Agenda item

In accordance with the Constitution, a Member may ask the Leader, the Chair of the Council or a Committee Chair, a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Borough.

 

Two questions have been received.

 

In accordance with the requirements of the Constitution, the following question was received from Councillor Lumley:

 

“For the benefit of Members and our audience of local residents, can I ask the Leader what action has the Council taken to work with the County Council in order to save the Centrebus no.19 Melton Mowbray - Nottingham Bus Service?

 

Whilst the service seems no longer commercially viable overall, it does serve as a key and often busy service for Nottingham area Higher Education students, commuters, disabled persons and sporting supporters attending venues in the Nottingham area, for example, Nottingham Forest and Notts County home matches.

 

Can the response include the following:

 

a)    What discussions and correspondence have taken place with Leicestershire County Council Councillors and Transport Officers?

b)    Does the Council know if Leicestershire County Council have approached any other Bus Companies to take over this service with a reduced and/or more profitable key demand schedule?

c)    Does the Council know if Leicestershire County Council have contacted Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Councils and other key organisations connected to this service, such as Nottingham Higher Education establishments, for part funding of this service, or even launch their own service for its students?

d)    Over the past few years Leicestershire County Council and many other Councils nationwide have introduced Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) as an alternative public transport idea to replace reduced and cut bus services. Does the Council know if Leicestershire County Council will consider this option for this former bus service?”

 

The Leader provided the following response:

 

“Leicestershire County Council is the highways and transport authority for Leicestershire.

 

The County Council considered the withdrawal of this service and any alternative provision in the context of its Passenger Transport Policy and Strategy (PTPS). The Policy and Strategy was adopted by Cabinet in October 2018. The PTPS outlines the need to consider how residents can make journeys to access essential services such as food shopping and primary healthcare that are generally available at a local centre.

 

As part of our standard consultation process all affected local members are fully informed of bus service registrations and on the outcome of our impact assessment and intended action, if any. The County Councillors for Melton did raise concerns as part of the consultation process.

 

On review and assessment of the impact of this service change, it was identified that affected Leicestershire residents would continue to have access to those essential services at the local centre in Melton Mowbray, through existing alternative passenger transport provision.

• Residents on the route of the 19 in Melton Mowbray will continue to have access to the hourly town service 15.
• Residents in Potters Hill and Ab Kettleby will continue to have access to service 25 for journeys to Melton via Stathern.
• Residents in Ab Kettleby will also have access to the existing Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service, providing a return journey to Melton four days a week.
• Residents of Nether Broughton will have access to service 23 for travel to Melton Mowbray.

 

As part of this assessment, it was recognised from the passenger user data that some of the journeys made on the service were end to end; i.e. from Melton to Nottingham. Those journeys are however, outside the scope of the PTPS, the focus of which is on ensuring that residents continue to have access to a local centre at least once a week. Whilst it is acknowledged the removal of the service will have impacted on residents’ choice of journeys and destination, the financial challenges the council is facing means it is not cost-effective or viable to provide access to a choice of destinations, particularly when having to balance provision and access needs for residents across the whole county.”

 

Councillor Lumley asked the following supplementary question:

 

“On BBC East Midlands Today and ITV Central News in the last few weeks, there was a news article that stated that counties neighbouring Leicestershire (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) have received central government funding towards bus services but our county hasn’t. Are you able to explain why Leicestershire hasn’t received any funding?”

 

The Leader provided the following response:

 

Leicestershire County Council would ideally want to run a bus service similar to the one run in Nottinghamshire, unfortunately this is not possible due to lack of funding.

 

The Leader also commented that the number 19 service isn’t commercially viable because only 19 people per day use the service.

 

In accordance with the requirements of the Constitution, the following question was received from Councillor Lumley:

 

“Our 1970s-style Town Centre car parking meters at our car parks are out of date.

 

They do not give change and do not accept contactless card payments, and increasingly are breaking down and so not in use, resulting in increased repair costs.

 

From my own observation and the much public feedback I have received over the years, mentioned above, this is highly frustrating, a nuisance and is poor for a Town undergoing a recent painting refurbishment, new Leicestershire County Council Bus Shelters, with a recent big emphasis on the 'Rural Capital of Food' branding, and its wider resulting increasing tourism and reputation from this.

 

The many Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire District Council car parks I have had to use over the past few years now have 21st century payment meters. I have been calling for this for years.

 

Please can the Cabinet member strongly consider replacing these for modern 21st century meters as a matter of urgency within the next budget spending opportunity?”

 

Councillor Bindloss, the Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity, provided the following response:

 

“The Council approved the planned maintenance programme for Corporate assets as part of the budget for the financial year 2022-23. This includes works for the car parks that require urgent attention.

 

You are right to observe that at present the machines only accept cash. But we have installed PayByPhone service in all our car parks which allows the customers to pay by card through the app on their phones or by calling the service.

 

We are aware that the current car parking machines are approx. 10-12 years old. We are exploring the cost for replacing them and if affordable within the approved budget, this will be added to the maintenance works for this year.”

 

Councillor Lumley asked the following supplementary question:

 

“There is now central government funding for car parking meters and all Councils across the UK can apply for the funding. Can you also look at alternatives in trying to get visitors to stay in town longer, such as paying on exit? Could you also consider using ANPR to monitor vehicles as opposed to enforcement officers checking for tickets?”

 

Councillor Bindloss, the Portfolio Holder for Growth and Prosperity, provided the following response:

 

“I think this is something we need to look at as it is such a wide ranging subject with so many different alternatives and it would be short-sighted to simply look at just one particular method. We will explore all options and I will come back to you and explain what we are doing.”