Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes from the meeting held on 13^th June 2024 and the interim meeting held on the 15^th July 2024.

PROPOSED by Cllr Wilkins and SECONDED by Philip Heseltine that the minutes of the meeting held on the 13^th June 2024 and 15^th July 2024 be approved as true to record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There were no matters raised as urgent items.

Report of the Technical Director seeking approval of the short term priorities for the STB to submit to government.

The Board received a report from the Technical Director and a verbal update on the Strategic Implementation Plan and the Short-Term Priorities.

The Board heard that following the adoption of Transport Strategy, the team have been working on developing a Strategic Implementation Plan in partnership with Local Authority members and Co-Opted members, to deliver the outcomes in the strategy and align to the requirements from the Department of Transport. As part of this work, the team have produced a one-page document that sets out the STB’s short-term priorities over the next two year period. This document reflects the current conditions and accounts for the government’s five key priorities as announced by the Secretary of State for Transport. The next steps for the Strategic Implementation Plan will be to bring the long-term priorities to the December Board meeting later this year.

The recommendations of the board paper were PROPOSED by Cllr Wilkins, SECONDED by Cllr Worth and ALL IN FAVOUR that the recommendations are taken forward. 

Report of the Project Director seeking approval of the publication of the RM Pilot Prospectus for developing rural interventions.

The Board received a report and presentation from the Programme Director on the development of the Rural Mobility Prospectus.

The Board heard the Rural Mobility Prospectus has been developed in partnership with Western Gateway STB as the next step on from South West Rural Mobility Strategy that was adopted in 2022. The aim of the prospectus was to identify a series of pilots that could be tested across the south west. As part of this work, the prospectus highlights six grand challenges for rural mobility, these are around (i) accessibility, (ii) meeting local needs, (iii) enhancing sustainable tourism, (iv) equality and mobility, (v) sustainability of services and operations. If at least one of these challenges can be addressed as part of each pilot, then this will help to tackle some of the challenges relating rural mobility in the region. A pilot route map has been identified which has nine stages split into four phases in order to implement a pilot scheme. This includes a planning, funding, piloting and forward planning phase. A key part of this is regarding monitoring and evaluating which enable good practice and lessons learnt to be shared across both the region and wider STB community. Each STB has £50,000 of seed funding available to support with progressing the pilot scheme which they are looking to award before the end of Q4.

The recommendations of the board paper were PROPOSED by Cllr Wilkins, SECONDED by Cllr Davis and ALL IN FAVOUR that the recommendations are taken forward. 

Report of the Finance Lead Authority on the latest financial position.

The Board received a verbal update from the Programme Director on the financial position of the STB. The Board heard the STBs total budget for FY 2024/2025 was £1.1m, including £649,000 of funding from the Department for Transport. Currently halfway through allocated budget for this year and forecast that total spend by the end 2024/2025 will be £835,000 with a carry over of c.£180,000 into FY 2025/2026, in alignment with the STBs Business Plan.

Report of the Communications and Engagement Lead Authority on the latest communications and engagement activity.

The Board heard a verbal update from Coast Communications regarding the communication and engagement activities carried out since the June Board earlier this year.

The Board heard that before the General Election, there was no communications due to the pre-election period. Following the election, any communications carried out have been carried out on a relatively low-key basis whilst the new government takes shape and we gain a better understanding of their priorities. Since the election, some key communications have taken place, especially publishing the Transport Strategy. This has received a good reaction through media coverage, social media channels including LinkedIn, and good enquires and feedback through stakeholder mail outputs. Peninsula Transport have also shared briefings with all new ministers and the Secretary of State to introduce the STB, transport strategy, objectives and alignment to the five the Department for Transport priorities.

The website has also undergone some work with the first phase of work completed. This involved better aligning it to the Transport Strategy and there is now a page for each of the four outcomes. A stakeholder audit is also being carried out to better align communication activities the transport strategy outcomes. Further development will take place as the strategic implementation plan develops and will involve redeveloping the ‘schemes’ part of the website. In terms of future work, the communications plan will require realignment following the new Government and adoption of both the transport strategy and the strategic implementation plan.

Verbal update from the Project Manager on progress with Freight workstream since last Board and plans in the future.

The Board heard a verbal update from the Project Manager on the recent activities relating to the freight workstream.

The Board heard that the Year Two report has been published and is available online. Going forward, the team are looking to progress more of the workstream in house with a concentration on rail terminals in the region. Following the June Board it was raised that an awareness session would be welcomed, so in working with WSP and Western Gateway there will sessions for officers and members to raise awareness and upskill in relation to freight and why its important. The team will then begin exploring the opportunity to implement rural freight pilots, more details of these will be determined following the awareness sessions and engagement with member authorities.

Verbal update from the Programme Director on progress with other Strategy workstreams.

The Board heard a verbal update from the Programme Director on the other workstreams being progressed by the STB.

The Board heard that in relation to the Easier Journey’s outcome work is being progressed with integrated ticketing and developing a proposal to central government to role out a similar model to that seen in Cornwall Council. A Coach Action Plan and Forum is also being progressed, with WSP now commissioned and engaging with operators and local authorities. The team are also continuing work to explore expanding the Devon & Cornwall rail card to cover the whole STB region.

