealed that, following eight years of lobbying by the FOBB, a project to review the capacity of Bradford Sewers would be included in Yorkshire Waters next investment period  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Previous References: Minute 77 (2016-17)

                                       Executive, Minute 56 (2017-18)

Members will recall that “Keeping the Wheels Spinning” – the Bradford District Cycle Strategy 2016-2026, co-produced with the local cycling community, key cycling charities and the Council, was endorsed by this Committee at its meeting in April 2017 and the meeting of the Executive in November 2017.

The Strategic Director, Place will present a report (Document “AK”) which provides an update on progress with implementing the Bradford District Cycle Strategy and Action Plan Top Ten Priorities.

Recommended –

(1)  That the content of the Action Plan “Top 10 Priorities” as recommended by the meeting of B-Spoke on 19 February 2018 (Appendix 1 to Document “AK”) be noted.

(2)  That officers from Planning, Transportation and Highway Service be requested to meet with members of B-Spoke – the Bradford Cycle Forum at their quarterly meetings as appropriate in order to work in partnership to deliver on common objectives in accordance with the “Keeping the Wheels Spinning” – Bradford District Cycle Strategy 2016-2026.

(Bhupinder Dev – 01274 432012)

Members were reminded that “Keeping the Wheels Spinning”, the Bradford District Cycle Strategy 2016-2026, co-produced with the local cycling community, key cycling charities and the Council, was endorsed by this Committee at its meeting in April 2017 and the meeting of the Executive in November 2017.

The Strategic Director, Place presented a report (Document “AK”) which provided an update on progress with implementing the Bradford District Cycle Strategy and Action Plan Top Ten Priorities.

It was explained that the Action Plan was a ‘live’ document which was intended to function as a catch all for the aspirations of cycling development work in the District.  As highlighted in the previous report to this Committee on 18 April 2017, it was proposed that an Action Plan ‘Top 10 Priorities’ list should form the basis of future reporting to the Committee – to present the key issues as understood by the cycling community, raise awareness of these issues within the authority and explore possible solutions to which the authority might be able to contribute towards or progress. 

Appended to Document “AK” were the Top 10 Priorities which had been recommended by the meeting of B-Spoke, the Bradford Cycle Forum which took place on 19 February 2018. The ‘Action Plan Top 10 Priorities’ sought  to capture the key issues of concern by the cycling community in order to focus the discussions at the committee and inform the authorities work and that of partners and stakeholders .  

It was confirmed that Bradford Council officers engage actively with B-Spoke and that they held quarterly meetings.

A volunteer member of B-Spoke addressed the meeting and acknowledged the positive support the group had received for cycling in the district.  He detailed all top ten priorities in the Action Plan as follows:-

·         1A. Strategic Route Development

·         1B. Local Network Development

·         1C. Wayfinding and Maintenance

·         1D. Destination Infrastructure

·         2A. Championing Cycling

·         2B. Cycling Training

·         2C. Support for Cycling events & activities

·         3A. Adverting and promotion

·         3B. Educating partners

·         3C. Leadership, responsibility & delegation

Following his detailed presentation a number of issues and questions were raised to which the following response were provided:-

·         Bradford had developed its own successful City Cycle in 2017 following the withdrawal of the Sky branding for mass participation events and its successor, HSBC, not including Bradford in their schedules.

·         It was acknowledged that the canal tow path between Shipley and Apperley Bridge was in a bad state.  City Connect was an integral part of the cycle strategy but not funds had yet been committed. Tow paths in Silsden had been upgraded and it was a future aspiration to be able to cycle along the canal from Bradford to Gargrave.  Assurances were provided that funding was continually being sought.

·         Plans were being developed for a sporting village at Wyke and endeavours were being made to bring the cycle track at the development forward to replace the facilities at Richard Dunn Sports Centre.

·         Highways England were being approached for funding for a feasibility study into the development of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

Previous Reference: Minute 53 (2017-18)

Members are aware from previous discussion that the redevelopment of Bradford Forster Square rail station is one was of the key schemes of the £1bn+ West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund (WY+TF). The project achieved Outline Business Case funding approval from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and was allocated £3.6m to develop the Full Business Case submission.

Members are asked to consider Document “AN”, a report of the Strategic Director, Place which presents the results of a review of the procurement options for the development of the Full Business Case as well as the resulting preferred procurement strategy.

