Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Callum Nimmo

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting and note any outstanding actions.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th January 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

This report and the accompanying presentation provides a summary of the many workstreams that are being delivered in the borough to improve active travel. It also considers active travel in the context of the Net Zero Transport Strategy currently being developed and the importance of increasing active travel to address the many transport challenges facing the Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F). 

Ben Kennedy (Senior Service Manager – Climate Change and Transport) gave a presentation on the Council’s Net Zero Transport Strategy and Active Travel.  He showed slides that highlighted the following key aspects:

• Net Zero Transport Strategy (SWOT analysis, vision, objectives, challenges, issues, priorities)

• That a separate Active Travel Strategy would be developed as a subsidiary document to the Transport Strategy. This would look at walking, cycling and wheeling.
• The Council would continue engagement with the Inclusive Environment Disabled Residents Team.
• The role active travel played in addressing the many transport challenges facing the H&F.
• The context for active travel in the borough and how we compared to the rest of London and neighbouring boroughs. Including active travel initiatives and schemes Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F) was currently delivering.

The Chair thanked officers for their presentation and asked what actions were being taken to improve pedestrian safety. Ben Kennedy explained that officers were developing a road danger reduction plan, which would involve a detailed analysis of accident data, to understand where, to who and why incidents were occurring. Allowing targeted interventions to address key safety issues.

Councillor Laura Janes asked a follow up question, requesting more information on the main causes of fatalities and the affected groups. In response Ben Kennedy noted that many pedestrian deaths involved older individuals, often occurring at crossings, and were mainly caused by cars and larger vehicles. He added that further investigation was needed to understand the underlying factors. Councillor Laura Janes emphasised that this was an important priority for the Council to better understand the causes and explore ways to protect older residents.

Councillor Stala Antoniades, in response to concerns raised about safety, requested further clarification regarding injuries associated with the use of electric bikes. Ben Kennedy noted that one of the main challenges relating to e-bikes was their classification as e-scooters or other vehicle types, which made it more difficult to gather specific data. As part of the danger reduction plan, officers would investigate this further to obtain accurate information.

He added that anecdotal evidence suggested that accidents involving e-bikes were occurring. Furthermore, officers had secured funding from Transport for London (TfL) to implement a behaviour change campaign aimed at raising awareness of the safety challenges and addressing related issues.

The Chair raised a query, regarding floating bus stops and cycle lanes, asking whether there had been an increase in accidents as a result if these measures, or if such reports were anecdotal. In response Ben Kennedy responded that it was difficult to determine the impact due to the delay in the data received from the Police, which was 18 months out of date. He noted that there were specific junctions, such as River Court and King Street, where issues had been identified, and interventions had been implemented. These measures had improved the situation and led to a reduction in collision. However, he acknowledged that further work was needed to investigate this matter in more detail.

Action: Ben Kennedy

Councillor Jose Afonso raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

For the Committee to suggest items for the work programme

The Chair requested that any suggestions for future agenda items to submitted to her directly.

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       1^st July 2025

·       4^th November 2025

·       2^nd February 2026

·       21^st April 2026

It was noted that the next meeting would take place on 1^st July 2025.