The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

 

1.    The following motion has been received from Councillor Gwylim Butler and is supported by Councillors Cecilia Motley, Peggy Mullock, Paul Wynn, Christian Lea, Les Winwood, Michael Wood, David Turner, Paul Milner, Joyce Barrow, Tom Biggins, Gerald Deakin, William Parr, Dan Morris, Nick Hignett, Roy Aldcroft, Robert Tindall and Rob Gittins.

 

Successive governments have allowed a serious funding imbalance to develop between rural authorities and their urban and metropolitan counterparts.  Despite Governments’ recognition of the higher cost of delivering services in rural areas, this imbalance has been allowed to increase year on year.  Rural Services Network - which has a wide membership of rural authorities and has long championed fairer funding settlements for rural areas – has analysed the present government’s Provisional funding settlement 2021/22 and calculates that rural residents, when compared with urban:

 

Will still be paying over £96 per head more in Council tax

 

Receive some 61% (£107) per head less  from Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA general grant)

 

Get £11 less per head in specific social care costs, despite a higher proportion or elderly rural residents

 

Suffer a 16% gap compared with urban of the new social care grants

 

Excluding council tax, receive over £112 (42% per head) less in Government Funded Spending Power

 

As a result, Principal Councils serving rural areas, when compared with urban authorities have to cope with less government grant per head of population; are required to pay more per head of population in Council tax from lower rural incomes;  fund more of their essential services through Council Tax (69.29% compared to 55.80%) and yet receive fewer services which are often more expensive to access.

 

Prior to the Covid pandemic we note that this government was committed to deliver a fairer funding formula for local government and embark on a levelling up agenda, which was primarily aimed at raising funding levels  for underfunded regions in the north of the country.

 

Shropshire residents feel strongly that sparse rural authorities such as ours should also benefit from the levelling up agenda to reduce the current unfair funding disparities between urban  and rural authorities and ensure the delivery of equitable funding settlements throughout the country.  We seek equality of outcomes and funding for the people and economy of Shropshire; and reduced reliance on Council tax to compensate for inadequate government support.

 

“This Council therefore instructs the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to write to the Prime Minister/Chancellor/SoS MHCLG seeking a commitment that the levelling up agenda should be widened to include Shropshire and other rural Shire Counties; and that the Government should commit to and deliver a fairer funding settlement for Council services and infrastructure requirements.”

 

2.    The following motion has been received from Councillor Julian Dean and is supported by Kate Halliday, Madge Shineton, and the Liberal Democrat group.

 

Principles for LTP4

 

This council recognises the urgent need to address the transport related climate emergency whilst supporting better and more inclusive connectivity for our residents. We further recognise the opportunity that a switch to active travel presents to address public health issues associated with sedentary lifestyles. This requires policies that follow the hierarchy of traffic reduction, modal shift and electrification. Reduced per-person journeys has been a feature in the UK since the beginning of the century, so this hierarchy is in line with changing patterns of behaviour and the well-researched popular desire for enhanced local living. Following this policy hierarchy will support a resilient and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.

 

We further recognise that a new Local Plan will be strengthened in its climate, sustainability, and inclusivity objectives by the adoption of a robust and ambitious Local Transport Plan.

 

We resolve to use our influence at Midlands Connect to pursue the reduce/shift/electrify

hierarchy.  As the sub-national body Midlands Connect should produce its own transport decarbonisation strategy, should review all infrastructure plans against this and should apply for all available powers on transport including those over bus franchising.

 

We further resolve that the forthcoming Local Transport Plan will:

 

1.    Include a commitment that LTN 1/20 is fully adopted when planning active travel routes and infrastructure.

2.    Adopt ‘Transport for New Homes’ principles for responding to development proposals. Where proposals do not meet high standards against the Transport for New Homes checklist they should be rejected.

3.    Include Public Health as an originator and consultee in its development, recognising the impact that transport planning will have on health and wellbeing.

4.    Include a pathway to net zero carbon emissions from transport that is compatible with local, regional and national carbon budgets and our net zero targets, to include interim emissions targets and monitoring processes.  

