This report seeks approval to spend £1,625,000 of additional Active Travel Tranche 3 grant funding which has been made available to the Council from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) and to amend the 2023/2024 capital programme to allocate the funding to the Conway Street/Europa Boulevard Movement Scheme.

The Wirral Plan 2021-2026 sets out the Council’s vision to secure the best possible future for our residents, defined by the community prosperity we create and supported by our excellent people and services. This proposal directly supports the following key themes within that plan:

·  A cleaner, greener borough which celebrates, protects and improves our environment and urgently tackles the environmental emergency;

·  A prosperous inclusive economy where local people can get good jobs and achieve their aspirations; and

·  Safe, vibrant communities where people want to live and raise their families.

Resolved – that,

1.  the Director of Regeneration and Place be authorised to utilise the £1,625,000 from Active Travel Fund Tranche 3 received by the Council from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to support the delivery of the Conway Street/Europa Boulevard Movement Scheme; and

2.  the Policy and Resources Committee be recommended to approve that the Capital Programme for 2023/2024 be amended so that the additional £1,625,000 grant funding from the Active Travel Fund Tranche 3 allocated to the Council by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority be allocated to the Conway Street / Europa Boulevard Movement Scheme.

The funding outlined in this report has been allocated to the Council for the delivery of the specific project identified and cannot be used for any other purpose. If the funding was not accepted, it would have to be returned to the LCRCA.

To ensure that the Council achieves the delivery of regeneration and active travel projects within the Borough as identified in the Birkenhead Regeneration Framework and as part of a Liverpool City Region (LCR) wide programme of projects and interventions.

To ensure that the Council supports projects which will deliver increased levels of sustainable travel as set out in the emerging Local Plan and to support actions required to address the Climate Emergency and the target in the Cool2 Strategy to ‘a complete transition to fossil fuel free local travel by around 2030’.

The Council could have decided not to accept the funding. This is not considered to be an appropriate option given that the project is key to the regeneration of Birkenhead town centre and supporting active travel is in line with our commitment to addressing the climate emergency, improving the health of our residents and encouraging alternative modes of transport to the private car.

Use of the funding to deliver an alternative scheme or programme is not an appropriate option. A condition of the grant funding agreement is that it cannot be used for other purposes so doing this would not meet the terms of the grant award which has been specifically provided to develop and deliver the projects that will enable active travel. The funding would then be subject to claw-back and breaking the terms of the grant funding agreement could risk future funding awards.