To provide an update on the Council’s Active Travel Programme and School Streets Initiative, and to seek approval of an experimental School Street on Downing Road and Lambourne Close, Reading.

The Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report providing an update on the Council’s Active Travel Programme. The report also provided an update on the Council’s School Streets Initiative.

The Council’s Active Travel Programme

At the meeting of Policy Committee on 18 May 2020 (Minute 97 refers), members approved progression of a series of Active Travel proposals in Reading. These proposals had been presented in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic which, alongside the Climate Emergency, had dramatically enhanced the focus on enabling greater levels of active travel through the provision of walking and cycling facilities.

The report explained that in June 2020 the DfT had formally announced the Active Travel funding Programme and confirmed the available funding (subject to application) for each authority. The Council had been allocated indicative funding in two tranches: £295k in the first tranche and £1,179k in the second tranche.  Appendix A was a map showing the Tranche 1 schemes and the Tranche 2 schemes.

On 2 July 2020 the DfT had announced the outcome of the Council’s Tranche 1 application. The award was 75% (£221,240) of the indicative allocation. 

The report set out the progress of the Tranche 1 schemes.  Officers confirmed at the meeting that all of the Tranche 1 schemes had been completed and that they would be commencing a review of these schemes early in 2021. The Committee would be provided with updates on progress in the coming months.     

On 10 July 2020 the DfT had announced the guidance and process for applying for Tranche 2 funding.  The Council’s Tranche 2 Active Travel Bid for the sum of £1.179k had been submitted to the DfT on 7 August 2020. The Council’s Programme of improvements which formed the Tranche 2 bid to the DfT had comprised two ‘core’ schemes and three further supplementary schemes, in addition to a package of promotional activities. The Council’s list of proposed schemes which formed the Tranche 2 bid were set out in the report. 

The report stated that the DfT had confirmed that the announcement on the Tranche 2 funding was imminent.

At the meeting, Officers reported that on 13 November 2020 the Council had received notification from the DfT that the provisional allocation of £1.179k had been approved. The Council was waiting for the detailed grant conditions on Tranche 2 from the DfT, but with a clear communication from the DfT of the need to carry out publication consultation on the proposed schemes. The Council would, in any event, be consulting fully on any Active Travel proposals before being implemented. Officers noted that they may wish to review the priorities, given that the schemes for this second tranche had been drawn up some six months ago. 

The Committee discussed the report and commended Officers on the progress that had been made in delivering the Tranche 1 proposals in September 2020. It welcomed the provisional allocation of Tranche 2 Active Travel funding of £1.179k that had been announced by the DfT, noting that this represented 100% of the original May 2020 allocation.  

In light of the update given by Officers at the meeting regarding the DfT’s announcement on 13 November 2020, Councillor Page, Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, suggested some additional recommendations, which were supported by Members of the Committee.  

The Council’s School Streets initiative

The report provided an update on the Council’s School Streets initiative, launched by the Council in late summer 2020, which was designed to allow a school to apply for a School Streets closure outside their school.  The closures would only take place during term times and would be operational for the morning drop off, when the road would be fully closed. Residents would, however, be allowed full access throughout.  

The report advised that School Street proposals were currently at the planning stages in respect of a joint proposal for Maiden Erlegh school in Reading, University Technical College Reading and Alfred Sutton who were currently carrying out an informal consultation with affected properties and parents/carers on the proposal to implement a School Street on Crescent Road between Wokingham Road and Bulmershe Road.  In addition, Wilson Primary School was currently carrying out an informal consultation with affected properties and parents/carers on the proposal to implement a School Street on Wilson Road, including Lundy Lane, Tofrek Terrance and Westbourne Terrace.

Park Lane Primary (Junior School) was the only school that had formally applied to the Council to implement a School Street. The School had undertaken informal consultation with affected properties and parents/carers on the proposal to implement a School Street on Downing Road and Lambourne Close. No objections had been received as part of this consultation.

In assessing the application, Officers had carried out parking and traffic surveys on the proposed School Street and neighbouring streets, to determine the current baseline usage of the streets. A stage 1 Road Safety Audit had been undertaken by an independent road safety auditor on the proposed School Street and no safety concerns had been identified.  Should the scheme be approved, a Stage 2 Road Safety Audit would be carried out prior to implementation.

In addition, Officers had requested that the School receive confirmation from the Royal British Legion (located at the northern end of Downing Road) that they did not object to the School Street proposal. Officers reported that the Council had been in correspondence with the Royal British Legion who had raised some questions about the operation of the Scheme. Park Lane Primary School was keen to manage the Street and ensure that those who had a legitimate need to access Downing Road and Lambourne Close were able to do so. 

Appended to the report was a summary of the consultation responses for the proposal. Also appended to the report was a copy of Road Safety Audit Stage 1 which detailed the results of the Audit that had been carried out in November 2020.

The Committee commended the Headteacher of Park Lane Primary School and her colleagues for the work they had done in applying for a School Street on Downing Road and Lambourne Close. 

Resolved –

 (1)    That the report be noted;

 (2)    That the provisional allocation of Tranche 2 Active Travel funding of £1.179k, announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 13 November 2020, be welcomed and the fact that this represented 100% of the original May 2020 allocation be noted;

(3)    That it be recognised that further guidance and information was still awaited from the DfT;

(4)    That Officers be asked to review the detailed grant conditions (when received) and the implications for promoting one or more of the five schemes that had been submitted on 7 August 2020;

(5)    That the long-standing commitment of the Council to consult fully and extensively with all road users in advance of implementing any of the Active Travel proposals be re-affirmed;

(6)    That regular updates be submitted to future meetings of this Committee and meetings of Traffic Management Sub-Committee on the implementation of Active Travel Schemes;

(7)    That the delegations and spend approvals that had already been agreed by Policy Committee at its meeting on 18 May 2020 (Minute 97 refers) for taking forward any schemes be noted;

(8)   (a)   That an experimental School Street on Downing Road and Lambourne Close, Reading be approved;

(b)   That in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport and Ward Councillors, the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to make the appropriate (experimental) traffic regulation order for the proposed School Street on Downing Road and Lambourne Close in accordance with the Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedure) England and Wales) Regulations 1996;

(c)   That subject to no objections being received, the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to make the experimental order permanent;

(d)   If objections are received, they be reported back to the Committee at the appropriate time.