 

3.    The following motion has been received from Councillor Julian Dean and is supported by Councillor Kate Halliday and the Liberal Democrat Group

Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

 

Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. Global temperatures have increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm) and continue to rise. This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.

Without more significant and sustained action, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. Therefore the current UK target of net zero by 2050 is not satisfactory. It is too little too late.

The increase in harm caused by a rise of 2°C rather than 1.5°C is significant. This is described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C published in October 2018. According to the IPCC, limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. The costs of failing to address this crisis will far outstrip the investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities.

Council notes that

(i)            This council has declared a climate emergency;

(ii)          Many local authorities have established Citizens’ Assemblies that are playing an important role in assisting them in their plans to achieve net zero by 2030 or before; and that

(iii)         There is a Bill before Parliament—the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”)—according to which the Government must develop an emergency strategy that:

 

a.    requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase  to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures;

b.    ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for;

c.    includes emissions from aviation and shipping;

d.    protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains;

e.    restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO₂ and their resistance to climate heating;

f.     sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy.

 

Council therefore resolves to:

(i)            Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

(ii)          Inform the local media of this decision;

(iii)         Write to local MPs, asking them to support the Bill; and

(iv)         Write to the CEE Bill Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support (campaign@ceebill.uk).

 

4.    The following motion has been received from Councillor David Vasmer and is supported by the Liberal Democrat Group

 

Putting Pedestrians First

 

This Council notes: 

1.    Pedestrians includes all those who walk – including parents with prams and pushchairs – and those who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs or scooters. 

2.    The special needs of people who are partially sighted or blind. 

3.    Increased numbers of people are walking due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

4.    16% of Shropshire households do not have a car and 42% of Shropshire households have one car. Therefore, a large number of people are reliant on alternative forms of transport. 

5.    In 2018, 27% of all trips were made by walking, covering 3% of all distance travelled. 

6.    The Department of Transport has just concluded a consultation into changes to the Highway Code which propose a hierarchy of users, putting pedestrians first. 

7.    In September 2020 Shropshire Council unanimously resolved to support the Prime Minister’s Gear Change policy: “A bold vision for cycling and walking”. 

8.    The Government’s Gear Change policy says: 

a.    “Increasing walking and cycling can help tackle some of the most challenging issues we face as a society – improving air quality, combatting climate change, improving health and wellbeing, addressing inequalities and tackling congestion on our roads.” 

b.    “well-planned improvements in the walking environment” can increase footfall by up to 40% 

c.    “We want to see a future where half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked. 58% of car journeys in 2018 were under 5 miles.” 

d.    From now “cycling and walking measures are no longer seen as an afterthought but have moved to the very heart of considerations for all transport policy and planning, at all levels of leadership.” 

e.    A new commissioning body and inspectorate, Active Travel England, led by a new national cycling and walking commissioner which will be established in the next few months.  

f.     Active Travel England will also begin to inspect, and publish annual reports on, highway authorities. They will be graded on their active travel performance and dangerous failings in their highways for cyclists and pedestrians will be identified. 

g.    “It is our intention that the commissioner and inspectorate will, in this regard, perform a similar role to Ofsted in raising standards and challenging failure.” 

9.    The Department for Transport (DfT) is drawing up legislation to enact Part 6 of the 2004 Traffic Management Act.  

10.Part 6 will allow local authorities outside London to enforce common road offences for the first time in England. This will mean that Shropshire Council is able to enforce School Streets and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods using cameras without the need for physical barriers in the road. 

 

This Council further notes: 

11.A large number of pavements across Shropshire are damaged, too narrow, or inadequate in some other way. 

12.In rural areas pavements are often missing on routes to community facilities such as GP surgeries, schools, and shops. 

13.Pavements are often blocked by temporary road signs for roadworks. 

14.The level of pavements is often disrupted for access to driveways and other inlets. 

15.Pavement users in wheelchairs, and those with prams and pushchairs, cannot always find dropped kerbs to cross roads. 

16.Pavements are often damaged and uneven as result of being uplifted by tree roots.  

