The Interim Director of Legal and Governance will report the names of alternate Members who are attending the meeting in place of appointed Members. 

Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interests of transparency, Councillor Cunningham declared that he was a former tenant of Darley Street Market (Minute no. 21)

Action: Director Of Legal and Governance

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 July 2022 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Su Booth – 07814 073884)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 July 2022 be held as a correct record.

Action: Director of Legal and Governance

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

There were no referrals received by the Committee.

(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. 

(Su Booth – 07814 073884)

There were no appeals submitted to review decisions to restrict documents.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “E”) will be submitted to the Committee to provide an update on the progress of the new city centre market redevelopment project in Darley Street

Recommended –

That Members consider this report and recommend that a future progress report is presented to this committee after the market has opened for a minimum of 12 months.

(Colin Wolstenholme – 01274 432243)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document E) was submitted to the Committee to provide an update on the progress of the Darley Street Market project. 

The project started in 2017 and the last update was submitted to the Committee in February 2020.  The report provided details of the planning and preparation that had taken place leading up to the start of construction in May 2021 with Kier Construction chosen as the contractor who submitted a successful tender bid.  It also provided details of the design of the building, facilities for visitors, access and market operations information floor by floor.  Facilities that would be provided to each trader were included, demonstrating the commitment to provide a sustainable and quality market offering in the District.  The building would include a building management system to minimise cost and energy consumption with specialist glazing, solar panels and rainwater collection for toilet flushing.

Officers gave an overview of the types of traders who were being invited to submit applications and the aspiration that the market could operate with maximum energy and environmental efficiency.  The market would operate on 4 principal levels that consisted of 3 trading floors and an underground, secure level for deliveries and a waste management area. 

The presentation included a number of photos and illustrations to allow members to gain a better understanding of how the market would look and how it would be managed and operated.  Members had also visited the site to see the project for themselves and to visualise the final offering.

Successful applicants were due to be announced in October 2022 excluding hot food and beverage traders as these were to be appointed separately as preferred suppliers.  In order to maintain the desired quality of goods and services, traders’ performance would be monitored during an initial 3-year lease which would not be re-newed if expectations of quality service were not met.

Members were then given the opportunity to comment and ask questions, the details of which and the responses given are as below.

In light of the ongoing cost of living and energy crisis, a Member asked if any financial adjustments had been necessary.  Officers stated that there was a Council contingency fund which could potentially support additional costs in relation to the building but that Kier Construction had already provided a price for the work.  Changes or unforeseen issues would have to be considered and the situation was being monitored externally.  Members were again reminded that energy efficiency had been built into the project and traders would be responsible for paying for electricity.  Traders would also benefit from corporate energy rates so would pay the least expensive rates available.

A Member stated that it was an exciting prospect for Bradford and was a departure from existing market services and asked if there was capacity to maintain the high standards required.  Officers stated that whilst the Council was moving away from site management as such, that the top floor would be managed and cleaned etc. by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “F”) will be submitted to the Committee and seeks to update members on current casualty levels and trends in the Bradford District and the Capital Programmes, Road Safety Education, Training and Publicity initiatives aimed at preventing these casualties.  The report also sets out the Council’s commitment to Vision Zero.

Recommended –

1.          That Members note the contents of this report.

2.          That officers are requested to update the Committee in 12 months’ time to include Casualty performance and a financial update.

(Simon D’Vali – 01535 618375)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document F) was submitted to the Committee to provide the annual update on current casualty levels and trends in the Bradford District plus the initiatives taking place on road safety education, training and publicity that aimed to reduce casualties.

Following the decisions taken in 2012 by Area Committees, an evidence based approach was adopted to prioritise and determine road safety priorities which would be presented as an annual report.

The report included numbers and types of casualties with comparison figures to nearby authorities.  The work and aim of the Road Safety Team was also included for Members’ information with details of stakeholder organisations who were involved with projects and initiatives to jointly support the work being carried out.

The report noted that car occupants continued to make up the highest number of casualties in incidents involving a motorised vehicle and the messages and communications programmes aimed at reducing and tackling this issue towards the goal of Vision Zero.  The challenges faced in Bradford related to driver behaviour in some parts of the District and that the number of uninsured drivers was the highest in the country and not wearing seatbelts which Officers stated were nuanced and difficult to address.  Killed or seriously injured (KSI) figures had declined but only reflected the reduced number of vehicles on the roads during the COVID pandemic.

