Agenda item

10.1

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director – City Futures.  The report updates the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee on the work undertaken to date on the Shalesmoor Gateway Outline Business Case, in preparation for a submission to the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network National Roads Fund.

The key benefits of the scheme remain unchanged from the project mandate, supporting and protecting the city’s growth objectives within the City Centre, Kelham Island and Neepsend areas, in terms of enabling access to key development sites which will bring forward thousands of new homes along with other local facilities and employment opportunities.

The project will form part of the emerging City Centre Masterplan and aligns with the strategic Local Plan growth ambitions.  The scheme also reduces traffic congestion and improves resilience of the Inner Ring Road, allowing traffic to move efficiently along the A61, which is a blue light route for the emergency services and is defined as the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network.

In addition, the scheme provides improvements for public transport, pedestrians, and cyclists, tying into the Connecting Sheffield programme and the Kelham Neepsend project.  This integrated and balanced approach delivers against the longer-term priorities of the Council in terms of sustainable transport and working towards net zero carbon by 2030.

The report outlines the potential future financial commitment required by the Council, in advance of any development and construction funding by the Department for Transport.

Appendix A shows the indicative scheme proposals.  This is preliminary design and will be refined, taking on further comments from stakeholders through detailed design.

Appendix B outlines the spend profile of the scheme

10.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee:-

Endorse the work undertaken thus far to develop the Outline Business Case for Shalesmoor Gateway to the Department for Transport;

To the extent that the relevant decisions are not already delegated to officers, authorise the Executive Director of City Futures, in consultation with the Chair or the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, to undertake all necessary work to continue the development of the Shalesmoor Gateway scheme and prepare the Full Business Case. This will include detailed design, public consultation, and tendering for the works to be undertaken;

Note that the Full Business Case will be brought back to the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee for its endorsement prior to submission to the Department for Transport; and

Note that the delegated authority to submit bids for further funding via the OBC and FBC rests with the relevant Exec Director (in consultation with the Council’s Chief Finance Officer), and that commitment to the use of that funding as well as the commitment of the remaining £2.97m allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy funding in accordance with the proposal detailed in this report will further be subject to the approval of either the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee or the Finance Sub-Committee, where appropriate.

10.3

Reasons for Decision

10.3.1

The Council’s Housing Infrastructure Fund identified the wider strategic benefit in delivering an integrated highway improvement at the Shalesmoor Gateway on the A61. This improvement was included in the Housing Infrastructure Fund bid; however, it was unsuccessful

10.3.2

Recognising its strategic importance, the Council also submitted the scheme through the Department of Transport‘s National Roads Fund.  It was subsequently added to the long list of schemes by Transport for the North, via a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority submission. The Shalesmoor Gateway scheme is the only scheme to be shortlisted within the Sheffield City Region.

10.3.3

The work done to date on the scheme has been critical to the identification of viable alignments and the OBC has identified the preferred option to meet the wider strategic objectives and deliver value for money. The business case is very strong and is ready for submission

10.3.4

Entry to the National Roads Fund programme requires rigorous assessment and compliance with well-established DfT processes and procedures in the assessment of options. The requirements are understood and are well known to the Council, with previous schemes having been subject to DfT requirements and progressing successfully.

10.3.5

The funding and delivery timescales are limited.  It is therefore critical that the OBC is submitted to the DfT and that the FBC works are undertaken without delay to meet the programme. Failure to meet programme and / or DfT requirements may compromise future further funding opportunities for the scheme.

10.3.6

The award of funding for the development of the FBC does not guarantee future DfT funding, either for scheme development costs at the FBC stage, or for implementation of the scheme. It is essential that all avenues for funding continue to be investigated.

10.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

10.4.1

1.1.        ‘Do nothing’ has been considered, but is not considered appropriate as this is likely to result in: 

·        Increased congestion and negative impact on journey times and journey time reliability

·        Failure to promote access to the supertram network;

·        Prevent the accelerated completion of development in and around HZN and city centre leading to growth in economy

·        Reduced facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, failing to encourage more active and sustainable travel choices.

10.1

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director – City Futures.  The report updates the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee on the work undertaken to date on the Shalesmoor Gateway Outline Business Case, in preparation for a submission to the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network National Roads Fund.

The key benefits of the scheme remain unchanged from the project mandate, supporting and protecting the city’s growth objectives within the City Centre, Kelham Island and Neepsend areas, in terms of enabling access to key development sites which will bring forward thousands of new homes along with other local facilities and employment opportunities.

The project will form part of the emerging City Centre Masterplan and aligns with the strategic Local Plan growth ambitions.  The scheme also reduces traffic congestion and improves resilience of the Inner Ring Road, allowing traffic to move efficiently along the A61, which is a blue light route for the emergency services and is defined as the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network.