17.Pavements are not swept regularly which in autumn means they can become very slippery with rotting leaves.  

18.In winter pavements are not cleared of snow and the contrast with major roads, which are always cleared of snow, could not be more stark. At such times, many pedestrians are forced to walk in the road. 

19.All of the above make it difficult for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues or those using prams and pushchairs and can act as a disincentive to leave home and thereby increase social isolation. 

20.Walking is an important, but often ignored, part of our transport system. 

21.Shropshire needs to be proactive rather than reactive to the establishment of Active Travel England. 

22.Shropshire only received 14% of the funds it bid for in Phase 2 of the Active Travel Fund (75% of the indicative funding allocation). 

 

 

This Council resolves to: 

23.Widen the Commonplace consultation launched by the Big Town Plan to cover the whole of Shropshire with the aim of allowing residents to identify where pavements and the walking environment is inadequate. This would enable the council to develop a list of locations that require attention. 

24.Ensure that all new housing developments in Shropshire are easily and safely accessible and navigable by foot. 

25.Instruct the Director of Place to investigate and report back to Scrutiny how to 

a.    Ensure that all temporary roadwork signs are installed at a high level, making use of lampposts or other Council infrastructure, so that messages are clear to drivers but do not restrict the pavement or the roadway. Where this is not possible, signs should be placed on the road and never on the pavement. 

b.    Ensure that a constant pavement height is maintained where driveways are installed across the pavement.  

c.       Increase the number of pedestrian crossings and reduce pedestrian waiting times at crossings to a minimum. 

 

26.Ensure that Shropshire is ready to use the new powers enabled by Section 6 of the 2004 Traffic Management Act to improve the walking environment. 

27.Appoint an officer in Highways to have specific responsibility for walking. 

28.Establish a Task and Finish Group to review pavement maintenance. 

29.Ensure that Shropshire is fully prepared for the establishment of Active Travel England and associated funding streams. 

30.Ensure that pedestrians are placed at the top of the hierarchy of users in LTP4 

 

5.    The following motion has been received from Councillor Nat Green and is supported by the Liberal Democrat Group

 

Provision of Skips after Flooding

 

Council notes

 

1.    The transfer of the provision of emergency skips from Street Scene to Highways.

2.    Highways during the recent floods provided just one skip to Coton Manor flats and refused to supply any extra ones that were needed.  This contrasts with the swift and plentiful supply of skips that were supplied by Street Scene after the flooding last year.

3.    The provision of skips is not a luxury; it is essential for the maintenance of public health and to assist the psychological well-being of those who have been flooded, as it enables them to make the first step in rebuilding their lives.

 

Council resolves

 

1. To reverse this recent change in policy and that in future when flooding does occur, no matter where it is, the previous practise of providing as many skips as needed will continue to be provided by whichever department has from time to time the responsibility for skip provision.
2. All skips that are provided to assist residents suffering from flood problems will be supplied at no cost to the local residents.

 

The following motions had been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

 

Notice of Motion 1

The following motion was moved by Councillor Gwylim Butler and seconded by Councillor Dan Morris.

 

Successive governments have allowed a serious funding imbalance to develop between rural authorities and their urban and metropolitan counterparts.  Despite Governments’ recognition of the higher cost of delivering services in rural areas, this imbalance has been allowed to increase year on year.  Rural Services Network - which has a wide membership of rural authorities and has long championed fairer funding settlements for rural areas – has analysed the present government’s Provisional funding settlement 2021/22 and calculates that rural residents, when compared with urban:

 

·         Will still be paying over £96 per head more in Council tax

 

·         Receive some 61% (£107) per head less  from Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA general grant)

 

·         Get £11 less per head in specific social care costs, despite a higher proportion or elderly rural residents

 

·         Suffer a 16% gap compared with urban of the new social care grants

 

·         Excluding council tax, receive over £112 (42% per head) less in Government Funded Spending Power

 

As a result, Principal Councils serving rural areas, when compared with urban authorities have to cope with less government grant per head of population; are required to pay more per head of population in Council tax from lower rural incomes; fund more of their essential services through Council Tax (69.29% compared to 55.80%) and yet receive fewer services which are often more expensive to access.

 

Prior to the Covid pandemic we note that this government was committed to deliver a fairer funding formula for local government and embark on a levelling up agenda, which was primarily aimed at raising funding levels for underfunded regions in the north of the country.

 

Shropshire residents feel strongly that sparse rural authorities such as ours should also benefit from the levelling up agenda to reduce the current unfair funding disparities between urban  and rural authorities and ensure the delivery of equitable funding settlements throughout the country.  We seek equality of outcomes and funding for the people and economy of Shropshire; and reduced reliance on Council tax to compensate for inadequate government support.

 

“This Council therefore instructs the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to write to the Prime Minister/Chancellor/SoS MHCLG seeking a commitment that the levelling up agenda should be widened to include Shropshire and other rural Shire Counties; and that the Government should commit to and deliver a fairer funding settlement for Council services and infrastructure requirements.”

 

RESOLVED: That the Notice of Motion be supported.

 

 

 

 

 

Notice of Motion 2 - Principles for LTP4

           

The following motion was moved by Councillor Julian Dean and seconded by Councillor David Vasmer

 

This council recognises the urgent need to address the transport related climate emergency whilst supporting better and more inclusive connectivity for our residents. We further recognise the opportunity that a switch to active travel presents to address public health issues associated with sedentary lifestyles. This requires policies that follow the hierarchy of traffic reduction, modal shift and electrification. Reduced per-person journeys has been a feature in the UK since the beginning of the century, so this hierarchy is in line with changing patterns of behaviour and the well-researched popular desire for enhanced local living. Following this policy hierarchy will support a resilient and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.

 

We further recognise that a new Local Plan will be strengthened in its climate, sustainability, and inclusivity objectives by the adoption of a robust and ambitious Local Transport Plan.

 

We resolve to use our influence at Midlands Connect to pursue the reduce/shift/electrify

hierarchy.  As the sub-national body Midlands Connect should produce its own transport decarbonisation strategy, should review all infrastructure plans against this and should apply for all available powers on transport including those over bus franchising.

 

We further resolve that the forthcoming Local Transport Plan will:

 

1.               Include a commitment that LTN 1/20 is fully adopted when planning active travel                routes and infrastructure.

2.           Adopt ‘Transport for New Homes’ principles for responding to development proposals. Where proposals do not meet high standards against the Transport for New Homes checklist they should be rejected.

3.           Include Public Health as an originator and consultee in its development, recognising the impact that transport planning will have on health and wellbeing.

4.           Include a pathway to net zero carbon emissions from transport that is compatible with local, regional and national carbon budgets and our net zero targets, to include interim emissions targets and monitoring processes.  

 

Councillor Nicholas Bardsley proposed the following amendment

 

Proposed amendment to Motion 2 Principles for LTP4

Insert after “We further resolve that the forthcoming Local Transport Plan will:

A new item 1

1.      recognise and welcome the vital part played by the construction of the North West Relief Road in:

·         providing a strategic road link from the A5 to Battlefield entirely bypassing the town centre

·         enhancing the economic development of Shropshire as a whole

·         -relieving Shrewsbury itself and many villages North of the town from the blight of through traffic which currently causes so much congestion, pollution and danger to pedestrians in these communities.

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Davenport.  In moving the amendment, Councillor Bardsley stated that anything he said was in the context of not knowing the details of the planning application and he had formed no view of the planning application.   The Monitoring Officer confirmed that a planning application had not yet been submitted.  Councillor Bardsley requested a recorded vote:

 

Councillor Tremellen left the meeting at this point.

 

FOR (36)

 

Adams, Aldcroft, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Bird, Burgess, Butler, Carroll, Chapman, Charmley, Dakin, Davenport, D. Evans, Gittins, Harris, Hignett, Hunt, I Jones, S Jones, Lea, Lynch, Macey, Milner, Minnery, Morris, Mullock, Nutting, Phillips, Picton, Potter, Tindall, Turner, Wild, Winwood and Wood.

