Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Members noted that Councillor Carla Denyer had resigned from the Board and been replaced by Councillor Tony Dyer, who had been appointed as Chair at the Full Council meeting on 9^th November 21.

RESOLVED; that the updated membership be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bradshaw and Kent, who were substituted by Councillors Goggin and Hartley respectively.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The draft minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Management Board meeting on the 18 October 2021 will be available at the next meeting.

Members noted the minutes would be available at the next meeting.

To note any announcements from the Chair

There was no Chair’s Business.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on Friday 12 November.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 17 November.

Statements

Questions

RESOLVED; that the public forum be noted.

Members received a brief introduction from officers setting out the current position in relation to the Clean Air Zone for Bristol, following which they asked for additional details in a number of areas.   The discussion was as follows;

• The implementation of the CAZ would lead to improvements in air quality overall, but additional specific measures, such as bus gates at Cumberland Road and on Park Street, were needed to ensure the requirements around compliance were met.
• The ‘background levels’ of air pollution would improve across the whole city following the implementation of the CAZ.  However, in a few areas, the pollution levels may slightly worsen (although not exceed the legal limit), and the affected places would be kept under close review.
• £42m of investment would be made to support the implementation of the CAZ e.g., to fund vehicle upgrades, make adjustments to roads, and implement new bus ticketing arrangements.  It was agreed that full details of the breakdown of funding, including any monies ring fenced for local residents, would be provided following the meeting.

·       The current estimate for income in relation to the CAZ (from charges) was £18m over the first three years, which would reduce over time.

• The Government were providing financial support to the Council for schemes directly related to the implementation of the CAZ.  Should the government’s position change and more funding be provided then the Council could look at additional measures.  However, a number of complimentary projects to improve sustainable travel in the city using other funding sources were also being implemented.
• The West of England Combined Authority had submitted their Bus Service Improvement Plan at the end of October 21 from which they were hoping to secure additional funding for upgrades across the region.
• A scheme to assist (primarily) residents earning less than £27,000 per annum would be in place to help with the purchase of replacement vehicles.  Around £2,000 would be available as a grant, and £5,000 via a no interest loan.  Residents would need to demonstrate that they were travelling into the zone to qualify.
• It was estimated that around 70% of vehicles would be compliant with the CAZ requirements at the time of implementation.  Of the remaining 30%, some people would look to replace their vehicles (potentially using the grants/loans available) and others would change their behaviour. 

·       A one-year exemption for residents from the CAZ requirements had been agreed with the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU), so charges wouldn’t be made until 2023.

• JAQU had a list of other authorised exemptions from the scheme e.g. blue badge holders and blue light vehicles. Several exemptions had also been agreed with all the hospitals in the CAZ to ensure patients and visitors were not charged, which would be managed by each facility. Most other exemptions were local arrangements and therefore likely to be temporary (until December 2022).

·       The situation regarding hybrid vehicles had been considered and full details could be provided to Members following the meeting.

• When motorway closures were in place, the CAZ  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

To note the work programme.

The Work Programme was noted.  Members were advised that the items on the One City Plan and Bristol City Council’s Business Plans would be scheduled in March 22 and agreed that an informal workshop to review the draft Business Plans would also be arranged.  The Board noted that the provisional date for their meeting to consider the Companies Business Plans was 5pm on 9^th February 22.

RESOLVED; that the Work Programme Updates be Noted.

To follow after publication on Monday 15 November.

The updated Forward Plan was noted.

RESOVLED; that the Forward Plan be noted.

Noted.