In terms of Going Electric, the ALFFI tool updated by Midlands Connect is now ready for release to member authorities and partners. In terms of a Connected Peninsula, there is ongoing work and support for PRTF as well providing strategic direction and support for rail enhancements across the region.

In terms of the Regional Centre of Excellence role, the team continue to roll out analytical tools, update the regional evidence base and website, and are exploring what more can be done in terms of data sharing. 

Report of the Technical Director on progress in setting up an EV Forum for the region in collaboration with Western Gateway STB and the development of an EV Action Plan.

The Board heard a verbal update from the Technical Director regarding the EV forum and action plan.

The Board heard that STB have set two commitments within this space. The first was setting up an EV forum which is now underway. There have been two officer group meetings which established the issues and opportunities as well as agreeing the terms of reference. Following this, a stakeholder engagement session, excluding private operators, and the next step is to engage with the private operators and understand how to make delivery easier and remove some of the current barriers. The second commitment was to develop an EV action plan, noting that this is not intended to duplicate any of the local EV strategies. This is being carried out in partnership with Western Gateway STB in order to take a more regional and strategic view.

Report from the PRTF Chair on revised priorities and actions during the next phase of rail reform expected later this year.

Verbal update from Network Rail on regional rail schemes.

The Board heard a verbal update from the Chair of PRTF, Cllr Andrea Davis.

The Board heard that there was a meeting earlier this week where they talked about future challenges across the south west as well as how disruptions elsewhere in the county impact rail in the south west. Three key themes emerged from the meeting, these were regarding the impact of HS2 on Old Oak Common and access to London, Rail Reform and Decarbonisation on the Network. It was also recognised that there are future challenges for the region from the growth in housing and employment which will impact how people travel around the region, noting that both Cross County and Great Western Rail have existing capacity issues. The Chair will provide a further update at the December Board meeting on Peninsula Rail Card and tap on/off.

Report from National Highways on strategic road schemes and update on the development of the next 5-year Roads Investment Programme (2025-2030).

The Board received a paper and verbal update from National Highways.

The Board heard that the timing of the election impacted RIS setting process and there is lots of uncertainty regarding future investment post March 2025. It is hoped that greater clarity will come following the Autumn statement. In terms of scheme updates, the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross was open to traffic at the end of June. The benefits of this scheme are already being felt, especially through the summer holidays. Work on the final phases of work relating to side access points and landscaping have now continued, with some traffic management in place. The A303 Sparkford to Ilchester is progressing well and on track to open to traffic this winter. National Highways were delighted to bring some of the STB officers to site in September to show progress and the work that has been done to protect the environment and work with communities.

DfT representative to provide update and feedback from central government as appropriate.

The Board heard a verbal update from the Department for Transport.

The Board heard the following the Chancellors audit of spending, a number of schemes were cancelled with some difficult messaging. This led to the Secretary of State carrying out a capital spending review. With the Autumn budget coming in October this will help to tidy up spend in the rest of FY 2024/2025 and determine departmental spend for 2025/2026. In Spring 2025 there will be a multi-year spending review which will look at spending deals for the next 2-3 years, and bus and rail likely to be major priorities within this. Recognise that there are some difficult messages at the moment, especially relating to transport, it will be a difficult few months ahead but by early next year we’re likely to have more information on our position. Also recognise that there is still no LTP guidance with no clear messaging on this, but encourage continuation of LTP work as far as possible and focus on the five DfT priorities, as the STB is. There has been significant momentum in bus legislation with local authorities having access to franchising powers. This will enable local authorities to prepare bus franchising conversation before the bus bill completion next year. Bus franchising guidance is in the pipeline, which is likely to reduce detailed needed for franchising assessments and focus more on people and passengers. It is recognised that there are lots of good enhanced partnerships across the region, and the enhanced partnerships review will look to help plug gaps in the existing guidance and improve partnership working. It is also noted that if enhanced partnerships are working well, then it is not expected to franchise. The recent announcement on real time information legislation will enable passengers to have better access and help boost confidence, especially for people with hearing and sight impairments. In terms of engagement, looking to visit Plymouth next month with a sessions with STB Chair on the transport strategy, will also look to visit as many of the other Local Transport Authorities over the coming months.

Future meetings to be held at 10:00:

4^th December 2024

6^th March 2025

Please use link below for County Council Calendar of Meetings;

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1

Board Members noted the dates of future meetings as: 

4 December 2024

6 March 2025

All meetings to be held at 10am, with venues being looked into.

Please use link below for County Council Calendar of Meetings;

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1

Questions or Representations from Members of the public in line with the Board’s Public Participation Scheme.

The Board heard that four questions were received from one member of the public. The STB have produced a written response to three of these and will share them directly and with the minutes following the meeting.

The Board heard from the member of public who expressed concerns about the role of buses in the region and level of funding from the Department for Transport. He also raised concern over the constant loss of coach services which cannot continue as much of the rural coach network is being lost and impacting those areas that also do not have rail connectivity. Existing legislation does not include protecting coach and there is some work that needs to be done in protection for the rural coach network in guidance. Across the region a lot of money is being invested in coach facilities so want to ensure that minsters are aware of the importance of coach and reduction of services is a key concern. In response to this, the Programme Director was thankful for the questions. It was noted that coach is typically a forgotten mode in public transport which is why a coach action plan has been commissioned. The aim of this is to improve engagement with the industry as well as improvement of services and facilities.