Agenda item

CARRINGTON RELIEF ROAD

To consider the attached report.

Minutes:

The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy took the report as read and gave a short introduction to the Committee before handing over to the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services. In the introduction the Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy noted that the subject had been considered by the Committee previously and Committee Members had requested to be involved in the engagement with the public. The Committee were informed that a communication and engagement strategy had been developed which looked to engage with many residents across several areas of the borough. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services drew the Committees attention to areas 5,6, 7, and 8 of the report. Part 7 linked to the selection of who would deliver the consultation and how it would be done. The Committee were also asked to note that the relief road was part of the programme of works planned for the places for everyone process. The two appendices provided alongside the report listed what had been done so far and a timeline of the key elements of the remainder of the programme.

 

Councillor Axford asked whether the consultation would be delivered by the same company as the previous consultation and why they had been selected. Councillor Axford also enquired about the environmental impact of the road and how the Council would align that work with their goals for carbon reduction. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy shared the concerns Committee Members had regarding the company who had done the previous consultation. The last consultation had included 10,000 leaflets being dropped in Bucklow St Martins ward and had a particularly poor response rate. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy had raised concerns with the company and provided suggestions on how the consultation could be improved. One area was the importance of involving a wider area of residents who would be impacted by the construction of the road. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy spoke about how another consultation within the area had proven successful and assured the Committee that the lessons learned from that exercise would be utilised to improve the process. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy provided additional assurance that the environmental impacts of the road would be consulted on with community groups.

 

Councillor Coggins asked about the implications section of the report and how it spoke about the benefits of active transport rather than looking at the impact from the increase in traffic that new road would bring to the area. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy took the point on board and sated that it was a new item added to reports and it would take a while to fine tune the reporting.

 

Councillor Coggins spoke about how people did not respond to consultations as they were often long, technical, and time consuming to complete and people would not take the time if they felt it would not have an impact.  The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy agreed with the points made by Councillor Coggins and assured the Committee that all efforts would be made to increase the level of engagement with the consultation process.

 

Councillor Coggins read out a question from the Friends of Carrington moss of whether the Council would consult for 12 weeks. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy informed the Committee that discussions were ongoing with Friends of Carrington Moss and a response would be sent to them directly, with a copy of the response provided to the Committee.

 

Councillor Butt asked what scope for change was there for residents responding to the consultation. The Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy responded that the Council needed to identify how to communicate to residents what influence they could have on the plans. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services added that while the consultation was of limited scope there would be many areas the public could influence, with rights of way being one example, and this would be communicated clearly within the consultation.

 

Councillor Walsh asked whether the Council had considered doing the exercise in house. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services explained that the company was a sub-contractor of Amey who were very experienced in these types of consultations, which was why they had been selected. The Director of Highways, Transport, and Environment added that the company being a sub-contractor of Amey enabled the Council to synergise their approach to provide savings while the expertise within Amey helped to ensure that all the rules were followed.

 

The Chair noted how tight the timeline set out within the report was and asked whether it was manageable, especially as not all of the funding had been secured. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that the report timeline stated spring/summer, but it was more likely to be in summer and would fall within the 2023/24 financial year.

 

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the Committee are to receive a copy of the response to Friends of Carrington Moss.

 

Supporting documents: