Agenda item

To consider and discuss transport matters in the District and surrounding Leeds City Region (‘City Region Connectivity’).

 

In attendance will be representatives from Arriva, Northern Rail, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Transpennine Express/First Group and NYCC.

 

Appended to the agenda for Members’ information is North Yorkshire County Council’s ‘Strategic Transport Prospectus’

 

The Economy and Infrastructure Manager introduced the item and explained that the Council was collaborating with transport partners to develop solutions to transport issues in the area, and to plan for both short and long term activities.

 

The Council recognised the need for employment transport, particularly in Sherburn. Cycle ways and pedestrian walkways required improvement across the district to ensure employment sites were linked to one another, and to help people get to work in an efficient and sustainable way.

 

Investment projects around Selby station were important in order to deliver a service that was accessible for all who wished to use it; access to stations across Selby district also needed to be improved. Members noted that Selby town was a critical strategic gateway, especially with the potential development of Olympia Park in the future, which was only over the river from the station.

 

Members were informed that the Council had recently hosted a transport infrastructure workshop, with a number of stakeholders present. Medium and long term priorities had been identified, some of which could be delivered soon, others that could be planned for in 15 to 20 years’ time.

 

The workshop had identified opportunities for transport, business and residential growth in the district, such as the Sherburn Growth Plan which would consider the impact of residential growth on the area.

 

It was important that the Council was able to influence the wider rail and transport agenda in the district and the region, including HS2 and Transport for the North.

 

The Chair then handed over to the invited stakeholders to speak to Members.

 

David Bowe, Corporate Director of Business and Environmental Services, North Yorkshire County Council

 

The Corporate Director of Business and Environmental Services explained that the crux of the issues around transport was time periods and appropriate planning. There had been interactions at a number of different levels about transport provision, leading to the development of NYCC’s Transport Prospectus, which had been appended to the agenda for Members’ information.

 

Members acknowledged the links between transport provision and the development of Selby’s Local Plan. Transport in the district would need to change to reflect the aspirations of the community and how that aspiration played into the wider strategic area.

 

The Committee agreed that diverse groups had their own issues that they saw as primary concerns. It was essential to sift through the interests of different communities in an attempt to address them, and by addressing these issues and recognising opportunities, transport planning could assist communities in identifying what it was they needed and how those needs could be met.

 

Paul Flanagan, General Manager and Mick Gatenby, Arriva

 

The Committee noted that the Arriva depot in Selby was the smallest in Yorkshire, with 31 buses, 61 drivers and 7 engineers. It had been a busy year for Arriva in the district, largely due to the work around bus provision for employment transport in Sherburn. It was recognised that Selby district was an area with a great deal of growth potential.

 

Members acknowledged that funding for the service from Leeds to Sherburn Industrial Estate had been difficult, and the prevalence of unofficial car sharing schemes for workers travelling to the industrial estate had meant a slower than anticipated take up of the bus service. At present around 40 people were using the route a day, but it was hoped that this would improve.

 

It was explained to Members that despite relatively high levels of unemployment in areas around Sherburn, such as Wakefield and parts of Leeds, because Sherburn was hard to get to, jobs were still not being filled. A dedicated bus service, if provided the future, would be an opportunity to encourage people to support the Sherburn area.

 

The Committee also noted the development of the 42S service, which had been worked on with Councillor Cattanach. The service had started in May 2018 and so far almost 4,000 passenger journeys had been made. However, the profit being made on the service was not high.

 

Members were pleased to hear about the upgraded Sapphire buses that were being rolled out; the new buses would be equipped with better and comfier seats, charging points and Wi-Fi. It was hoped that the new buses would improve the passenger experience overall. An additional bus would also be put on to cater for the Christmas shopping rush in the next few weeks.

 

Lastly, the Committee noted that a review of the Selby bus network would be taking place shortly, with consultation taking place and changes implemented in April 2019.

 

Graham Meiklejohn, Regional Development Manager at TransPennine/First Group

 

The Committee were pleased to note that upcoming TransPennine investment would be supporting the wider aspirations for employment in the region, with an emphasis on more people using the railways to get to and from work.

 

Members acknowledged the apology from the TransPennine representative for the disruption to services over the past few months due to timetable changes. It was noted that measures had been put in place over the summer to tackle the issues being experienced and that limited timetable changes would be made in December 2018 to further address the issues.

 

The resilience of the railway was essential to the growth and development of the region, including Selby district. A number of trains serving the area had been refurbished, fitted with Wi-Fi, and in the New Year would be extended to six carriages to increase capacity on the network.

 

Improvements to Selby station were being considered in conjunction with the Economic Development Team, such as additional cycle parking, a new ticket machine and digital customer information displays.

 

Accessibility at the station was also a major problem; it was felt that an excellent case could be made to the Department for Transport for funding to install a lift. A bid for funding to deliver the lift would be submitted to the Department for Transport in November, with a decision expected in the Spring.

 

It was recognised that additional car parking would also need to be provided; TransPennine confirmed that they were in discussions with Network Rail and North Yorkshire County Council about this.

 

Funding opportunities available in the franchise included the Customer and Communities Improvement Fund, which could be used to enhance the station further in order to tie in with the Council’s wider development and growth aspirations for Selby district. For example, that a changing places facility should be provided in the station.

