Agenda item

Following the receipt of a Notice of Call-in, within the required deadline, from Councillors I Gartside and J Daly calling in the decision of the Cabinet set out in Minute CA.747 of the meeting held on 2 March 2016, the matter will be considered in accordance with the reasons set out on the Notice of Call-In.

In considering the matter, the options available to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee are as follows:

1. The Scrutiny Committee decides not to offer any comments on the Notice. In this situation the decision of the Cabinet will stand.
2. The Scrutiny Committee decides to offer comments or objections, which will be referred back to the Cabinet at the meeting arranged for 13 April 2016.
3. The Scrutiny Committee may refer the Notice, without comment, to the Council. The matter will then be considered by the Council on 6 April 2016 (a standard item appears on all Council summons to consider referrals from Scrutiny Commissions). Any comments or objections from Council will be referred back to the Cabinet at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet will be required to consider any objections and comments but will not be bound by them unless..."it is contrary to the Policy Framework or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the Budget" (Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules - Paragraph 16(g) of the Council Constitution).

The Scrutiny Committee considered a called-in decision of the Cabinet meeting held on 2 March 2016 in accordance with the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet had made the following decision in relation to the Prestwich High Street Regeneration Scheme:

1.  That officers be instructed to undertake detailed designs and obtain tenders in respect of delivering Proposal One, as detailed in the report submitted, subject to the following amendments and within the approved budget:

    i.    Clifton Road to remain open in both directions. The situation will be monitored for a period of 12 calendar months from completion of the scheme as to its effect on traffic flows, congestion and safety.

  ii.    The on street (adopted) parking bays to be reduced in length and additional street trees to be included to improve the aesthetic appearance. Parking bays to be subject to restrictions of 60 minutes with no return with 1 hour.

 iii.    Officers to work with Transport for Greater Manchester to ensure traffic light sequencing is maximised to reduce congestion.

2.  That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive and the interim Executive Director of Resources and Regulation, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to consider all tenders received and to approve the awarding of the contract to undertake the approved scheme within the approved budget.

3.  That officers be instructed to seek opportunities to secure additional match funding and sponsorship specifically in respect to street furniture, signage and planting

A Call-In Notice had been submitted by Councillor Gartside, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Councillor Daly, setting out the reasons for the Call-In of the decision. A summary of the reasons is set out below:

·         Negative impact on traffic flow

·         No previous consultation with the Scrutiny Committee

·         Similar scheme in neighbouring area resulted in detrimental effect on traffic

·         Parking bays dangerously sited inside cycle lanes

·         Dissatisfaction expressed by the public, cyclists and other stakeholder groups

·         Failure to take account of the concerns expressed in the consultation.

The Leader of the Council responded to the issues raised in the Notice of Call-in as follows:

Traffic Flow – The Leader reported that the flow of traffic through the village centre is disrupted by often uncontrolled and erratic vehicular manoeuvres and that the scheme design aims to reduce the number of uncontrolled and unexpected manoeuvres. Furthermore as the scheme progresses to detailed design the Council will continue to work with TfGM to ensure that, where possible, measures such as traffic light sequencing are put in place that will improve traffic flows.

Consultation with Scrutiny Committee -  The Leaderreported that 28 days notice had been given, through the published Forward Plan, regarding the impending decision on the scheme. During this period no request had been made for the report to be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Neighbouring Schemes – It was reported that Officers had looked at a wide range of schemes within the region. The Leader highlighted that the current scheme originated from the Prestwich Masterplan, which had involved extensive research.

Cycle Lanes -   The Leader reported that the design process includes ongoing discussions with the GM Cycling network, TfGM and local cyclists. It was highlighted that through the consultation the need for dedicated cycle lanes was not particularly well supported with only 40% of respondents indicating they were important.  Of those who responded a significant number voiced concerns over the location of cycle lanes and concerns over car dooring. 

It was explained that the creation of dedicated cycle lanes to the standards requested, which are completely separate from other vehicles and pedestrians, would itself create other issues such as:

·         It would significantly reduce the footpath widths for pedestrians

·         It would add significant cost to the scheme.

·         Limit the ability to create bus layby’s and safe areas for bus passengers to wait for buses/alight.

The Leader explained that in reaching a recommendation Cabinet also took into account:

·         The level of support for cycle lanes compared to wider footways

·         That the A56 is not a dedicated cycle routes and the close proximity of other dedicated routes.

·         Cost of implementation

Consultation Process – The Leader stated that all of the 594 completed questionnaires and 504 comments received were taken into account and directly resulted in a number of changes to the proposed scheme being recommended and approved by Cabinet. The following examples were highlighted:

·         Recommendation not to make Clifton road one way

·         Amendment to the location of the bus layby (Northbound) to reduce potential conflicts.

·         On street parking bays to be reduced in length

·         Additional Street trees to be included

·         On-going discussions with cycling groups

·         Works to stop over the Christmas period.

Councillor Gartside invited questions and comments from the Members of the Committee and the following issues were raised :-

·         In response to a question from Councillor Daly, the Leader explained that the works to Bury New Road were part of a regeneration scheme that would be a catalyst for future investment in Prestwich.

·         With regard to the issue of air quality, the Leader explained that a steady flow of moving traffic was better than vehicles stopping and starting.

·         In response to a question from the Chair Councillor Gartside concerning the consultation, the  Leader explained that there had been a number of public meetings and drop in sessions and referred to the fact that the responses had informed the final scheme.     

Delegated decision:

That, having considered the points raised in the Notice of Call-in, this Committee does not offer any comments to the Cabinet in respect of Minute CA.747 Prestwich High Street Regeneration Scheme.