In addition, the scheme provides improvements for public transport, pedestrians, and cyclists, tying into the Connecting Sheffield programme and the Kelham Neepsend project.  This integrated and balanced approach delivers against the longer-term priorities of the Council in terms of sustainable transport and working towards net zero carbon by 2030.

The report outlined the potential future financial commitment required by the Council, in advance of any development and construction funding by the Department for Transport.

Appendix A showed the indicative scheme proposals.  This was preliminary design and would be refined, taking on further comments from stakeholders through detailed design.

Appendix B outlined the spend profile of the scheme.

The Transport Planning and Infrastructure Manager advised that the case had been submitted to the DfT (Department for Transport) for approval and that members were welcome to have a walk around the areas in the proposal.  Cycle Sheffield had submitted an objection to the scheme outlining a few specific requests of the design that would be looked at through the later phases.  Active Travel England had commented that they felt the scheme was well balanced.

Councillor Iqbal asked for an understanding of the figures.

The Transport Planning and Infrastructure Manager advised that financial contribution was sought through the Corporate Investment Fund for £3.4m.  £430k had been spent to date on the outline business case development, with approval of seeking the remaining £2.97m to be made available for additional work and match funding for construction of much needed houses and signage.

Councillor Chaplin asked if the scheme brought bus stops closer to the tram stops.  The Transport Planning and Infrastructure Manager advised that they were looking to improve the integration between bus stops and tram stops.  The Council had spoken to Supertram about getting stops closer together around Fox Hill and Grenoside.

Councillor Shaw asked if there had been any notable objections to the scheme.  The Transport and Infrastructure Manager advised that these would be reported back to the committee.

Councillor Auckland commented that the scheme was necessary in unlocking development in the city, but did the scheme still deliver or improve public transport reliability. The Transport and Infrastructure Manager advised that this was detailed within the analytics of the business case and the scheme introduced a bus priority bypass.  Bus Drivers had met with the Council and talked through their experiences. The new scheme had developed fresh thinking.

The Chair of the committee commented that the scheme was exciting and that it fitted together, she hoped it gave the public the whole overview.

10.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee:-

Endorse the work undertaken thus far to develop the Outline Business Case for Shalesmoor Gateway to the Department for Transport;

To the extent that the relevant decisions where not already delegated to officers, authorise the Executive Director of City Futures, in consultation with the Chair or the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, to undertake all necessary work to continue the development of the Shalesmoor Gateway scheme and prepare the Full Business Case. This would include detailed design, public consultation, and tendering for the works to be undertaken;

Notes that the Full Business Case would be brought back to the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee for its endorsement prior to submission to the Department for Transport; and

Note that the delegated authority to submit bids for further funding via the OBC and FBC rests with the relevant Executive Director (in consultation with the Council’s Chief Finance Officer), and that commitment to the use of that funding as well as the commitment of the remaining £2.97m allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy funding in accordance with the proposal detailed in this report would further be subject to the approval of either the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee or the Finance Sub-Committee, where appropriate.

10.3

Reasons for Decision

10.3.1

The Council’s Housing Infrastructure Fund identified the wider strategic benefit in delivering an integrated highway improvement at the Shalesmoor Gateway on the A61. This improvement was included in the Housing Infrastructure Fund bid; however, it was unsuccessful

10.3.2

Recognising its strategic importance, the Council also submitted the scheme through the Department of Transport‘s National Roads Fund.  It was subsequently added to the long list of schemes by Transport for the North, via a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority submission. The Shalesmoor Gateway scheme is the only scheme to be shortlisted within the Sheffield City Region.

10.3.3

The work done to date on the scheme has been critical to the identification of viable alignments and the OBC has identified the preferred option to meet the wider strategic objectives and deliver value for money. The business case is very strong and is ready for submission

10.3.4

Entry to the National Roads Fund programme requires rigorous assessment and compliance with well-established DfT processes and procedures in the assessment of options. The requirements are understood and are well known to the Council, with previous schemes having been subject to DfT requirements and progressing successfully.

10.3.5

The funding and delivery timescales are limited.  It is therefore critical that the OBC is submitted to the DfT and that the FBC works are undertaken without delay to meet the programme. Failure to meet programme and / or DfT requirements may compromise future further funding opportunities for the scheme.

10.3.6

The award of funding for the development of the FBC does not guarantee future DfT funding, either for scheme development costs at the FBC stage, or for implementation of the scheme. It is essential that all avenues for funding continue to be investigated.

10.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

10.4.1

1.1.        ‘Do nothing’ has been considered, but is not considered appropriate as this is likely to result in: 

·        Increased congestion and negative impact on journey times and journey time reliability

·        Failure to promote access to the supertram network;

·        Prevent the accelerated completion of development in and around HZN and city centre leading to growth in economy

·        Reduced facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, failing to encourage more active and sustainable travel choices.