Executive Member Decision Session

18 October 2022

Report of the Corporate Director of Place

Portfolio of the Executive Member for Transport

Directorate of Place Transport Capital Programme – 2022/23 Monitor 1 Report

Summary

1. The purpose of this report is to set out progress to date on schemes in the 2022/23 Transport Capital Programme, and propose adjustments to scheme allocations to align with the latest cost estimates and delivery projections.

Recommendations

2. The Executive Member is asked to:

1) Approve the amendments to the 2022/23 Directorate of Place Transport Capital Programme.

Reason: To implement the council’s transport strategy identified in York’s third Local Transport Plan and the Council Priorities, and deliver schemes identified in the council’s Transport Programme, including the Active Travel Programme.

Background

3. Following approval at Budget Council on 17 February 2022, the Transport Capital Budget for 2022/23 was confirmed at £22,926k. The budget was then amended to £40,043k in July 2022 when the Executive Member was presented with the Consolidated Transport Capital Programme, which included all schemes and funding carried forward from 2021/22, and additional grant funding received from the Active Travel Fund programme and the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) programme.

4. The approved budget includes funding from the Local Transport Plan (LTP) grant, developer funding, council resources, and grants for individual schemes. The grant funding includes significant funding from various external sources, including the Active Travel Tranche 2 grant, the West Yorkshire Transport Fund, the Transforming Cities Fund, funding for new electric buses from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area grant, and funding from the Department for Transport for the Outer Ring Road Dualling scheme.

5. The following report sets out progress on schemes and advises the Executive Member of amendments that need to be made to scheme budgets. Full details of the current and proposed budgets are shown in Annex 1 to this report, and full details of the programme are shown in Annex 2.

6. It should be noted that costs for some schemes have increased compared to the initial cost estimates. This is due to the high level of inflation and other issues affecting the economy at present, meaning the cost of construction materials has increased since the initial cost estimates were prepared.

2022/23 Major Schemes

7. The allocations within the Major Schemes block will deliver a significant programme of improvements to the city’s infrastructure. Funding for these schemes has been secured from several external funding sources, with contributions from the council’s capital budgets agreed to support these projects.

8. A planning application for dualling the York Outer Ring Road (A1237) has been submitted and is now going through the determination period. The project team have now turned their attention to acquiring land, developing the business case, and completing the detailed design for the scheme. Commencement of works on site is programmed for summer 2023, but there are a number of milestones to achieve before funding is released for the construction of the scheme.

9. Following a review of the expected works and costs, it is proposed to slip £1,043k of the York Station Gateway funding allocation to 2023/24 due to the lower expected costs in 2022/23. The utility diversion works started on site in January 2022, and the highways works are expected to begin in spring 2023, with completion currently programmed for autumn 2025. A development agreement was signed between the council and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for the station works, and design for these works is now being progressed.

10. The contract for the installation of the hostile vehicle mitigation measures in the city centre has been tendered and a contractor has been appointed. The main works are programmed to start in January 2023, with completion in spring 2023 (depending on the timescales for utility diversion works). The works will take place at eight junctions around the main Footstreets area and existing static bollards will be replaced at three further locations, as set out in the report to the Executive meeting of 18 August 2022. Additional funding of £1,750k was also approved at the 18 August 2022 Executive meeting, which has now been added to the 2022/23 budget.

11. Following the approved of a preferred site for the new rail station at Haxby by the Executive in December 2021, work is continuing to progress the design work, and develop a revised business case for the scheme, which will be submitted to government later in 2022.

12. An outline scheme for the proposed Tadcaster Road Transport Improvements was agreed by the Executive Member in January 2022. Some of the proposed improvements between Moor Lane Roundabout and Blossom Street will be implemented with the Tadcaster Road maintenance scheme in 2022/23, with further feasibility and design work to be undertaken on the remaining sections prior to confirming the delivery programme.

13. The Castle Gateway Transport Improvements scheme aims to improve transport infrastructure in the area of the Castle Gateway development, and the timescales for any proposed schemes are dependent on the wider development proposals. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £50k for feasibility and design work in 2022/23, and slip the remaining funding to 2023/24 to allow the scheme to be progressed in future years. Note that this is not related to the St George’s field crossing which is being managed as an Active Travel project.