Officers highlighted the rise in car occupant casualties that had risen significantly posed the question of what could have happened if none of the prevention and education work had been carried out.  They also gave an overview of the local factors affecting and influencing casualties

Officers stated that the current infrastructure was meeting the District’s needs in light of the increased number of cyclists and pedestrians and went on to say that data had always been used after the fact but the Vision Zero concept looked at a pre-collision approach using data from multi agency sources to map out what was happening in the district.  Road Safety funding was co-ordinated at a West Yorkshire level with a Bradford Officer as the Chair.

One of the Road Safety team officers was also present and provided Members with an update on what work was being carried out in the district.  There was a district wide offer to schools and those areas with the highest rates of KSI incidents were being targeted.  Support offered consisted of practical face to face training using the roads on which children travelled.  Messaging, publicity and campaigns were also used with accurately targeted messages using social media being employed.

Operation Steerside was having a major impact on enforcement and changing behaviours.  Collaborative work was carried out to avoid duplication of road safety work via Area Committees.  Examples of these included 20mph programmes and School Street pilots which involved working with the portfolio holder to identify areas for trials.  It needed engagement by schoosl for it to be completely successful.

Members were then given the opportunity to comment and ask  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “G”) will be submitted to the Committee to update Members on the outcome of the delivery programme for the Highways and Transportation teams’ capital work programmes during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.  The report covers 2 years because the pandemic has disrupted reporting procedures and scheme delivery.

An indication of the forward programme of capital works is also provided against emerging and existing funding streams and Council priorities including details of any funding bids which have been submitted.

Recommended –

That progress on the transport programmes across both the programmes described in this report be noted.

(John Davis - 07970 596213)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document G) was submitted to the Committee to provide Members with an update for the years 2020/21 and 2021/22 on the outcome of the delivery programme for the Highways and Transportations Teams’ capital work programmes.

An indicative forward programme of capital works was also submitted including details of funding bids already submitted.  Officers provided a summary of the work undertaken for the duration covered by the report including development of the Local Transport Plan, the West Yorkshire +Transport Fund, Active Travel Funds and Transforming Cities Fund schemes.

Members were then given the opportunity to comment and ask questions, the details of which and the responses given are as below.

A Member queried the carbon report and noted that the District had not met any reduction targets and that the carbon output did not appear to have reduced.  Officers responded and advised that carbon assessment was a relatively newly developed tool which Officers were still familiarising themselves with.  Feedback on levels would be available within the following 12 months as more ways to assess carbon became available.  Some schemes were no longer as effective as they had been and more sophisticated methods were being used to model and assess performance and output.  Officers further stated that retro-fitting was not easy and that newer schemes would be more sustainable.

Sustainable transport corridors, specifically bus travel needed to be more attractive and Members asked how this would be achieved.  Officers advised that newer buses with re-routing and the ability to travel from further out with additional new houses and people would make more people want to use them.  Better infrastructure would support an improved offer from the bus companies for better routes.

Bradford would be the City of Culture for 2025 and Members asked if the Transforming Cities project would be delivered in time.  Officers stated that work was due to be completed by November 2024 in preparation for 2025. 

There was some community resistance to the Council’s vision, and Members asked how local residents were being encouraged to become engaged and was it a priority for them.  Officers advised that engagement had been hampered due to Covid.  Stakeholders such as community leaders needed to be asked what their visions or ambitions were and to encourage the benefits of active travel.  The barriers to understanding community issues needed to be removed.

A Member stated that the A650 road needed more attention, especially as local transport funding was being reduced.  Officers advised due to the transition to the Mayoral Combined Authority, the information as presented was misleading and that funding was moving between funding streams as a result and was being increased.

Bus ‘hotspots’ had been identified by operators as being a problem for them and brief discussion took place relating to a Shipley bus gate and the lack of support for it.  Again, the portfolio holder addressed the committee and explained the context of the scheme under discussion and funding pots with plans having to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

The report of the Chair of the Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Document “H”) will be submitted to present the Committee’s Work Programme 2022-23

Recommended –

That the Work programme 2022-23 continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

(Caroline Coombes - 07970 413828)

Resolved –

That the scheduling of an additional meeting of the Committee on Tuesday 31 January 2023, to accommodate consideration of the Council Motion of 12 July 2022 on ‘Eliminating the use of pesticides in our community’, be noted.

Action: Director of Legal and Governance