Agenda and minutes

Councillor Johnson was substitute for Councillor Church and Councillor L Swindlehurst was substitute for Councillor Barks.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 May 2025 be approved as a correct record.

There were no interests declared.

Members received a presentation from the Head of Transport Planning at Stoke on Trent City Council who advised that the Consultation Process was live until 10 July 2025.

The Transport Prospectus covered the following;

·         Operating Environment

·         Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal mission statements

·         Stakeholder Priorities

·         Transport Prospectus Priorities

·         Consultation methods

·         Funding News

Detailed discussion took place which commenced with the Vice Chair summarising the recommendations given to Staffordshire County Council.

Members discussed the following;

·         The decline of bus services and the implications for work, leisure and healthcare access

·         Poor connectivity issues for rural areas

·         Improvements to cycle routes

·         Pedestrianisation schemes

·         Educating members of the public to use bus services

·         Incentives for residents to use public transport

·         Impact on air quality

·         Congestion affecting reliability of bus services

·         Reviewing the vacant bus seat scheme for school service

·         Using technology to improve congestion and prioritise buses.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the presentation be received.

2.    That consideration be given by the City Council to the following recommendations:

a.    Encourage rail transportation to reduce road freight.

b.    Improved road network between Stoke and the Moorlands major routes to link A500, A50, M6, A523, A520, A527 and A521.

c.    Open Stoke to Leek railway for leisure and work access.

d.    Extend bus service to include Sunday services, extended timetables and extended operational hours offering links to employment, education and health.

e.    Improve rural bus service connections to towns.

f.     Incentivise the use of public transport.

g.    Improve student services for connectivity to educational sites.

h.    Introduce new, and improve existing cycle routes.

i.      Ensure services have the capacity and maintenance resources to deliver a reliable public transport service.

RESOLVED:

1.    That representatives from Leek and Buxton College attend the January 2026 meeting.

2.    The July agenda item “Increasing the supply of affordable and supported housing” be moved to November 2024.

3.    That the work programme be approved.