Agenda and minutes

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Venue: Committee Room 'C' - The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston. View directions

Contact: Cath Rawcliffe  Tel: 01772 533380 Email:  cath.rawcliffe@lancashire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

Also in attendance

 

Brian Bailey, Director of  Strategy and Funding, Blackburn with Darwen Council

Mike Cliffe, Strategic Transport Manager, Blackburn with Darwen Council

Alan Cavill, Director of Place, Blackpool Council

Jeremy Walker, Transport Policy Manager, Blackpool Council

County Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet Member for Economic Development,

Environment and Planning 

Martin Kelly, Director of Economic Development, Lancashire County Council

Mike Kirby, Director Corporate Commissioning

Kathryn Molloy, Head of Service, LEP Co-ordination, Lancashire County Council

Dave Colbert, Specialist Advisor, Transportation, Lancashire County Council

Cath Rawcliffe, Democratic Services Officer, Lancashire County Council

 

1.

Welcome and Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

The Chair, County Councillor Geoff Driver CBE, Lancashire County Council, welcomed all to the meeting. 

 

Apologies were noted from Councillor Fred Jackson.

 

Officer apologies were noted from Richard Perry, Department for Transport and Bruce Parker and Mike Sinnott, Highways England.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

Councillor Riley declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 5 as a member of Blackburn with Darwen Council.

3.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2017 pdf icon PDF 79 KB

The Committee are asked to agree that the Minutes of the last meeting held on 21 June 2017 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Minutes:

Resolved:  The minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2017 be approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Matters Arising

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from the Minutes.

 

5.

Darwen East Development Corridor Funding Application pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

James Steer from the consultants Jacobs presented a report on the independent assurance of the Strategic Outline Business Case in support of the Darwen East Development Corridor funding application (DEDC).

 

The scheme comprised a series of junction improvements together with a short length of new road on the eastern side of the town that would unlock land to enable the future development of new housing and improve access to local employment opportunities identified within Blackburn with Darwen Council’s adopted Local Plan. 

 

The project was predicted to deliver very high value for money with a benefit to cost ratio of 7.85 and had the potential to generate a further £0.55m of wider economic benefits per annum, arising from the development of employment sites that the scheme would unlock. The total cost for the scheme was expected to be £3.32m, with the LEP contributing £2.5m through the Lancashire Growth Deal.  It was reported orally that BwDBC's S151 officer had provided a letter confirming the council's commitment to provide a local contribution to fund the balance between the allocated Growth Deal Funding and the scheme cost.

 

Having undertaken an independent assessment of the Strategic Outline Business Case on behalf of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Jacobs advised that they were satisfied thatthe project had been developed to the expected standard and recommended that the project to granted ‘Full Approval’ status, to enable construction to begin in February 2018

 

The Committee was reminded that Transport for Lancashire's Terms of Reference, part of the LEP's Assurance Framework, require that the LEP should not fund scheme development and preparation costs nor any post scheme monitoring and evaluation. However, given the DEDC is predominantly about unlocking development sites and therefore promoting economic growth, the Committee agreed to waive this requirement for the scheme in question pending a review of the Committee's Terms of Reference.

 

Resolved:

 

1.  Pending a review of the Transport for Lancashire Committee's Terms of Reference, to waive the requirement of the LEP Assurance Framework not to fund scheme development and preparation costs given the scheme's clearly defined economic growth objectives.

 

2.  That the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board be recommended to grant the scheme £2.5m Growth Deal funding.

 

6.

Blackpool Tramway Extension Full Approval Application pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Peter Hibbert from the consultants Jacobs presented a report on the independent assurance of the Full Business Case in support of the Blackpool Tramway Extension funding application.

 

The Committee was informed that the scheme would provide a new link from the current tramway on the Promenade adjacent to the North Pier along Talbot Road to Blackpool North station.

 

The project was predicted to deliver high value for money with a benefit to cost ratio of 3.07.  In addition, the scheme was expected to generate between 11,500 and 20,000 additional visitor trips to Blackpool per annum, generating between £29.5m and £50.9m of Gross Value Added (GVA) benefits over the 60-year project appraisal period.

 

The total project outturn cost was expected to be £23.4m, with the LEP contributing £16.4m through the Lancashire Growth Deal.  It was noted that Blackpool Council's S151 officer had provided a letter confirming the council's commitment to fund the balance together with any overspend. 

 

Having undertaken an independent assessment of the Full Business Case submitted by Blackpool Council, Jacobs confirmed they were satisfied that the project had been developed to the expected standard and that Blackpool Council had addressed all of the conditions attached at Conditional Approval in April 2016.

 

It was therefore recommended that, subject to the Secretary of State confirming the Transport and Works Act Order, the scheme be granted ‘Full Approval’ status to enable construction to take place between April 2018 and July 2019.

 

Resolved: That the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board be recommended to grant the scheme Full Approval.

 

7.

Transport for the North - Strategic Transport Plan

Presentation by Transport for the North.

Minutes:

Robin Miller-Stott, Senior Policy and Strategy Officer, Transport for the North (TfN), gave a presentation on the current status of TfN and its Strategic Transport Plan.

 

The Committee was informed that with effect from April 2018, TfN would become the first Sub-National Transport Body in England, tasked with developing a Strategic Transport Plan to prioritise infrastructure investment in the North to drive transformational economic growth.

It was noted that the Rail North association of local authorities would become part of TfN, and would continue to work with the Department for Transport to co-manage the Northern and Trans-Pennine Express rail franchises.

The Committee was informed that TfN's Strategic Transport Plan (STP) would have a wide ranging and ambitious scope, setting out connectivity priorities across the North that would encourage and support business growth and help transform economic performance up to 2050.  The STP includes a number of Strategic Development Corridors with the aim of delivering required improvements on both the road and rail networks through a multi-modal investment programme.

The Committee commented on TfN's 'emerging vision for the Northern Powerhouse Rail Network', pointing out the importance of existing rail links and other geographic connectivity priorities that reflect economic links across the North.  The Committee also considered that it was important for the plan to recognise the importance of enabling people, as well as goods, to move rapidly and reliably around the North. 

Robin welcomed the feedback and advised that TfN would consider these issues and others raised through the forthcoming statutory three month consultation that will start in early January 2018 prior to finalising the STP in the New Year.

The Committee noted that a further progress report would be presented to the Transport for Lancashire Committee once the STP had been finalised.

 

Resolved:  That the Transport for the North update be noted.

 

8.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

None.

9.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Transport for Lancashire Committee will be held on the 10 January 2018 at 2.00pm at County Hall, Preston

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on Wednesday 10 January 2018 at 2pm in Cabinet Room 'D' - The Henry Bolingbroke Room, County Hall, Preston.