14. Work has continued on the Electric Vehicle Fleet Infrastructure, Hyper Hubs, and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure schemes, and the installation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles at the council’s Hazel Court depot is ongoing. Construction work on the Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Hyper Hubs was completed in 2021/22 (following some delays at Poppleton Bar due to the use of the site as a Covid-19 testing site), and both sites are now open. The design for the proposed Hyper Hub at Union Terrace car park was completed in 2021/22, and a planning application has now been submitted for the scheme. Work is also progressing on the installation of new electric vehicle charging points across the city.

15. Following the completion of the new strategic traffic model and the real-time traffic model in 2021/22, work on the Smarter Travel Evolution Programme is ongoing, with the Green Light Optimised Speed Advisory (GLOSA) and data platform projects progressing as planned. It is proposed to slip £320k of the grant funding to 2023/24 to fund the anticipated costs of the data platform in future years.

16. Funding was allocated in the 2022/23 programme for the St Mary’s Ramp scheme, which is part of the Scarborough Bridge Cycle Routes scheme aiming to improve walking and cycling links to the Scarborough Bridge footbridge. However, due to carryover costs from the Bootham Crossing scheme (completed in March 2022), and the increased cost estimate for the St Mary’s Ramp scheme, it is proposed to increase this allocation to £270k. The increased cost estimate includes the cost of additional design work on the retaining wall proposed as part of the scheme, and the increases in construction costs mentioned earlier in this report. The timescales for implementation of the scheme are dependent on the timescales for the Yorkshire Water diversion works, which have not yet been confirmed.

17. The final payments to bus operators to fund work to improve emissions from their bus fleets have now been made, which will ensure that all buses operating in York meet the requirements of the city centre Clean Air Zone. As the grant payments have been lower than the allocated funding, it is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £20k and return the remaining £54k to the corporate budgets.

18. The council was awarded £8.4m from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund to support the purchase of 44 fully electric buses, and has been working with bus operators to progress this scheme. Due to the timescales for the purchase of the new buses, it is proposed to reduce the 2022/23 allocation to £3.4m and slip the remaining funding to 2023/24, as the payments will be made over two years.

19. Full details of the revised budgets for the Major Schemes programme are shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to this report.

2022/23 Transport Schemes

20. A review of the current programme of transport schemes has identified schemes where the allocations need to be amended to reflect scheme progress and updated cost estimates. As previously mentioned, costs for some schemes have increased from the initial cost estimates due to the impact of inflation on construction costs.

21. It is proposed to transfer funding from the Park & Ride Site Upgrades budget to the Rawcliffe Bar resurfacing scheme, as the cost of the carriageway resurfacing work is higher than originally estimated. Work is expected to start on site in November 2022.

22. As previously reported, the council has allocated funding for the purchase of two new buses for the Dial & Ride service, but due to the long lead-in time for the purchase of the new buses, this funding will not be fully spent in 2022/23. It is proposed reduce the allocation to £40k for the initial payments required in 2022/23, and slip the remaining funding to 2023/24 for the remaining costs.

23. The council made a successful bid to the government’s for funding for York’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), and has been awarded funding for a three-year programme of improvements to bus services and bus infrastructure. Once the details of the funding are confirmed, the funding and details of the programme will be included in the transport capital programme.

24. Funding has been allocated in previous years for measures to improve the existing road closure at Victoria Bar. However, following requests to extend the scope of the scheme to review the wider area, and the need to consider the proposals to reduce levels of car usage in the city centre, this work was put on hold. It is proposed to slip the funding to 2023/24 to allow a scheme to be developed that could incorporate all of these proposals and include the wider aims of the council’s fourth Local Transport Plan.

25. Following requests for additional measures at Coppergate to improve the lay-out of the one-way closure, it is proposed to increase the allocation for this scheme to fund these additional works in 2022/23.

26. No changes are proposed to the schemes in the Pedestrian & Cycling Schemes block at this stage of the year. A further five sites have been assessed for the Pedestrian Crossing Review programme, and it is proposed to carry out further feasibility work on the following schemes in 2022/23 to identify the most appropriate type of crossing for each location:

· Haxby Road, New Earswick (near Folk Hall).

· Kent Street/ Fawcett Street junction.

· New Lane, Huntington (near Anthea Drive).

· Stonebow (near Hiscox offices).

· Water Lane, north of Rawcliffe Drive.

