The Chair welcomed attendees and viewers to the meeting and reminded everyone that the meeting was webcast and retained on the Council’s website for two years.

Councillor Wilson sent apologies. Councillor Povall was in attendance as substitute.

Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests and any other relevant interest and to state the nature of the interest. Councillor Steve Foulkes declared a personal interest but not prejudicial interest by virtue of his role as chair of the Liverpool City Region Transport Committee in respect of item 6, the Wirral Road Safety Plan.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2023.

Resolved – that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2023 be approved as a correct record subject to correction of some typographical amendments

Please telephone the Committee Services Officer if you have not received an acknowledgement of your question/statement by the deadline for submission.

Notice of question to be given in writing or by email by 12 noon, 15 September to the Council’s Monitoring Officer via this link: Public Question Form and to be dealt with in accordance with Standing Order 10.

For more information on how your personal information will be used, please see this link: Document Data Protection Protocol for Public Speakers at Committees | Wirral Council

Please telephone the Committee Services Officer if you have not received an acknowledgement of your question by the deadline for submission.

The Chair informed Members that a large number of Public Questions had been received and hair indicated at the outset that having regard to the Council Procedure Rules she would allow 30 minutes for public questions. Those members of the public unable to ask their question would receive a written response.

Don Naylor asked if Wirral Borough Council expected to liaise with neighbouring Local Highway Authorities, for example Flintshire County Council, in order to cross-reference experiences of successfully implementing 20mph measures.

The Chair responded to state that Wirral Council had liaised with the bordering authority of Cheshire West and Chester, where 20mph speed limits have previously been introduced across all residential areas. Officers had also taken advice from the national "20's Plenty" campaign which referred to data and information from many local authorities that had previously introduced widespread 20mph speed limits.

Janine Pinion asked if there had been any post-implementation feedback or studies from areas which had already implemented 20mph zones – apart from the Belfast study.

The Chair responded to confirm that several outcome studies were available online, including Traffic for London (TfL) Cheshire West and Chester and Edinburgh. Many local authorities in the UK have implemented 20mph speed limits, however best practice suggested that 20mph schemes should be evaluated over a six-year period with three-year worth of before and after data included.

Gillian Homeri asked a question as a victim of a road traffic incident, asking How many lives are lost in Wirral due to road accidents and how many are seriously injured?

The Chair responded to confirm that for the full calendar year of 2022 the collision record is 106 killed or seriously injured, with 5 fatal injured and 101 sustaining very serious injured.

Barbara Gleave asked a question regarding the increase in traffic on our roads and asthma as an increasing health problem, especially in Children. The question asked if the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit will have any impact on air quality and if slower speeds will reduce the harm to children

Mike Comerford noted his concerns regarding the volume and speed of the traffic through Thornton Hough Village, and recent fatality. He asked if the Council would change the speed limit through the village from 30 mph to 20mph in line with its drive to increase road safety and reduce the number of injuries/fatalities on our roads.

The Chair responded to say state that itwas proposed to introduce 20mph speed limits on Smithy Hill, St Georges Way and on parts of Thornton Common Road and Manor Road, through Thornton Hough Village as part of area 27 of the scheme proposals. If funding is approved, this is currently programmed to be progressed as part of Phase 3 of the overall scheme.

Rizgar Homeri asked if Merseyside Police and other emergency services fully consulted about 20mph limits and have they given any feedback now the limits are being implemented.

The Chair responded to confirm that Merseyside Police were consulted and are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33a

Notice of representations to be given in writing or by email by 12 noon, 15 September to the Council’s Monitoring Officer (committeeservices@wirral.gov.uk) and to be dealt with in accordance with Standing Order 11.1.

Petitions may be presented to the Committee if provided to Democratic and Member Services no later than 10 working days before the meeting, at the discretion of the Chair. The person presenting the petition will be allowed to address the meeting briefly (not exceeding three minute) to outline the aims of the petition. The Chair will refer the matter to another appropriate body of the Council within whose terms of reference it falls without discussion, unless a relevant item appears elsewhere on the Agenda. If a petition contains more than 5,000 signatures, it will be debated at a subsequent meeting of Council for up to 15 minutes, at the discretion of the Mayor. Please telephone the Committee Services Officer if you have not received an acknowledgement of your statement/petition by the deadline for submission.

Roland Graham presented a statement on behalf of Roland Graham on Behalf of Merseyside Cycling Campaign, in respect of agenda item 6 Wirral Road Safety Plan. The statement noted that they were disappointed not to be considered stakeholders in the road safety consultation or on the implementation of Wirral Circular Trail and flagged concerns with road safety in respect to Hoylake roundabout.

The PDF files may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices. Please contact rhianhughes@wirral.gov.uk if would like these documents in an accessible format..