 

AGAINST (15)

 

Boddington, Dean, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, Kidd, Mellings, Moseley, Mosley, Pardy, Parry, Parsons and Vasmer.

 

ABSTENTION (3)

 

Clarke, Shineton and Wynn

 

The amendment became the substantive Motion.

 

Councillor Roger Evans proposed the following amendment to the Motion

 

Proposed Amendment to Motion 2 – Principles for LTP4

 

That the recommendations include a part 5, this to be added at the end of the motion as shown below.

We further resolve that the forthcoming Local Transport Plan will:

 

1.         Include a commitment that LTN 1/20 is fully adopted when planning active travel routes and infrastructure.

2.         Adopt ‘Transport for New Homes’ principles for responding to development proposals. Where proposals do not meet high standards against the Transport for New Homes checklist they should be rejected.

3.         Include Public Health as an originator and consultee in its development, recognising the impact that transport planning will have on health and wellbeing

4.         Include a pathway to net zero carbon emissions from transport that is compatible with local, regional and national carbon budgets and our net zero targets, to include interim emissions targets and monitoring processes

 

5.         Include a review of the implications that the North West Relief Road will have against

a)         The growing capital commitments that are now needed to be invested in transport infrastructure, including road safety, throughout the market towns and rural areas of Shropshire.

b)         The Council’s declaration of a climate emergency; it’s adoption of a Climate Change Strategy; and the international agreement of the need to reduce carbon emissions, a commitment set to be reinforced at COP26 in Glasgow in November.

c)         The likely reduction in traffic as more people work from home following the pandemic

 

Councillor Nat Green seconded the amendment. 

 

A recorded vote was requested

 

FOR (15)

Boddington, Dakin, Dean, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, Kidd, Mellings, Mosley, Parry, Parsons, Shineton, Vasmer.

 

AGAINST (37)

Adams, Aldcroft, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Bird, Burgess, Butler, Carroll, Chapman, Charmley, Davenport, D Evans, Gittins, Harris, Hartley, Hignett, Hunt, I Jones, M Jones, S Jones, Lynch, Macey, Milner, Minnery, Morris, Mullock, Nutting, Pardy, Phillips, Picton, Potter, Tindall, Turner, Wild, Winwood, Wood.

 

ABSTENTION (3)

Clarke, Moseley, Wynn.

 

Upon being put to the vote the amendment proposed by Councillor Evans was lost with the majority voting against it. 

 

Members debated the substantive motion as amended by Councillor Bardsley. 

 

RESOLVED:

This council recognises the urgent need to address the transport related climate emergency whilst supporting better and more inclusive connectivity for our residents. We further recognise the opportunity that a switch to active travel presents to address public health issues associated with sedentary lifestyles. This requires policies that follow the hierarchy of traffic reduction, modal shift and electrification. Reduced per-person journeys has been a feature in the UK since the beginning of the century, so this hierarchy is in line with changing patterns of behaviour and the well-researched popular desire for enhanced local living. Following this policy hierarchy will support a resilient and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.

We further recognise that a new Local Plan will be strengthened in its climate, sustainability, and inclusivity objectives by the adoption of a robust and ambitious Local Transport Plan.

We resolve to use our influence at Midlands Connect to pursue the reduce/ shift/electrify hierarchy. As the sub-national body Midlands Connect should produce its own transport decarbonisation strategy, should review all infrastructure plans against this and should apply for all available powers on transport including those over bus franchising.

We further resolve that the forthcoming Local Transport Plan will:

 

1.         Recognise and welcome the vital part played by the construction of the North West Relief Road in:

•           providing a strategic road link from the A5 to Battlefield entirely bypassing the town centre

•           enhancing the economic development of Shropshire as a whole

•           -relieving Shrewsbury itself and many villages North of the town from the blight of through traffic which currently causes so much congestion, pollution and danger to pedestrians in these communities.

 

2.         Include a commitment that LTN 1/20 is fully adopted when planning active travel routes and infrastructure

3.         Adopt ‘Transport for New Homes’ principles for responding to development proposals. Where proposals do not meet high standards against the Transport for New Homes checklist they should be rejected.