27. Assessments were also carried out for the following locations following requests from the local ward committees, and further feasibility work will be carried out to identify the most appropriate type of crossing at these sites, which will be funded and progressed by the ward committees:

· Main Street Elvington.

· Eastholme Drive, Rawcliffe (near shops).

· Thanet Road, Dringhouses (near Eason View junction).

· Stockton Lane, Heworth Without (near Christ Church).

28. A review of the Safety Schemes programme has been carried out, and some changes have been made to the scheme budgets to reflect the current cost estimates and timescales.

29. The allocation for Bridge Maintenance includes funding for the ongoing maintenance programme, and an allocation of £1,100k for the Lendal Bridge Maintenance scheme. As the Lendal Bridge scheme will not be progressed in 2022/23, it is proposed to slip this funding to 2023/24 to allow the scheme to be progressed in future years.

30. No other changes are proposed to the schemes in the transport capital programme at this stage of the year. A number of schemes have already been completed or are currently on site, and feasibility and design work is being progressed on the remaining schemes for implementation later in the year. Full details of the revised budgets are shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to this report.

Active Travel Programme

31. The council’s Active Travel Programme includes the funding allocated for Cycling Schemes in the Summer 2019 budget, and the grant funding awarded from the government’s Active Travel Fund (ATF) for schemes to encourage the use of active travel modes (walking and cycling) through the provision of new/ improved infrastructure across the city.

32. As previously reported to the Executive Member, limited progress was made on the Active Travel Programme in 2020/21 due to a lack of staff resources to progress the schemes. However, during 2021/22 new Project Managers have been appointed and progress has been made on developing the schemes for implementation.

33. Following the update report on the Active Travel Programme to the July Decision Session meeting, no changes are proposed to the programme apart from an increase to the allocation for the University Road scheme, due to the increased costs of the footway improvements. The scheme was completed in August 2022.

34. Feasibility and design work on other schemes in the Active Travel Programme is being progressed as previously reported to the Executive Member, and a further update report on the programme will be presented to the Executive in November along with an update to the Annex that is normally a subject of this report.

Minster Lighting

35. The council has previously been responsible for the floodlighting around York Minster, which is now in need of replacement. An agreement has been reached with the Minster where the council will contribute 50% of the replacement costs (£40K), which will be funded from the Highways Capital Programme, and York Minster will fund the remainder and deliver new LED energy efficient lighting and be responsible for future maintenance responsibility and electricity supply for the floodlighting in the future.

Consultation

36. The capital programme is decided through a formal process using a Capital Resources Allocation Model (CRAM). CRAM is a tool used for allocating the council’s capital resources to schemes that meet corporate priorities.

37. Funding for the capital programme was agreed by the council on 17 February 2022. While consultation is not undertaken on the capital programme as a whole, individual scheme proposals do follow a consultation process with local councillors and residents.

Options

38. The Executive Member has been presented with a proposed programme of schemes, which have been developed to implement the priorities of the Local Transport Plan (LTP3) and the Council Plan.

Analysis

39. The programme has been prepared to meet the objectives of LTP3 and the Council Plan as set out below; implement the Active Travel Programme; implement the City Centre Access & Security Scheme; develop the proposals for a new rail station at Haxby; and progress the Outer Ring Road upgrades and Station Frontage major schemes.

Council Plan

40. The Council Plan has Eight Key Outcomes:

· Well-paid jobs and an inclusive economy

· A greener and cleaner city

· Getting around sustainably

· Good health and wellbeing

· Safe communities and culture for all

· Creating homes and world-class infrastructure

· A better start for children and young people

· An open and effective council

41. The Transport Capital Programme supports the prosperity of the city by improving the effectiveness, safety and reliability of the transport network, which helps economic growth and the attractiveness for visitors and residents. The programme aims to reduce traffic congestion through a variety of measures to improve traffic flow, improve public transport, provide better facilities for walking and cycling, and address road safety issues.

42. Enhancements to the efficiency and safety of the transport network will directly benefit all road users by improving reliability and accessibility to other council services across the city.

43. The capital programme also addresses improvements to the transport network raised by residents such as requests for improved cycle routes, measures to address safety issues and speeding traffic, and improvements at bus stops such as real-time information display screens and new bus shelters.