 The Assistant Director: Infrastructure and Highways presented the report which provided a further update on progress made in planning, funding and implementing the recommendations of the Road Safety Working Group as requested by the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee on 7 September 2021.

This report also set out Wirral’s Road Safety Plan 2023 – 2027, following the adoption of the Liverpool City Region Road Safety Strategy in November 2022.

Members asked how pelican crossings and refuges can be requested in their wards. Members were informed of the process for this and were informed that requests from Members and the public were taken into account as part of  the annual review. Members also asked for an update on road safety measures at Spital Crossroads and were informed that the plans were being progressed and were currently on track. Members were informed that the School Streets programme had been operated in several locations and feedback so far was positive, with evaluation continuing and plans to roll the scheme out to further Schools. Members also expressed their gratitude to school crossing patrols in ensuring that children were able to get to school safely.

Also discussed was terminology used in the strategy, equality obligations, road safety training for Members and measuring of air quality. Members also sought reassurance that the Committee will see consultation outcomes on phase 2 of the 20mph zones. The Assistant Director: Infrastructure and Highways confirmed that a report would be brought to a future Committee so that Members could consider the consultation outcomes and next steps.

The Chair noted under the financial implication the economic consequences of fatal road accidents, health related costs of inactivity and positive economic impact of Active Travel.

Resolved – that:

a. the update on the recommendations of the Road Safety Working Group as set out as appendix A to the report be noted;

b. the Road Safety Plan 2023 - 2027 as set out in appendix B to the report be approved; and

c. officers be thanked for the significant amount of work undertaken to deliver the Road Safety Plan 2023-2027 and in implementing the recommendations of the Road Safety Working Group.

The Chair requested that this report be withdrawn in order that to enable officers to give further consideration to the charging policy.

Resolved – That the report be withdrawn. 

The Assistant Director: Climate Change and Environment presented the report which had been produced further to the adoption by the Council of a Hedgerow and Woodland Strategy in July 2020.

The overarching aims of the strategy were to protect, regenerate and care for Wirral’s existing trees, hedgerows and woodlands, to plant more trees and hedgerows, to create a framework for decision making and establish a prioritised action plan to 2020 to 2030. The strategy supported the Wirral Plan 2021-2026 and its priorities for a sustainable environment.

This report provided the second update on the Council’s progress in the delivery of the strategy, covering the 2022/2023 planting season. Progress of the actions was summarised within this report.

The report looked ahead to priority actions for the next 12 months, which included a revision to the strategy.

Members noted their thanks to the team, but queried the watering programme and lack of capacity to ensure bigger trees will continue to thrive. Officers informed members of a community tree watering campaign in the borough. Also discussed were social media campaigns, adding tree planting to the volunteering gateway, allowing citizens to fund their own trees and planting trees along streets. Officers informed Members that there was also a memorial tree option.

The Chair noted her thanks that a commitment to natural regeneration was included in the strategy and improved communication work with residents.

Resolved – that:

1.  the progress of the Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland Strategy 2020 to 2030 be noted; and

2. the priority actions for 2023/2024 be endorsed.

37  Environment, Climate Emergency & Transport Committee Budget and Budget Monitoring Report

The Senior Finance Business Partner presented the report which provided an update on the budgets in respect of the in-year position and the anticipated pressures for future years which were being considered within the Medium-Term Financial Plan.

Members were informed that the Medium-Term Financial Plan considered the future pressures and savings options that had been put forward as part of a balanced budget position. The Council faced a challenging financial outlook due to inflationary and demand pressures alongside the previous significant reductions in Government funding and uncertainty around the future financial settlements. At the end of Quarter 1, there was a forecast adverse variance of £0.500m against the Committee’s revised net revenue budget of £65.840m, which was equivalent to a variance of 1% from the annual budget.

Members queried the Medium-Term Financial Plan and pressure of removing boats from Heswall Beach, as well as possible enforcement costs and of  tracing owners. Assurance was given that officers were confident of finding the funding required to deal with this longstanding problem. Also discussed was the Recycling and Waste and Transport levies and budgeting for increased Levy costs. Members requested that hyperlinks be placed in reports for further detail and requested that further budget reports be placed higher up in the order of business.

Resolved – that the report be noted.

The Lead Principal Lawyer presented the report and advised Members that the Committee in co-operation with the other Policy and Service Committees, is responsible for proposing and delivering an annual committee work programme. This work programme should align with the corporate priorities of the Council, in particular the delivery of the key decisions which are within the remit of the Committee.

Members discussed possible items for consideration including food waste and were informed that a workshop was being set up. Also queried was the Winter Service Plan and Grit Bins. Members also noted slippage within the work programme, especially around subjects such as Car Free Day.

Resolved – that the work programme be noted.