Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

No declarations of any interests were received.

James Hoskinson, Planning Assistant, will provide a presentation which will recap the 2019 active travel-focussed ‘Sustainable September’ campaign and the findings of the Staff Survey on alternative transport. There will also be an update on the 2020 campaign and details on how COVID19 has changed staff sustainability habits to give members some background information and context.

The Overview and Scrutiny Task Group were provided with a presentation from James Hoskinson, Planning Assistant on the Sustainable September campaign which was undertaken by the Council last year. This explored the findings of how staff travelled to work and gathered views and opinions about transportation to work. The campaign would be undertaken again to explore the changes in 12 months and how the commute had been impacted with Covid-19. It was expected that the increase in home working would be a significant factor.

After the presentation, Members discussed the following;

·         the potential for charging points in the Town Centre for electric bikes,

·         recognised the decline in public transport during lockdown and discussed how increased use could now be encouraged

·         addressed the issues surrounding fear of cycling due to insufficient infrastructure and understood the importance of improving infrastructure to increase bike use.

·         Concerns over use of electric scooters being dangerous on the pavements due to being silent

·         The need to make public transport attractive; Members felt the focus on service had disappeared and the priorities for bus and rail companies was now more about money. Need a service that links residents

·         Issues surround social isolation, particularly for the elderly

·         Need to reduced pollution and address the green agenda.

·         Use of car pooling (‘Shared Wheels)

Decision – That the presentation be noted.

Members will need to consider what the desired outcomes of the review will be and how this can be achieved.

Draft scoping document enclosed for Members to consider and complete.

Members of the Task Group considered the scope of the inquiry and discussed objectives, outcomes, and who they wanted to interview as part of the review, including Lancashire County Council highway and transport officers and County Councillor Keith Iddon as Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Stagecoach, Northern Rail, Lindsay Hoyle MP, Councillors and Parish and Town Councils.

Members acknowledged how big the topic of public transport was and recognised that any recommendations would need to be relevant, realistic and achievable.

Members discussed the rail provision and bus services in the borough and the need for community transport options such as dial-a-ride. In order to address interconnectivity, it was suggested that the task group look into a pass that would provide a single way to pay to use different services of transport throughout the borough.

Members discussed the need to recognise the difficulties the council has in enforcing issues around public transport, the cost implications with public transport and what sustainable funding for buses is available. Work also proposed to tackle social isolation across the borough and environmental concerns such as air quality.

The scoping document would be formulated by officers in consultation with the Chair following Members discussion. This would then be shared amongst Members of the Task Group for comments. The scoping document would be a working document that would be brought back to each meeting.

Decision – That the scoping document be drawn up in consultation with the Chair to be sent to Members and brought back to the next meeting for approval by the Group.

Thursday, 5 November at 6pm.

Thursday, 5 November 2020 at 6.00pm.