Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 10^th June, 2021 and to deal with any matters arising.

RESOLVED: that the minutes for the Committee meeting on 10^th June, 2021 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Committee received the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee requesting that the Committee discuss with the Cabinet Member for Growth the decision to reopen Bedford Place to traffic from the week commencing 19^th July, 2021. 

Councillor Moulton, Cabinet Member for Growth, Kate Martin, Executive Director for Place and Wade Holmes, Transport Delivery Team Lead were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. 

In addition, the Committee received representations from Councillors Noon, Bogle, Paffey and Kataria as well as residents living in the vicinity of Bedford Place and interested parties. 

The Committee discussed:

·  The impact of the scheme on businesses, visitors and local residents;

·  The evidence obtained from the 3 surveys that had been conducted on the scheme and how this had influenced the decision to reopen;

·  Issues of safety and anti-social behaviour in the area and how this had changed since the introduction of the scheme;

·  Views of the wider community, not just those of the businesses and how these were being considered;

·  Timing of the decision – implications of delaying the decision until after the summer;

·  Impact of the Night Time Economy on local residents;

·  Future design of the area;

·  How communication with businesses and residents was conducted;

·  The introduction of a temporary traffic regulation order. 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member gave consideration to utilising the residual funding within the Late Night Levy account to improve the cleanliness and appearance of Bedford Place.

The Committee considered the briefing paper of the Cabinet Member for Growth detailing the proposal to remove evening parking charges and the suspension of off-street Sunday parking charges.

Councillor Fitzhenry, Leader of the Council, Mary D’Arcy, Executive Director for Communities, Culture and Homes and Richard Alderson, Service Manager, Parking and Itchen Bridge were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

In addition, the Committee received representations from Councillors Bogle and Kataria and Mrs Lindsi Bluemel (Southampton Cycling Campaign) and Claire Ransom (Unite).

The Committee discussed:

·  The impact on environmental issues and attempts to increase the uptake of active and sustainable travel options;

·  The effect of car park increases on spend in the City;

·  Monitoring the change in parking habits in the short and longer term;

·  Potential revenue impacts on West Quay and the wider City offering;

·  How bus and taxi companies have responded to the proposal.

RESOLVED:

(i)  That the Executive outlines the success measures against which the proposals to remove evening and Sunday parking charges would be judged; and

(ii)  That parking returns to the Committee later this year to enable consideration of the Council’s new Parking Plan and the impact of the removal of parking charges.  The Committee would welcome feedback from stakeholders on the removal of parking charges to be available to inform this discussion. 

The Committee noted the briefing paper of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Capital Assets updating the Committee on 2021-22 Budget and beyond,

Councillor Fitzhenry, Leader of the Council and Steve Harrison, Head of Financial Planning and Management were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

The Committee discussed the new Administrations approach to how the 2021/22 budget gap was being addressed. 

The Committee received the briefing paper of the Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Heritage detailing the Southampton’s Destination Management Plan. 

Councillor Vassiliou, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Heritage, Mary D’Arcy, Executive Director for Communities, Culture and Homes and Carolyn Abel, Head of Culture and Tourism were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

RESOLVED:

(i)  that officers, when drafting the initial action plan to deliver the objectives within the Destination Management Plan, include the key outputs that the DMP are seeking to deliver;

(ii)  that officers inform the Scrutiny Manager when the action plan had been drafted to enable it to be discussed at a future meeting of the Committee; and

(iii)  that the Committee were provided with an explanation of what the additional resource to support the delivery of the Destination Management Plan, that was considered by the Cabinet Member but not chosen, would have delivered, including outputs.

The Committee noted the report of the Service Director – Legal and Business Operations enabling the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to monitor and track progress on recommendations made to the Executive at previous meetings.