4.         Include Public Health as an originator and consultee in its development, recognising the impact that transport planning will have on health and wellbeing.

5.         Include a pathway to net zero carbon emissions from transport that is compatible with local, regional and national carbon budgets and our net zero targets, to include interim emissions targets and monitoring processes.

 

Notice of Motion 3.

 

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Julian Dean and seconded by Councillor Kate Halliday.          

Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

 

Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt in the UK and around the world. Global temperatures have increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO₂ levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm) and continue to rise. This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.

Without more significant and sustained action, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. Therefore the current UK target of net zero by 2050 is not satisfactory. It is too little too late.

The increase in harm caused by a rise of 2°C rather than 1.5°C is significant. This is described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C published in October 2018. According to the IPCC, limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. The costs of failing to address this crisis will far outstrip the investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities.

Council notes that

(i)            This council has declared a climate emergency;

(ii)          Many local authorities have established Citizens’ Assemblies that are playing an important role in assisting them in their plans to achieve net zero by 2030 or before; and that

(iii)         There is a Bill before Parliament—the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”)—according to which the Government must develop an emergency strategy that:

 

a.    requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase  to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures;

b.    ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for;

c.    includes emissions from aviation and shipping;

d.    protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains;

e.    restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO₂ and their resistance to climate heating;

f.     sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy.

 

Council therefore resolves to:

(i)            Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

(ii)          Inform the local media of this decision;

(iii)         Write to local MPs, asking them to support the Bill; and

(iv)         Write to the CEE Bill Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support (campaign@ceebill.uk).

 

Councillor Dean Carroll submitted the following amendment to the Motion:

Proposed amendment to Motion 3. Support for CEE Bill

That the recommendation be amended as follows: -

To remove everything after “This Council resolves too” and replace with “Refer this matter to a Task & Finish Group to look at the Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill in detail and to make recommendations on Shropshire Council’s response to the Bill”

 

Councillor Paul Milner seconded the amendment.  Upon being put to the vote, the proposed amendment was agreed.

 

RESOLVED:

This Council resolves too refer this matter to a Task & Finish Group to look at the Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill in detail and to make recommendations on Shropshire Council’s response to the Bill

 

The meeting was adjourned at 2.11 p.m. and reconvened at 2.22 p.m.

 

Motion No. 4.

 

The following motion was moved by Councillor David Vasmer and seconded by Councillor Andy Boddington.

 

Putting Pedestrians First

 

This Council notes: 

1.               Pedestrians includes all those who walk – including parents with prams and pushchairs – and those who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs or scooters. 

2.  The special needs of people who are partially sighted or blind. 

3.  Increased numbers of people are walking due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

4.  16% of Shropshire households do not have a car and 42% of Shropshire households have one car. Therefore, a large number of people are reliant on alternative forms of transport. 

5.  In 2018, 27% of all trips were made by walking, covering 3% of all distance travelled. 

6.  The Department of Transport has just concluded a consultation into changes to the Highway Code which propose a hierarchy of users, putting pedestrians first. 

7.  In September 2020 Shropshire Council unanimously resolved to support the Prime Minister’s Gear Change policy: “A bold vision for cycling and walking”. 

8.  The Government’s Gear Change policy says: 

a.    “Increasing walking and cycling can help tackle some of the most challenging issues we face as a society – improving air quality, combatting climate change, improving health and wellbeing, addressing inequalities and tackling congestion on our roads.” 

b.    “well-planned improvements in the walking environment” can increase footfall by up to 40% 

c.    “We want to see a future where half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked. 58% of car journeys in 2018 were under 5 miles.” 

d.    From now “cycling and walking measures are no longer seen as an afterthought but have moved to the very heart of considerations for all transport policy and planning, at all levels of leadership.” 

e.    A new commissioning body and inspectorate, Active Travel England, led by a new national cycling and walking commissioner which will be established in the next few months.  

f.     Active Travel England will also begin to inspect, and publish annual reports on, highway authorities. They will be graded on their active travel performance and dangerous failings in their highways for cyclists and pedestrians will be identified. 

g.    “It is our intention that the commissioner and inspectorate will, in this regard, perform a similar role to Ofsted in raising standards and challenging failure.” 

