Decision details

Transforming Cities Fund Bid: Sheffield City Region bid to the Department of Transport

Decision status: Recommendations approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Purpose:

The Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority meeting on 18/11/19 will be asked to approve submission of the Sheffield City Region’s bid to the Department of Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund (which has a submission deadline of 28/11/19). 

 

This report is to inform on the Sheffield elements of this and endorse this part of the City Region’s bid – which is for active travel and public transport projects.

Decision:

1.    To note that the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority meeting on 18/11/19 will be asked to approve submission of the Sheffield City Region’s bid to the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund (which has a submission deadline of 28/11/19). 

 

2.    To endorse the Sheffield section of this bid, which covers a number of active travel and public transport projects in the parts of the city that are eligible for this.

 

3.    To approve the use of parking revenues to fund the commuted sums that will be due on all resulting schemes should the bid be successful.

Reasons for the decision:

The City Council considers that the TCF provides a worthwhile opportunity to access new capital funding for transport improvements, in support of the City Council’s transport strategy and other objectives around public health and air quality including the climate emergency.  

 

The intended outcomes are to:

 

- increase cycling and walking by improving active travel facilities: with a focus on cycling to work journeys in areas identified as those where the propensity to cycle for access to work is greatest;

 

– increase mass transport (bus/tram) journeys into employment areas, particularly the city centre by measures to improve journey times, reliability and facilities.

Should the bid be successful, the majority of the individual schemes within the agreed package will be delivered by the South Yorkshire Local Authorities and SYPTE, using established procurement procedures. This mirrors the approach taken on other funding bids with the DfT and other Government departments and will be underpinned by back-to-back agreements between the MCA and the South Yorkshire Local Authorities. The programme will be subject to a monitoring and evaluation programme in line with the SCR Assurance Framework. This will demonstrate the extent to which TCF objectives were met, monitor performance of the individual elements of the programme and ensure that any potential issues post implementation are identified and addressed.

 

Alternative options considered:

The alternative option would have been not to be part of the SCR bid which would have meant no bid as these bids can only be put forward by Combined Authorities where they exist. 

Publication date: 13/11/2019

Date of decision: 08/11/2019

Effective from: 20/11/2019

Accompanying Documents: