Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Cabinet Member for High Streets & Visitor Economy Janice Silvester-Hall to the meeting. The Cabinet member confirmed the plan for a part-time, hybrid pedestrianisation approach. Conversations with city centre operators showed they were feeling significant impact. She highlighted that the 6-month consultation involved in this process, consumes a significant amount of the maximum 18-month trial period. The need for clear communications on pedestrianisation were stressed.

• It was queried why no drafts of the report had been made available for the pre-meeting given the appendices were available well before then.

The Cabinet member said that the request to prepare the report had only come through on the Wednesday before the pre-meeting and she was not fully aware of her need to attend the meeting at that point.

• The Chair asked about variable signage and what information these signs could provide.

The Cabinet member confirmed these signs should be in place by the end of the year and that they can display several different messages depending on the needs of the time.

• The Chair asked if there were any other towns or cities where this kind of pedestrianisation had worked.

Martin Gritt (Project Officer) agreed to send information about such towns and cities to the Chair.

• Members raised questions about the consultation timeframes at sections 3.8 & 3.9 of the report.

The Cabinet member confirmed that the statistics were first compiled during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 under non-normal use circumstances. She confirmed a £7000-8,000 cost to revisit that.

• It was asked why the decision on pedestrianisation was published last week, before the report came to O&S for consultation with members. It was also asked why the cabinet member had not referred herself to the committee for advice.

The Cabinet member stated that having met with businesses about the plan, there was a need to respond as quickly as possible given the constraints of the 18-month trial period. She stated that it was certainly not her intention not to appear at O&S and that she valued the contribution of the committee and wanted consultation far and wide.

Simon Fletcher added that the idea of a part-time/hybrid basis for pedestrianisation was something that emerged from the workshops conducted with consultees.

• Members asked if there has been any additional car parking provision for blue badge holders on Thursday-Sunday.

The Cabinet member reiterated the end of year target for variable signage. She stated that data would be used to indicate occupancy levels of car parks. There has been a natural migration of blue badge holders to parking in Wade Street. She also highlighted a significant difference between peak rates and average rates of car parking.  It was confirmed that the 10 disabled spaces in the multi-storey car park will be reallocated in due course and this may be the opportunity to revisit the options available with wade street.

• Members asked what is the plan for enforcement?

The Cabinet member said that engagement in the early days of the plan had not been strong, leading to a concern that soft enforcement would leave residents and businesses shocked by a stronger enforcement regime. Ideally, a scenario is desired where the information provided is so clear that very little enforcement is required.

• Members asked about alternative solutions such as park and ride.

It was confirmed that a land train and golf buggies have previously been suggested by consultees as alternative arrangements.

• Members questioned why considerably less has been spent on comms than on consultation fees.

The Cabinet member noted that she has previously lobbied for better comms at O&S and the authority was now better at conveying information than previously. She reiterated the need to be clear in comms, stating she would rather provide too much information than not enough.

RESOLVED: 2.2 - The Overview and Scrutiny Committee provided feedback on the trial to date, focusing particularly on the lack of consultation with members, part-time/hybrid system and issues faced by blue badge holders.

The results of the consultation process will be reported to the committee prior to any potential changes to make pedestrianisation permanent