Agenda item

5.1

The Policy Committee received no petitions and one question from a member of the public.

Question from John Chapman

'does the committee agree that the delivery of the Connecting Sheffield schemes should be sped up to help people travel cheaply by walking, cycling and by public transport in the cost living crisis or should the council continue to squander the approx £50m funding it has already won from government for these schemes?'

The Chair advised that the Council, and this Committee remained committed to the programme outlined through the Connecting Sheffield proposals.  This included the Transforming Cities Fund application, the Active Travel Fund, the day-to-day Local Transport Funding but most recently the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.  It was highlighted that delivering schemes of this scale, during a period of significant change, had not been easy.  There had been wider forces at play within the construction industry which had ultimately slowed down delivery, but the council were working its best through the aftermath of these seismic deviations .

Providing access to, and enabling Active Travel and public transport use was at the cornerstone of the transport policy.  The needs sustainable and inclusive travel options, both for access to core social amenities but also to get people to work, education and effectively plan for the future.  The council were working with funders, to which the council were  not alone, to identify options for acceleration, whilst also critiquing in great detail our own practises, to ensure further delay was minimised.