Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting..

Apologies for absence were heard from Councillor Ali, Cheney, Clark, Cole, Hartley, Hathway, Makawi, Renhard and Windows.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

None received.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor invited Mayor Rees to speak to Full Council and outline details of the new scheme for supporting Ukrainian refugees arriving in the City.

Public Forum (Public Petitions, Statements and Questions)

Public forum items can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city. Submissions will be treated in order of receipt and as many people shall be called upon as is possible within the time allowed within the meeting (normally 30 minutes).

Further rules can be found within our Council Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

Please note that the following deadlines apply to this meeting:

a. Public petitions and statements: Petitions and written statements

must be received by 12 noon on Friday 11^th March 2022 at latest.  One written statement per member of the public is permitted.

b. Public questions: Written public questions must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 9^th March 2022 at latest. A maximum of 2 questions per member of the public is permitted. Questions should be addressed to the Mayor or relevant Cabinet Member.

Public forum items should be e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Public petitions:

There were two public petitions received which were referred to the Mayor for his consideration and response.

Public statements:

The Full Council received and noted the following statements (which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration/information):

Please note: Up to 10 minutes is allowed for this item.

Petitions notified by Councillors can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city.  The deadline for the notification of petitions to this meeting is 12 noon on Monday 14^th March 2022.

There were none.

To approve the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/2023

The Full Council considered a report which proposed adoption of the Pay Policy Statement for the year 2022-23.

Councillor Wye moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.  Councillor Pearce seconded the report.

There was a debate and it was:

RESOLVED:

That the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 was noted.

To review and approve the allocation of seats on committees in accordance with the statutory requirements concerning political balance and to approve the allocation of Committee Seats as set out in the report.

The Full council considered a report which sought to confirm the political proportionality of the Council in line with statutory requirements.

The Lord Mayor moved the report and the recommendations contained therein.

Councillor Varney, Deputy Lord Mayor, seconded the report.

It was then:

RESOLVED:

That Full Council reviewed and approved the allocation of seats on committees in accordance with the statutory requirements concerning political balance and to approve the allocation of Committee Seats as set out in the report.

Note:

Under the Council’s constitution, 30 minutes are available for the consideration of motions. In practice, this realistically means that there is usually only time for one, or possibly two motions to be considered.

With the agreement of the Lord Mayor, motion 1 below will be considered at this meeting, and motion 2 is likely to be considered, subject to time.

Details of other motions submitted, (which, due to time constraints, are very unlikely to be considered at this meeting) are listed at the end of the agenda pack attached to this item.

MOTIONS RECEIVED FOR FULL COUNCIL

Golden Motion - Green Mass Transit for Bristol

Full council notes that:

1. WECA has committed £5 million to conduct a feasibility study for an underground rail network for (Greater) Bristol, for ‘pinch points’ such as Temple Meads and the Gloucester Road.

1. This is an ambitious idea which could potentially help with efficiently moving large volumes of people in Bristol.
2. The proposed mass transit system represents a huge investment.
3. Significant challenges will need to be overcome to deliver subterranean tunnels, such as flood risk, ensuring it serves enough people to justify the cost, and that large scale construction projects of this nature also generate significant carbon emissions.
4. A mass transit system that relies on underground tunnels, as currently proposed will take many years to complete, well beyond the IPCC warning that we have just 8 years to make significant reductions in carbon emissions.
5. We are in a Climate Emergency and decarbonising transport has to be implemented as soon as possible.
   
   

Full council believes that:

1. Due to the “once in a generation” size of investment involved, the proposed underground mass transit system is a potential opportunity cost both financially and in terms of carbon emissions.

1. There is a risk that alternative mass transit options, which might be at least as effective or have a better benefit to cost ratio, may not be taken forwards if all political focus is on underground rail.
2. Only by comparing all options will Bristol be able to most wisely spend funding and deliver a world class mass transit system in a timely manner.
3. Other mass transit system options such as: improving, increasing and greening bus infrastructure; a tram system or similar mass transit such as electric trolley cars, should be assessed alongside the underground network.
4. This comparative approach is entirely consistent with all project and programme management approaches, including the latest Governmental guidance (i.e. Infrastructure and Projects Authority: assurance review toolkit) that suggests that the business case of projects of this sort should be kept under constant review.
5. If the study were to show that different transport systems would be more impactful than the underground proposal then these will need to be implemented instead.
   
   

Full council resolves that:

1. The Council and WECA must include in the £5million plan a strategic review of the business case by assessing the feasibility of other strategic options such as those listed above.

1. The review must assess the ongoing business case with comparisons  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Motion 1 – Golden Motion: Green Mass Transit for Bristol

Councillor Edwards moved the following motion:

Full council notes that:

1.             WECA has committed £5 million to conduct a feasibility study for an underground rail network for (Greater) Bristol, for ‘pinch points’ such as Temple Meads and the Gloucester Road.

2.       This is an ambitious idea which could potentially help with efficiently moving large volumes of people in Bristol.

3.       The proposed mass transit system represents a huge investment.

4.       Significant challenges will need to be overcome to deliver subterranean tunnels, such as flood risk, ensuring it serves enough people to justify the cost, and that large scale construction projects of this nature also generate significant carbon emissions.

5.       A mass transit system that relies on underground tunnels, as currently proposed will take many years to complete, well beyond the IPCC warning that we have just 8 years to make significant reductions in carbon emissions.

6.       We are in a Climate Emergency and decarbonising transport has to be implemented as soon as possible

Full council believes that:

1.             Due to the “once in a generation” size of investment involved, the proposed underground mass transit system is a potential opportunity cost both financially and in terms of carbon emissions.

2.       There is a risk that alternative mass transit options, which might be at least as effective or have a better benefit to cost ratio, may not be taken forwards if all political focus is on underground rail.

3.       Only by comparing all options will Bristol be able to most wisely spend funding and deliver a world class mass transit system in a timely manner.

4.       Other mass transit system options such as: improving, increasing and greening bus infrastructure; a tram system or similar mass transit such as electric trolley cars, should be assessed alongside the underground network. 

5.       This comparative approach is entirely consistent with all project and programme management approaches, including the latest Governmental guidance (i.e. Infrastructure and Projects Authority: assurance review toolkit) that suggests that the business case of projects of this sort should be kept under constant review.

6.       If the study were to show that different transport systems would be more impactful than the underground proposal then these will need to be implemented instead

Full council resolves that:

1.             The Council and WECA must include in the £5million plan a strategic review of the business case by assessing the feasibility of other strategic options such as those listed above.

2.             The review must assess the ongoing business case with comparisons of other options, with an independent assessment of what the options are and the criteria to be considered. This is likely to include (but not be limited to):

•     Cost

•     Delivery time

•     Environmental impact of project, to include construction as well as eventual impact · How many cars it would take off the road

•     How many areas/people of Bristol it could serve

•     Impact on deprived areas

•     How much space for active travel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.