 

The Committee acknowledged that it had been a frustrating year for TransPennine but that they were on the cusp of a number of good things to be delivered through solid collaboration with Selby District Council.

 

Dave Pearson, Director of Transport Services at West Yorkshire Combined Authority

 

It was explained to Members that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority was the statutory transport authority for the five districts in West Yorkshire, working with the Enterprise Partnership for Leeds City Region in order to link transport and economic development and manage transport services in the area. Selby district was seen as part of the wider city region, despite not being officially part of the combined authority.

 

Members noted that there was already a great deal of work taking place around looking at the shape of the city region with the advent of HS2, in order to ensure that as many towns and cities benefitted from it, i.e. through the Transforming Cities Fund for sustainable transport investment.

 

The WYCA was aware of local issues in the Selby district, such as employment transport for Sherburn, and were committed to bringing people together to solve the issues. Input from employers and meaningful collaboration between a number of agencies would be essential in order to develop a package that could practically address the problem.

 

Pete Myers, Stakeholder Manager, Northern Rail

 

The Committee acknowledged the performance issues that had taken place in 2018, exacerbated by the current RMT dispute which would be causing further disruption every Saturday for the coming weeks. Contingency plans had been put in place with volunteer train crews in order to minimise disruption for customers.

 

In December 2018 timetable changes would come into effect on Leeds, Preston and York lines to improve performance and punctuality. An infill stopping service would benefit Church Fenton, and there would also be changes to Selby services. In May 2019, a new timetable would be fully implemented with hourly services from Hull to York.

 

New trains would start operating on Selby, Church Fenton and Sherburn lines next year. The refurbished fleet would be completed by the end of 2019, with the economical but unpopular Pacer fleet phased out by Christmas 2019.

 

Station improvements would continue in areas east of Leeds, with a new shelter being provided at Sherburn in Elmet.

 

Members noted that Northern Rail were also aware of the employment transport issues in the Sherburn area, and that they could do more to address the problems, for example, a bicycle share scheme in partnership with businesses on the Industrial Estate.

 

An uplift in people travelling to and from South Milford had been noticed by Northern Rail, and could be potentially explained by people using it to get to Sherburn. The Committee were pleased to hear that in May 2019 the afternoon service would be returning to Ulleskelf.

 

Northern Rail’s representative concluded his update by emphasising the company’s willingness to work with all partners and stakeholders in order to improve transport in the district and the wider region.

 

The Chair opened up the matter to wider debate and indicated that a number of questions had been formulated by Members, which would form the basis of the discussions.

 

Members began by complimenting Arriva on the launch of their new Sapphire buses in York.

 

It was noted that the majority of people who lived in Sherburn commuted out of the area for work, and with a predicted increased population to 11,000 in the next few years, better transport was really needed.

 

The Committee agreed that both train and bus services could be better linked, for example between York, Sherburn and Selby. By providing a train connection at Church Fenton the issue of a more direct train route to Sherburn could be partially resolved. The overcrowded unofficial car sharing practices undertaken by people working at the Sherburn Industrial Estate was causing real concern as it was dangerous. The Committee also emphasised the importance of encouraging people from within the district to work in Sherburn, and not just relying on bringing people from other areas such as Leeds and Wakefield, to work there.

 

Members acknowledged that integration between bus and train services and better investment were the keys to developing improved transport links in the district. Car parking at Selby station was again raised as a real issue for people wishing to use the service; it was clear that improvements were needed but the sites on which such parking could be provided were limited. Members suggested that stakeholders and partners work together to resolve this and look at sites such as the old British Rail offices under the archways.

 

The lack of a lift and disabled toilet facilities at Selby station was raised again by Members as a cause for real concern as it was hindering certain groups, such as the disabled or those with pushchairs, from being able to use the station easily. The upgrading of both Selby bus and train stations would improve the overall look of the town and first impressions significantly, which was essential to promoting growth in the area.

 

The Committee queried when the TransPennine line would be electrified. The representatives from TransPennine Express/First Group and WYCA agreed that electrification was absolutely essential to the improvement to transport in the North. Members were pleased to note that National Rail were currently scoping the work, and that plans for the works would eventually be announced by the Government on how the electrification would happen and when.

 

Members agreed that whist electrification of the network was important, capacity issues also needed to be addressed due to overcrowding on many services serving the Selby area and wider region. If the expected population growth in the Selby district continued, capacity on the railways would need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

 

The integration of bus and train services was discussed further by the Committee, who noted that the transport systems in the UK tended to focus primarily on efficiency of service, and that as ever, in order to solve such problems, further investment and funding was needed.

 

The Head of Economic Development and Regeneration explained to Members that a great deal of work on promoting the growth of the district was already underway and being encouraged by the Council, who were committed to working with partners and stakeholders in the transport industry to deliver this growth. An upcoming meeting and workshop was taking place imminently between the Council and businesses that were established in the district, such as Drax, to see how they could contribute to the work the authority was already doing.

 

The Committee concluded the discussions by asking Officers to ensure that local Members and residents were kept informed as to the progress of the work on economic and transport development and improvements.