At the meeting of the Council held on 14 March 2016 (minute 119 (3) refers), the attached Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Pat Cleary and seconded by Councillor Phil Gilchrist was referred by the Mayor to the Policy and Performance Regeneration and Environment Committee for consideration (subsequently referred to this Committee by Council 27 June 2016).

In accordance with Standing Order 7 (6), Councillor Cleary has been invited to attend the meeting in order for him to be given an opportunity to explain the Motion.

The Head of Legal and Member Services reported that at the meeting of the Council held on 14 March 2016 (minute 119 refers), the following Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Pat Cleary and seconded by Councillor Phil Gilchrist was referred by the Mayor to this Committee for consideration –

REDUCING PEDESTRIAN CASUALTIES IN WIRRAL

“Council notes that the Wirral Plan 'A 2020 Vision' Phase 1 states 'we will continue to invest in our highways, keeping Wirral moving and making sure our road network Is safe and well maintained; always remembering our duty to residents in regard to road safety'.

And that, under Pledge 13 on page 41 further states:

'By the end of March 2016, we will... Develop a new road Safety strategy, based on detailed insight'.

Council understands that the Wirral Pedestrians Association has recently carried out their own comprehensive audit of road injuries and casualties in Wirral. They expressed considerable concern about the relatively high rate of pedestrian casualties in Wirral which they placed in the bottom third of local authorities for pedestrian serious injuries. For child pedestrians, they placed Wirral in the bottom fifth. The report questioned the level of attention being given to pedestrian safety by Council officers and the police.

Council requests that this audit should be considered by officers and that the issues raised should be used to inform the promised insight. The issues raised include due attention to illegal parking on footways and the placing of A Boards on footways, along with better co-ordination with the police where appropriate.

As part of this process Council requests officers to consider the approaches such as these –

'A safe system approach to road safety in Bristol; A ten year Plan 2015 - 2024

'Road safety strategy; Consultation Version (July 2015) Birmingham City Council

The phased extension of 20 MPH Zones in Cheshire West and Chester.

Accordingly the Cabinet Member be requested to

a. report on the production of the new road safety strategy

b. explain how the concerns of the Pedestrians Association can be properly taken into account to the Regeneration and Environment Policy and Performance Committee.”

In accordance with Standing Order 7 (6), Councillor Cleary had been invited to attend the meeting in order for him to be given an opportunity to explain the Motion. The Committee was informed that Councillor Cleary could not attend the meeting and the Chair suggested that the item could be deferred until the September meeting.

A Member queried whether this would be setting a precedent for deferring motions when a proposer of the motion was unable to attend and that, if so, this should apply to all parties across the Council.

After considerable discussion it was agreed that the Notice of Motion should be considered and that the seconder of the Motion would speak to it.

Councillor Gilchrist addressed the Committee and elaborated on the contents of the motion.

After further debate on the issue there was a general consensus that the Committee should have further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5