9.           The Department for Transport (DfT) is drawing up legislation to enact Part 6 of the 2004 Traffic Management Act.  

9.           Part 6 will allow local authorities outside London to enforce common road offences for the first time in England. This will mean that Shropshire Council is able to enforce School Streets and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods using cameras without the need for physical barriers in the road. 

 

This Council further notes: 

11.A large number of pavements across Shropshire are damaged, too narrow, or inadequate in some other way. 

12.In rural areas pavements are often missing on routes to community facilities such as GP surgeries, schools, and shops. 

13.Pavements are often blocked by temporary road signs for roadworks. 

14.The level of pavements is often disrupted for access to driveways and other inlets. 

15.Pavement users in wheelchairs, and those with prams and pushchairs, cannot always find dropped kerbs to cross roads. 

16.Pavements are often damaged and uneven as result of being uplifted by tree roots.  

17.Pavements are not swept regularly which in autumn means they can become very slippery with rotting leaves.  

18.In winter pavements are not cleared of snow and the contrast with major roads, which are always cleared of snow, could not be more stark. At such times, many pedestrians are forced to walk in the road. 

19.All of the above make it difficult for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues or those using prams and pushchairs and can act as a disincentive to leave home and thereby increase social isolation. 

20.Walking is an important, but often ignored, part of our transport system. 

21.Shropshire needs to be proactive rather than reactive to the establishment of Active Travel England. 

22.Shropshire only received 14% of the funds it bid for in Phase 2 of the Active Travel Fund (75% of the indicative funding allocation). 

 

This Council resolves to: 

23.Widen the Commonplace consultation launched by the Big Town Plan to cover the whole of Shropshire with the aim of allowing residents to identify where pavements and the walking environment is inadequate. This would enable the council to develop a list of locations that require attention. 

24.Ensure that all new housing developments in Shropshire are easily and safely accessible and navigable by foot. 

25.Instruct the Director of Place to investigate and report back to Scrutiny how to 

a.    Ensure that all temporary roadwork signs are installed at a high level, making use of lampposts or other Council infrastructure, so that messages are clear to drivers but do not restrict the pavement or the roadway. Where this is not possible, signs should be placed on the road and never on the pavement. 

b.    Ensure that a constant pavement height is maintained where driveways are installed across the pavement.  

c.       Increase the number of pedestrian crossings and reduce pedestrian waiting times at crossings to a minimum. 

 

26.Ensure that Shropshire is ready to use the new powers enabled by Section 6 of the 2004 Traffic Management Act to improve the walking environment. 

27.Appoint an officer in Highways to have specific responsibility for walking. 

28.Establish a Task and Finish Group to review pavement maintenance. 

29.Ensure that Shropshire is fully prepared for the establishment of Active Travel England and associated funding streams. 

30.  Ensure that pedestrians are placed at the top of the hierarchy of users in LTP4 

 

RESOLVED:

That the Motion on Notice be supported.

 

Notice of Motion 5 – Provision of Skips after Flooding.

 

The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Nat Green and seconded by Councillor Nigel Hartin.

 

Council notes

 

1.    The transfer of the provision of emergency skips from Street Scene to Highways.

2.    Highways during the recent floods provided just one skip to Coton Manor flats and refused to supply any extra ones that were needed.  This contrasts with the swift and plentiful supply of skips that were supplied by Street Scene after the flooding last year.

3.    The provision of skips is not a luxury; it is essential for the maintenance of public health and to assist the psychological well-being of those who have been flooded, as it enables them to make the first step in rebuilding their lives.

 

Council resolves

 

1. To reverse this recent change in policy and that in future when flooding does occur, no matter where it is, the previous practise of providing as many skips as needed will continue to be provided by whichever department has from time to time the responsibility for skip provision.
2. All skips that are provided to assist residents suffering from flood problems will be supplied at no cost to the local residents.

 

RESOLVED:

That the Notice of Motion be supported