Agenda item

Report of Councillor Young (attached)

Councillor Hannah Young presented the report, thanking those who had spoken today and also those who had engaged enthusiastically in the consultation and review.

The Executive had committed to commissioning an independent review, and the fact that thousands of people had taken part in it demonstrated how important this had been as an issue for Clevedon.  There had been a great deal of work since the AECOM review was discussed in December last year amounting in the basic design being presented today which would take the work forwards.  There would be further stages ahead arising from the road safety audit.   Active Travel England had indicated that they would not be looking to recoup their funds so far.  The most difficult process had been finding a way forwards given the problematic financial position the council found itself in.  A range of council finance sources had been pulled together including use of reserves, some Local Transport Plan funding and other small funding areas.  This would provide a sufficient level of funding for the high-level priority areas and those lower-level areas that did not require additional funding.

Approval of the recommendations today would enable the scoping of an implementation plan and timescale although this wouldn’t be in time for the summer and would not be taken forward during the busy summer period.

Members discussed support and help across a range of issues including economic impact and parking enforcement, particularly regarding loading bays.  There was recognition of the lessons to be learned from the project and the difficult position that councillors now found themselves in. 

Concern was also raised that the scheme had not been given sufficient time to embed and that the proposed revisions favoured car use and did not fully address all aspects of safety.  There were also concerns about the amount of money now being spent when the focus should be on making the current scheme safe.

Suggestions were made at the meeting by members of the public around improvements to current signage and potential shared use of the Promenade by cyclists as an alternative to a contraflow cycle lane.  Councillor Young noted that the Scrutiny process had been robust and well managed. 

Councillor Young rebutted the assumption that this was a reversal of the original scheme.  The original scheme had been much wider, much of which was to remain, and the beach itself was only part of that scheme.  Safety remained a priority in the difficult balance of the needs of multiple users of the seafront.  She was grateful for the support received and thanked the officers for all their hard work. 

The Leader emphasised that this partnership administration believed in being open and transparent and in working with the community, which was particularly important given challenges that were faced.  

Resolved: that the Executive:

1.       Noted the update provided by the Director of Place in respect of developing options for funding and implementation of proposed changes to the current scheme on The Beach as described in section 3 of the report, and

2.       Approved the recommended works to be included as a new project within the council’s capital programme as detailed in section 5 of the report, and updated programme for associated spending and funding changes