Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair of the committee.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That Councillor Potter be appointed as Chair of the

                                    committee.

(ii)That Councillor Brooks be appointed as Vice-Chair of the committee.

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  The following standing declarations of personal interests were declared:

Cllr Aspden:               Member of Management Committee of Danesgate Centre

                                    Member of the National Union of Teachers

                                    Employee of a school in North Yorkshire

Cllr D’Agorne:            Governor of Fishergate Primary School

                                    Member of Cycle Touring Club

Member of York Cycle Campaign

                                    Author of the Steiner School Travel Plan

                                    Involved in the Fishergate Travel Plan

                                    City of York Council Cycle Champion

Cllr Firth:                     Governor of Wigginton Primary School

Cllr Merrett:                Governor of St Paul’s  Primary School

                                    Member of Cycling England

                                    Member of York Cycle Campaign

                                    Honorary Member of Cyclists’ Touring Club

Involved in the writing of travel plans for the university and the hospital

Cllr Potter:                  Governor of Tang Hall Primary School

[as amended at meeting of 8 September 2010]

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00 pm on Monday 26 July 2010.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents information on the current arrangements for school travel planning in York and asks Members to agree a remit for this review together with a work plan for carrying out the review.

Members received a report that presented information on the current arrangements for school travel planning in York, asked Members to agree a remit for the review together with a workplan for carrying out the review.

Copies of the results of the schools’ travel census dated January 2010 were tabled, along with a briefing note on cycling to school/safe routes to school.

The following suggestions were put forward as issues which the review should consider:

• Data from the car free day that was due to take place on 29 September 2010 and the Jack Archer award.
• Reviewing school travel plans.
• Motivators for schools and reasons why some schools had not engaged with travel plans.
• Travel initiatives and resources that were available to schools, including access to support from school travel plan co-ordinators. 
• Inviting Paul Osborne, Director of School Travel for Sustrans, to attend a meeting.
• Visiting schools to identify examples of good practice and to gain a greater understanding of the challenges and impediments.
• The impact on the local and wider community.  Exploring opportunities to work with partners, for example parish councils, to take a neighbourhood approach to tackling problems of congestion.
• Identifying any correlation between the statistics on childhood obesity and school travel arrangements.
• Consideration of data arising from the traffic congestion survey in respect of linked journeys.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That the aim of the review be:

“To identify an integrated approach to travel plan development that recognises the relationships between active travel and health, sustainability (particularly air quality and climate change issues) and traffic congestion and community cohesion”.

                        (ii)            That the objectives for the review would focus on:

·        Understanding what works and what doesn’t work in York, and best practice elsewhere.

·        Understanding the costs and challenges, in order to identify how the council, schools and their communities can do school travel planning better.

·        Identifying the best way to support schools with travel planning, either through the role of School Travel Plan Co-ordinators (subject to available funding being provided/identified), or providing support to schools through an alternative mechanism.

·        Identifying any key messages for wider travel planning in York.

(iii) That the work plan for the committee be as follows:

Wednesday 8 September 2010 at 6.00 pm

·        Review of school travel plans

·        Scope visits to schools

Wednesday 13 October 2010 at 6.00 pm.

·        Identifying examples of best practice (both locally and nationally).

·        Consideration of information from Car Free Day and Jack Archer award.

18-22 October 2010 (dates and times to be agreed)

·        Visits to schools. 

(Feedback to be forwarded to Scrutiny Officer for inclusion in draft final report).

Thursday 18 November 2010 at 6.00 pm.

Consideration of draft final report.