Implications

44. The following implications have been considered.

· Financial:

As set out in this report, the budget for the 2022/23 Transport Capital Programme has been reviewed and some funding has been slipped to 2023/24 to reflect the expected timescales for scheme implementation. Some amendments have also been made to allocations for individual schemes following revised cost estimates for the proposed work, and additional funding has been added to the budget for the City Centre Access & Security scheme.

If the proposals in this report are accepted, the Place Transport Capital Programme budget for 2022/23 would be reduced to £31,736k, as set out in Annex 1 to this report.

The Executive Member is also asked to note the allocation of funding from the Highways Capital Programme for a contribution to the replacement of the floodlighting at York Minster,.

· Human Resources (HR): In light of the financial reductions in recent years, the Executive Member’s attention is drawn to the fact that the majority of Highways and Transport staff are now funded either through the capital programme or external funding. This core of staff are also supplemented by external resources commissioned by the council to deliver capital projects, which provides flexible additional capacity and reflects the one-off nature of capital projects.

Equalities:

The Council recognises its Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other prohibited conduct; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it in the exercise of a public authority’s functions

The impact of the proposals on protected characteristics has been considered as follows:

· Age – Neutral;

· Disability – Neutral;

· Gender – Neutral;

· Gender reassignment – Neutral;

· Marriage and civil partnership– Neutral;

· Pregnancy and maternity – Neutral;

· Race – Neutral;

· Religion and belief – Neutral;

· Sexual orientation – Neutral;

· Other socio-economic groups including :

o Carer - Neutral (see Disability);

o Low income groups – Neutral;

o Veterans, Armed Forces Community– Neutral.

· Legal:

With regards to the proposed c. £40,000 worth of grant funding that the council will contribute towards 50% of the replacement costs for the York Minster floodlighting:

a) the grant must comply with the rules set out within paragraphs (g) and (h) Part E (External Arrangements) of Appendix 10a (Financial Regulations) of the council’s constitution – the value of the grant means that no Executive or Executive Member approval is required, unless the Chief Finance Officer of the council and the Corporate Director of Place agree otherwise;[1]

b) before being awarded, Legal Services will need to carry out an assessment to ensure that grant complies with the UK Subsidy Control Rules (formerly State Aid under EU Law). Subject to a detailed assessment however the preliminary view of Legal Services is that:

· given the relatively low value of the proposed grant;

· the recipient being the Chapter of the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York; and

· the grant being specifically linked to a historical and cultural landmark that is located within and is integral to the identity of the City of York,

it is highly unlikely that the grant will have any Subsidy Control implications because:

· the recipient is unlikely to have any market competitors in this instance that the grant will give the Chapter an economic advantage over; and

· even if there was an economic advantage, the grant is highly unlikely to cause a distortion in or harm to competition, trade or investment between the UK home nations, the UK and the EU, or any of the UK’s other international trading partners; and

· historically under EU State Aid Law, grants to assist with costs for the construction, upgrade, acquisition, conservation or improvement of the infrastructure of historical sites, buildings and monuments were traditionally considered compliant with the market, so it is arguable that similar grants will be still be considered to be compliant under the Subsidy Control regime.

c) the grant will need to be subject to a formal grant agreement drafted by Legal Services in due course.

· Crime and Disorder: There are no Crime & Disorder implications.

· Information Technology (IT): There are no IT implications.

· Property: There are no Property implications.

· Other: There are no other implications.

Risk Management

45. For larger schemes in the programme, separate risk registers will be prepared and measures taken to reduce and manage risks as the schemes are progressed throughout 2022/23.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Dave Atkinson Head of Highways & Transport Directorate of Economy & Place Tel No. 01904 553481	James Gilchrist Director – Planning Transport and Environment
	Report Approved	ü	Date	10/10/2022

Specialist Implications Officer(s) List information for all Finance Jayne Close Accountant Legal Dan Moynihan Senior Solicitor
Wards Affected:					All	ü

For further information please contact the author of the report

Background Papers:

Directorate of Place Transport Capital Programme 2021/22 Monitor 2 Report – 18 January 2022

Directorate of Place Transport Capital Programme 2022/23 Budget Report – 22 March 2022

Directorate of Place Transport Capital Programme 2022/23 Consolidated Report – 19 July 2022

Annexes

Annex 1: 2022/23 Transport Budget

Annex 2: 2022/23 Transport Capital Programme