Agenda item

Including the Oldham Town Centre Parking Strategy (report to follow)

The Committee scrutinised a report and presentation by Helen Fallon, Strategic Transportation Team Leader, setting out the Oldham Transport Strategy. The Oldham Transport Strategy sets out how Oldham will meet the ambitions set out in the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 and sub strategies, whilst ensuring investment is prioritised to ensure Oldham’s Transport and Highways Network support a Healthy, Clean and Thriving borough.

The Vision for Oldham as set out in the strategy is to create a connected borough with increasing use of public transport and active travel that provides all people with safe and inclusive access to opportunities and healthy choices.

The Transport Strategy sets out the council's transport and highways ambitions in relation to:

·         A Healthy Oldham

·         A Clean Oldham

·         A Safe Oldham

·         An Accessible Oldham

·         A Connected Oldham and

·         A Thriving Oldham

The Oldham Transport Strategy and Delivery Plan align with the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 ‘Right Mix’ ambition for half of all journeys to be made by active and sustainable transport modes by 2040. The aim of Oldham’s Transport Strategy is to reduce carbon emissions from transport, increase cycling, walking and public transport use and enable the borough to become an increasingly attractive place to live, work and visit.

Oldham’s Transport Strategy will support the borough’s ambitions for sustainable growth and development over the next 20 years.

The Delivery Plan sets out transport interventions to be delivered over the following time periods:

·         short term 0 - 5 years;

·         medium term 5 -10 years;

·         long term 10 – 20 years (up to 2040); and

·         beyond 20 years - 2040 onwards.

The Transport Strategy also includes the first proposed sub-strategy - an update to the Oldham Town Centre Parking Strategy. The refreshed Town Centre Parking Strategy is necessary to support the current regeneration proposals for the town centre, which are aimed at providing quality homes within the town centre, increasing office and service space, and promoting decreasing road traffic and increased access to public transport. These growth plans need to be supported by the right parking infrastructure, with the right levels of car parking provided in the right places at the right tariff. An updated car parking strategy is therefore needed to ensure that appropriate mechanisms and processes are in place to plan for future provision.

A number of recommendations have been made in the Parking Strategy which range from improvements to signage around the town centre, updates to parking technology, such as mobile phone application, Mobility Hubs, and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. Following the adoption of the Parking Strategy, work will be undertaken to establish a supporting delivery plan facilitating the implementation of the identified recommendations.

As actions are identified to support the aims set out in the Transport Strategy, Oldham Borough Council will be developing further sub strategies to support this, potentially including an Active Travel Sub Strategy to set out how we will ensure we meet our Transport ambitions to get more people walking, wheeling, and cycling.

Helen Fallon emphasised that the key aim is the Right Mix vision and highlighted that transport supports all the commitments in the Oldham Corporate Plan and that transport connects people to jobs and education opportunities. She informed Members that achieving the key aims of the Strategy will have positive impacts on communities across Oldham.

Helen Fallon referred to the Delivery Plan set out in the Draft Strategy which set out the initial Transport priorities for the Central, East, North, South and West districts of Oldham. She stressed that engagement had been undertaken with key internal and external partners and stakeholders in the preparation of the transport strategy, pipeline of interventions, identification of priorities and the development of the delivery plan (paragraph 4.1 of the covering report refers). She informed the Committee that the Strategy would also be presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board, and that ongoing engagement with Members will be needed to allow the Transport priorities for each District to evolve.

In response to Members’ questions, Helen Fallon explained that funding was a key factor to progress the Transport Strategy. The Strategy will rely on grants and funding from the Oldham Capital Programme with an emphasis on the need to gear up the Transport Investment Programme.

She agreed that educational behavioural changes being developed and embedded through community groups and schools was important.

Members made references to the promotion of registered and unregistered footpaths, cycle routes and the importance of establishing those networks.

Peter Richards, Head of Planning, advised that the Transport Strategy was the starting point to build projects and to establish Sub Strategies which are still developing.

Responding to a question, regarding incentivising car parking, new technology, refunds of car parking fees through retail shopping, appropriate advertising, Peter Richards, Head of Planning, said he would feed this back to the car parking team to explore.

The Chair, Councillor McLaren, suggested the need to establish a timeline for reports back to this Committee over the next 2-3 years to review the progress of the Transport Strategy and making views to Cabinet.

Resolved:

That

(i)         the Officers establish a timeline for reports to this Committee to review the progress of the Oldham Transport Strategy and offer views to Cabinet;

(ii)        the Committee endorses the Oldham Transport Strategy including the Delivery Plan and Oldham Town Centre Parking strategy, to embed meeting the aims of the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 (GM2040) in the borough and ensure our transport and highways networks enable the building of homes and the creation of jobs; and

(iii)       Helen Fallon and officers be thanked for their presentation.