Agenda item

Cllr Philip Robinson sought Cabinet approval to move forward with the ZEBRA project, should the council’s bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for ZEBRA grant funding be successful.

Having considered all the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

1. Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Economy, Environment, and Infrastructure, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Bus Transport to:

1.1 enter into a funding agreement with the DfT for Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to accept the DfT ZEBRA grant and then add the DfT grant amount to GCC’s capital programme;

1.2 enter into funding agreements with:

(a) Stagecoach West,

(b) Oxford Bus Company (Pulman’s parent company) and

(c) Lydney Dial a Ride and Community Transport for GCC to award the ZEBRA capital grant funding together with GCC’s own funding contribution for the purpose of contributing towards the cost difference between Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) and standard conventional diesel bus equivalents as well as the capital expenditure incurred as a result of infrastructure purchase and installation.

1.3 agree and implement a contracting arrangement with the Forest of Dean District Council (FODDC) to provide GCC with part funding for the Lydney Dial a Ride & Community Transport to purchase and operate a ZEB.

2 Approve GCC paying up to £1,500,000 in GCC grant funding by means of the three funding agreements described in Recommendation 1.2.

6.1     Cllr Philip Robinson sought Cabinet approval to move forward with the ZEBRA project, noting that the council’s bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for ZEBRA grant funding had been announced as ‘entirely’ successful four days after publication of this paper.

6.2     The bid had unlocked a total investment into electric buses and infrastructure of more than £20 million, including the Government funding, GCC contribution, a contribution from Forest of Dean District Council, and leveraging in substantial private sector investment. Gloucestershire operators involved in this programme were Stagecoach, Pulhams and Lydney Dial a Ride.

6.3     It would deliver 58 Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) replacing older diesel buses and the benefits this created for Gloucestershire included:

• More than 20% of buses in Gloucestershire will be zero emission at the end of the scheme.
• Remove an estimated 30 tonnes of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, including in some of AQMAs and estimated over 59,000 tonnes of carbon emissions (over the estimated 17-year lifetime of the buses).
• Investment in electric bus charging infrastructure that provides capacity for further ZEBs.
• Help GCC to deliver on its ambition to make buses more attractive.
• Link to other priorities such as the development of a network of express-bus corridors and investment in rural public transport.

6.4     Cllr Robinson shared that the following routes would benefit from this bid:

• Routes 94, 94x, and 99 (linking Gloucester and Cheltenham)
• Routes 41, 42, and 43 (linking Tewkesbury to Cheltenham)
• Route T (linking Bishop Cleeve and Tewkesbury)
• Route 71 (linking Tewkesbury to Gloucester)
• Routes 1, 2, P, Q, and L (Gloucester/Cheltenham internal)
• Route 801 (linking Moreton-in-Marsh to Cheltenham)
• Routes 802 and 855 (linking Bourton-on-the-Water to Cirencester)
• Route 777 (linking Lydney to Coleford). This route had also benefitted from a contribution from the Forest of Dean District Council.

6.5     He highlighted that there was a particular emphasis on rural or partly rural routes which was a DfT requirement of the bid. There were no negative impacts identified in the Equality Impact Assessment, noting some groups would particularly benefit from things such as improved accessibility, as well as the improved air quality and noise reduction.

6.6     The Leader paid his thanks to Cllr Robinson and his team who he recognised had done a huge amount of work on buses over the last couple years, striving to make a difference for residents and reflected that the 100% response to this bid from Government showed their confidence in Gloucestershire as a good place to invest because of this hard work. 

Having considered all the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

1.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Economy, Environment, and Infrastructure, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Bus Transport to:

1.1. enter into a funding agreement with the DfT for Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to accept the DfT ZEBRA grant and then add the DfT grant amount to GCC’s capital programme;

1.2. enter into funding agreements with:

a)    Stagecoach West,

b)    Oxford Bus Company (Pulman’s parent company) and

c)    Lydney Dial a Ride and Community Transport for GCC to award the ZEBRA capital grant funding together with GCC’s own funding contribution for the purpose of contributing towards the cost difference between Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) and standard conventional diesel bus equivalents as well as the capital expenditure incurred as a result of infrastructure purchase and installation.

1.3. agree and implement a contracting arrangement with the Forest of Dean District Council (FODDC) to provide GCC with part funding for the Lydney Dial a Ride & Community Transport to purchase and operate a ZEB.

2.    Approve GCC paying up to £1,500,000 in GCC grant funding by means of the three funding agreements described in Recommendation 1.2.