Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a summary presentation on Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone Proposal from Tom Finnegan-Smith (Head of Strategic Transport and Infrastructure) and Laurie Brennan (Policy and Improvement Manager).  Also in attendance for this item was Councillor Jack Scott (Cabinet Member for Transport and Development).

6.2

Due to the fact that Councillor Jack Scott could only stay at the meeting for a short period of time, and had already introduced the proposals in response to public questions earlier in the meeting, and due to the fact that everyone had had an opportunity to study the information circulated with the agenda, it was agreed by Members to forego the presentation and go straight to questions.

6.3

Members of the Committee raised questions, and the following responses were provided:-

·                     The sum of £40m was an indicative figure to be set out in the Outline Business Case (OBC) to be submitted to the Government by 31st December, 2018.  It was felt that the figure could be more or could be less, but more would be known once the consultation process had been carried out, and the OBC submitted.

·                     The ring road around Nottingham is totally different to Sheffield, thereby having better air quality.  Also the transport infrastructure of the city was that the bus and tram network are in the control of the City Council and are run very efficiently.

·                     A comprehensive statutory consultation process was to begin as soon as possible in 2019, seeking views on the proposals from a cross section of people that live, work and visit Sheffield, most importantly the views of those most affected, including taxi drivers, LGV owners, businesses and bus companies.  It was hoped to get the right balance of views and Councillor Scott would be happy for a meeting to be arranged with Scrutiny Committee Members to develop the consultation framework.

·                     The Government haddirected that Sheffield and Rotherham carry out a joint feasibility study, which commenced in 2017, to look at tackling roadside NO² concentrations, and to submit initial and final plans identifying the preferred option for delivering compliance in the shortest possible time, and the results of this study would form part of the OBC.

·                     CAZs were not intended to be revenue-raising mechanisms to be introduced solely to charge drivers to use the city’s streets.  The Zone was not a money making scheme and any income derived from the charge would be used to support further work to improve air quality in and around the city.

·                     It was intended that the CAZ would start at the last exit point on the inner ring road.  The Council are striving to ensure that the city centre will the best it can be, especially with the development of the Heart of the City 2 project.  Evidence has shown a significant concentration of illegal NO² emissions within the city centre and the Lower Don Valley, so it was vital that these emissions are reduced within the shortest possible time.

·                     29 other cities have been mandated by the Government to reduce NO² emissions and other cities and urban areas are to be added.  Leeds and Birmingham have developed their proposals, already having carried out the consultation process, as they were mandated to explore CAZ options in 2015 and it was felt that Sheffield could learn from their experiences so far.  Leeds, for example, has different movement of traffic in and around the city than Sheffield, so their CAZ would be different to Sheffield.

·                     The decision taken by Government not to electrify the Midland Mainline rail network has had a significant an impact on the city.  The Leader of the Council is involved in discussions with Network Rail, Transport for the North and HS2to develop a strategic outline case to present to central Government regarding the electrification of our rail network, not only to improve journey times but also reduce emissions from diesel trains.

·                     The City Council will seek a strong commitment from Government in order to support the scale of change that is needed to reduce NO₂ emissions, and without such commitment, the Council would be unable to fund the changes required.

·                     The City Council have been awarded £1.947m from the Government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund (CBTF).  This funding award will see 117 non-Euro VI diesel buses operating in Sheffield retro-fitted with technology which will improve their engine performance and reduce emissions to a compliant Euro VI standard.

·                     All work carried out to date has been entirely integrated between Sheffield and Rotherham, and the consultation process will also be carried out jointly. 

·                     To enable hackney carriage drivers to test drive electric cab vehicles, 10 electric taxis will be available in Spring 2019.  Also, 12 rapid charge points will be made available in the city to encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles.

·                     Even if there was a change of Government, there needs to be a robust scheme in place due to the fact that the EU clean air standards would still apply.

6.4

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the contents of the presentation now submitted, together with the responses to the questions raised;

(b)       thanks Councillor Jack Scott, Tom Finnegan-Smith and Laurie Brennan for attending the meeting, and responding to the questions raised; and

(c)        requests that a report on the consultation proposals and Outline Business Case as submitted to Government, be submitted to the meeting of the Committee to be held on 30^th January, 2019.