Agenda and minutes

To receive notifications of the appointment of any Substitute Members.

There were no substitute members reported.

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensations that have been granted to you in relation any matters appearing on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations reported

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Green Sub-committee held on 11 July 2023.

Subject to the addition of Councillor J Wallace to the list of apologies the minutes of the meeting of the sub-committee held on 11 July 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider priorities for inclusion in the work programme for 2023-24.

A verbal update was provided on the changes to the Sub-committee’s work programme.  This included the consideration of the following item.

It was agreed that the update be noted.

To give consideration to a report which provides an update on the Authority’s approach to reviewing the existing Tree Management Policy.

Consideration was given to a report on the Authority’s review of its tree management policy.

On the 20 July 2023 Council had agreed to undertake a review of the Authority’s tree management policy and refer the policy to the Green Sub Committee for consideration prior to its submission to Cabinet.

The original Tree Management Policy had been introduced in 2009 and reviewed on a regular basis with the most recent review undertaken in 2022 to take account of climate change.

It was explained that the Authority had decided to undertake a full review of its approach to tree management and had commissioned an independent tree management specialist to carry out a full review of its approach to the management of trees. The review would take around 7 months to complete and once completed a review of the tree management policy would be undertaken and then reported to the Sub-committee.

Members made a number of suggestions in relation to what should be included in the updated tree management strategy and discussed what were the residents’ main priorities in relation to the management of trees in their area. Reference was also made to the need to give residents up to date and easily accessible information in relation to the authority’s approach to tree management.

It was agreed that the report be noted.

To give consideration to a report on the promotion of and public engagement with Active Travel in North Tyneside (to follow).

Consideration was given to a report and presentation on the Authority’s policies and measures currently in place to encourage active travel in the Borough.  It was explained that active travel was generally defined as travel which involved physical activity such as walking, wheeling and cycling.

The report set out the legislative framework in relation to active travel and explained that transport policy at a regional level had been set out in the North East Transport Plan, within that plan were a number of specific regional strategies such as the North East Active Travel Strategy and the North East Making the Right Choice Strategy designed to make walking and cycling an attractive and safe choice for all.

It was explained that the Authority’s approach to transport, and this included active travel, had been set out in the North Tyneside Transport Strategy and this fitted into the North Tyneside Local Plan, to ensure sustainable access, including making walking and cycling an attractive and safe choice for all.  It was also explained that active travel had been included as part of the North Tyneside Cycling Strategy and the North Tyneside Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan which had been approved by Cabinet in June 2023. 

Reference was also made to the intention to refresh the North Tyneside Travel Safety Plan.  It was explained that in November 20222 Cabinet had approved the Transport and Highways Supplementary Planning Document which set out in detail the procedures the Authority had adopted in relation to the transport impact of new developments which included active travel infrastructure and the means of promoting active travel for the users of the development.

The report provided details of the current infrastructure in place for active travel and the measures taken to deliver additional schemes including securing external funding to deliver a permanent, segregated, two way safe space along the coast.

In addition the Authority arranges training and behaviour change activity in schools to encourage active travel to and from school.  The Authority was also involved in a number of other events which promoted health and wellbeing as well as active travel.

It was explained that regular monitoring reports were presented to Cabinet to provide a summary on how the Authority had performed against the principles set out in the North Tyneside Transport Strategy, including active travel.  It was noted that levels of cycling had increased by around 48% since 2018 and the targets had been updated to reflect the Authority’s ambition for wider participation in everyday cycling.

Details of the actions taken to promote active travel were outlined.  These included news releases, information provided on the Authority’s website and through social media.  The authority also worked with Transport North East on the promotion schemes and initiatives on a regional level.

Reference was made to the barriers in place to participation in active travel.  It was noted that many residents currently did not cycle and might be persuaded to cycle if there were more cycle tracks build alongside roads that were physically  ...  view the full minutes text for item G923