Recommended –

(1)  That the procurement strategy of appointing a design and build partner for the development of proposals for Forster Square station be endorsed.

(2)  That the actions taken to date to facilitate utilisation of the design and build approach through the appointment of an industry partner to develop the invitation to tender.

(Richard Gelder – 01274 437603)

Members were aware from previous discussion that the redevelopment of Bradford Forster Square rail station was one of the key schemes of the £1bn+ West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund (WY+TF). The project achieved Outline Business Case funding approval from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and was allocated £3.6m to develop the Full Business Case submission.

Members were asked to consider Document “AN”, a report of the Strategic Director, Place which presented the results of a review of the procurement options for the development of the Full Business Case as well as the resulting preferred procurement strategy.

The report revealed that the project had achieved Outline Business Case funding approval and was allocated £3.6m from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop the Full Business Case submission.  It was questioned if that figure included the full design and consultation process and Members were advised that the amount would include the development of a detailed design and contract to be awarded.  The results of the procurement path assessment indicated that if a design and build contract procurement was progressed the lead in time to works commencing on site would be reduced potentially due to removal for separate construction procurement allowing an earlier start on site.

In response to questions it was reported that the development of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) would be completed within four to six weeks.  It was expected that Full Business Case submission to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority would be completed  in approximately 12 months time.  Following the approval of the Full Business Case the release of the final tranche of funding to construct  the station would then be dependent upon the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s assessment of the proposals and their value for money. Assuming funding was approved construction works would take between 18-24 months..

Members questioned when planning approval would be sought and were advised that this would be included in phase 1 of the detailed design.  The likely completion date for the station was expected to be 2020.

Resolved –

(1)  That the procurement strategy of appointing a design and build partner for the development of proposals for Forster Square station be endorsed.

(2)  That the actions taken to date to facilitate utilisation of the design and build approach through the appointment of an industry partner to develop the invitation to tender be noted.

(3)  That the Strategic Director, Place, be requested to provide a progress report at the completion of the Stage 1 (design phase) to update the committee on Full Business Case funding approval, evolution of the  project design and its anticipated construction programme.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

Previous Reference: Minute 37 (2017-18)

Document “AL” contains as a draft the findings of the recent Biodiversity Scrutiny Review undertaken by the Committee.

Recommended –

That the findings and recommendations contained with the draft Biodiversity Scrutiny Review report be adopted.

(Mustansir Butt – 01274 432574)

Document “AL” contained as a draft the findings of the recent Biodiversity Scrutiny Review undertaken by the Committee.  It was reported that the draft had been circulated to Members and all involved in the scrutiny and their subsequent comments had been included.

The Countryside Service Manager thanked Members for their involvement.  He was pleased to report his belief that the vacancy for a Biodiversity Officer had now been filled and once in post that officer would be able to concentrate on progressing the recommendations from the review.

Resolved –

That the findings and recommendations contained with the draft Biodiversity Scrutiny Review report be adopted and a progress report on the recommendations contained in the review be provided in 12 months time.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The Chair of the Committee will present a report (Document “AM”) which details the progress made against the resolutions passed by this Committee during the 2017-18 Municipal Year.

Recommended –

That Members consider and comment on the recommendations made in the 2017-18 Municipal Year, with particular focus on recommendation areas where no or insufficient progress has been made.

(Mustansir Butt – 01274 432574)

The Chair of the Committee presented a report (Document “AM”) which detailed the progress made against the resolutions passed by the Committee during the 2017-18 Municipal Year.

Members were reminded that scrutiny reviews on Single Use Plastics and Air Quality would be included when the work programme 2018/19 municipal year was considered.  The KSI report had been viewed as contentious during the pre-election period and would be considered at the first meeting of the new municipal year.  The Water Management Review and the Rail Strategy would also be included on the work programme for 2018/19.

Members requested that future reports be presented in a simplified manner to allow non experts in subjects to understand the issues.  In response to questions about fly tipping across the district it was explained that, at the meeting on 19 December 2017, Members had requested an update in 12 months time.

No resolution was passed on this item.

The Chair thanked all members of the Committee for their hard work and commitment over the municipal year.  It was hoped that the level of expertise developed by members would be retained when the Committee merged with the Regeneration and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the new municipal year.  He also wished ‘good luck’ to all those Members who were hoping to be re-selected at the forthcoming elections in May 2018.