(a)

the Cabinet Member acknowledged that the report focused upon current reflections other than a broader strategic approach and confirmed that he was to work with officers to identify long-term solutions;

(b)

the list of Council developments for various allocated sites within the city was listed in the Joint Local Plan; the Council had been discussing with utility companies how to better coordinate infrastructure planning across the board so the delivery of the projects could be better managed;

(c)

the Council was working on an enhanced partnership with bus companies to encourage bus use and sustainability – that would be reported to Cabinet later in the year; the Council was ambitious in its bid to Government for funding for the bus service however was unsuccessful – Officers would continue to bid for available funding;

(d)

positive feedback had been received to date with regards to the water storage project in Trefusis Park; the Council was in the process of finalising designs and securing funding; a separate briefing on the project would be provided to Councillor Tippett’s outside of the meeting;

(e)

the Council was unsuccessful in securing funding for Tranche 3 of the Active Travel Fund as the bid was oversubscribed. As of yet no detailed feedback had been received as to why the Council’s bid was unsuccessful however this would be provided to Members via a written response once received;

(f)

the Plymbridge Road Scheme and Central Park Improvements Scheme were to be funded as part of the overall capital programme as the bid to the Active Travel Fund bid was unsuccessful;

(g)

the Council’s transport team were analysing bus patronage figures to assess the impact on bus services as a result of the pandemic; CityBus recorded transactions at the shop and this data was shared with the Council;

(h)

Officers were looking into a possible location for a rapid charger for the hackney carriage fleet in Plymouth; there were concerns that if a charger was installed in a taxi rank it would prevent taxi drivers moving forward throughout the rank until their vehicle was fully charged;

(i)

in terms of bus patronage levels and the impact of the pandemic upon concessionary bus fares, it was highlighted that a review was currently being undertaken. The Council was working with bus companies in terms of the viability of bus routes and patronage; funding for concessionary fares was set as part of the council tax setting process however this would be considered in the context of other budgetary pressures the council was facing. It was accepted that challenges to the viability of commercial routes was to be considered going forward. Councillor Drean, as Cabinet Member, highlighted that he was prepared to ring-fence money for the concessionary bus fare budget;

(j)

there were plans for Crownhill Road to go back to two carriageways with one being a dedicated bus lane – the Cabinet Member for Transport would investigate the possibility of a car free day to help with the reduction of carbon emissions and encourage public transport use;

(k)

standardisation for electric vehicle charging points was built around private sector investment; infrastructure was set against standards the industry was designed to meet. Ease of use was a key factor, as well as the scale of the infrastructure to support long and short distance travel. Plymouth had installed 53 pop-up chargers in the city with the programme standing at 715 chargers. It was expected that 800-900 chargers were required to support the city’s usage;

(l)

the benefits of the introduction of the new Cabinet role which focused upon climate change would shine a light on one of the biggest issues currently facing society. Cross party work and collaborative working would be a key focus as this issue was considered to be too big to be political. The Cabinet Member would work with all Cabinet colleagues with a strategic focus upon climate emergency within the council in order to reach the Council’s goal of being net zero by 2030. The Cabinet Member’s biggest area of concern was the transport element the city faced;

(m)

the Council was still waiting for guidance and legislation from Government with regards to the handling of waste. The waste agenda and the potential changes would have a fundamental impact as to how the council operated. The importance of reuse and prevention of waste build up in the first place was to be considered;

(n)

the engagement of communities in the tackling of the climate emergency was already underway and would be relied upon to ensure that everyone played their part in reducing carbon emissions. The Council’s existing communications structure would be used as well as libraries which were to be community hubs.

1.

that Councillor Tippetts would be provided with a separate detailed briefing on the water storage project in Trefusis Park;

2.

that the Committee would be provided with a written response as to why the Council was unsuccessful in securing tranche 3 of the active travel fund once feedback was provided from the Department for Transport.

3.

to accept the Cabinet Member’s offer to ring-fence the money within the concessionary bus fare budget should there be a surplus (whilst being mindful that budget pressures and priorities may change moving forward);

4.

to note the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) 2022 Monitoring Report, details of which are set out in Appendix A;

5.

to note the Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan (CCRP) 2022 Monitoring Report, details of which are set out in Appendix B.