Contact: Jon Foley, ext 7559 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

(i) That the proposed allocation of the £200,000 Local Transport Plan Monitoring/Initiatives element of the transport capital programme for 2004/05, as set out below, be approved:

Local Transport Plan Monitoring £75,000

Business Travel Plan Partnership £45,000

Other small scale Local Transport Plan Initiatives £80,000.

(ii) That the Business Travel Plan Partnership element of the above be allocated as set out in the attached appendix.

2. Reason

2.1 This decision supports the following Aims of the Corporate Strategy:

(i) Aim 2 (Stewardship of the Environment) - the introduction of measures to encourage use of sustainable modes of transport through the Business Travel Plan Partnership funded projects and the other small scale Local Transport Plan initiatives will have a positive impact on the Environment;

(ii) Aim 3 (Assisting Economic Prosperity) - the projects delivered through the Business Travel Plan Partnership will widen travel choice for staff and visitors to these establishments thereby increasing their attractiveness which should have a positive impact on business performance.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 Taking no action.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or Other Executive Member Consulted - None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor K B Estlin

7. Introduction

7.1 On 25 February 2004 approval was given by Full Council to allocate £200,000 of the transport capital programme for 2004/05 to Local Transport Plan Monitoring/Initiatives. It is proposed that this amount be distributed as follows:

Local Transport Plan Monitoring £75,000

Business Travel Plan Partnership Fund £45,000

Other small scale Local Transport Plan Initiatives £80,000.

Additional information on these items is set out below.

8. Local Transport Plan Monitoring (£75,000)

8.1 It is proposed to purchase equipment associated with monitoring progress towards meeting the objectives and targets laid down in the Local Transport Plan (LTP). It will also be used in relation to the collection of baseline information (in particular on congestion, air quality, accessibility planning and road safety) required for the production of the second Local Transport Plan to be submitted to Government in July 2005. Government advice on 'How to Monitor Indicators in Local Transport Plans and Annual Progress Report's issued in April 2004 is that "a greater robustness in monitoring will be required".

8.2 At this stage the exact composition of the programme has not yet been determined as final Government guidance is still awaited. It is anticipated that funding will be allocated towards a range of projects including the following:

(i) equipment required to further develop congestion monitoring through the use of information technology;

(ii) collection of various data associated with the audits required to inform the accessibility strategy for the second LTP;

(iii) pedestrian monitoring equipment to follow on from the initiative piloted in Winchester in 2003/04; and

(iv) installation of new and upgraded traffic and cycle monitoring equipment.

9. Business Travel Plan Partnership Fund (£45,000)

9.1 This initiative was approved in principle in October 2003. The process involved businesses being invited to submit bids for matched funding, up to a maximum of £5,000 (and not more than 50% of the total cost of the project), for on-site sustainable transport measures. All bids for funding during 2004/05 have now been received and the level of response has been extremely encouraging.

9.2 An additional number of revenue related bids, totalling £9,500, were also received and are to be funded from the County Council's revenue budget.

9.3 Brief details of those bids which it is proposed to fund are set out in the attached appendix. It should be noted that where a proposal includes a mix of elements the fund would only be available for spend on the travel element. For example, the fund will not be used on the changing facilities element of a bid. A number of bids were unsuccessful and details on these are also set out in the appendix.

10. Other Small Scale Local Transport Plan Initiatives (£80,000)

10.1 This budget would be allocated to the delivery of minor integrated transport infrastructure improvements not already identified within the transport capital programme for 2004/05. Funding will be used on items such as pedestrian and cycle signing, cycle lane marking and parking, the New Forest Tour Cycle Trailer, the East Hampshire `Wheels to Work' scheme, and other small scale improvements to encourage use of alternatives to the car.

8782/JF

APPENDIX

BUSINESS TRAVEL PLAN PARTNERSHIP FUND 2004/05

Table 1: Projects proposed for funding from transport capital programme

Sub Total £40,416

Contingencies £4,584

TOTAL £45,000

Table 2: Additional revenue funded projects

TOTAL £9,500

Table 3: Details of unsuccessful bids