To answer questions received under Council Procedure Rule 6.2.
NB In accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 6.2.9 there will be a maximum of 30 minutes allowed for questions and answers. Any question not answered within the 30 minute time limit will receive a written reply within 5 working days.
Minutes:
The following questions were asked under Council Procedure Rule 6.2.2:
"Following the recent independent report on road safety on the A41, is the suggestion for average speed cameras still a viable option? If not, what future plans are there for making this road safer?”
In response, Councillor Overton said that following the publication of the independent A41 route study, he wanted to be very clear that no decisions had been made by this Council regarding the installation of average speed cameras. He said he had written to both the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the Member of Parliament for Telford and Wrekin constituency to confirm the Council’s support of such measures while confirming completion of the independent route review.
Councillor Overton said, to be clear with the Chamber and the borough’s residents, the decision to instal cameras, whether average, fixed or mobile, rested with the Police and the PCC. He said that this Council's position remained clear in that it welcomed the installation of average speed cameras as part of a wider package of safety improvements on this road and the Council was committed to working collaboratively with the PCC and partners accordingly. He added that the Council had already identified funding to deliver works that would improve road safety along the A41 and complement the PCC's investment. He said the Council was committed to acting on the findings of the report while building on the extensive improvements, which had already been made along the A41 in the last few years. The Council, he said, was already progressing the details associated with the identified improvements referenced in the report and that he hoped to meet with the PCC in the near future to discuss the report and the next steps.
In response to a supplementary question from Councillor Scott, which asked Councillor Overton how soon he (Councillor Overton) would be prepared to meet with the PCC, Shropshire Council and the MP to discuss this, Councillor Overton said that based on the announcement today (PCCs in England and Wales were to be stood down), as soon as possible before the PCC left his position. Councillor Overton went on to say that despite the Council having already written to the PCC offering dates on which to request a meeting, no response had yet been received by the PCC.
b) Councillor P Scott to Councillor R Overton, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing and Environment
“Parking in Newport continues to be a problem for many. We have an increased population, an increasing amount of student accommodation and now we are losing around 16 car park spaces to electrical vehicle charging points. Public car parks are full by 9am most days. This is having a big effect on our residential streets and some of our other roads, particularly those that are close to the High Street. People are now parking anywhere they can find a gap and causing upset among residents who can no longer park near their properties. The few Traffic Regulation Orders that are due to commence do not go very far to alleviating the situation. All local councillors continue to receive many regular complaints. Are the council properly aware of these parking problems? What will they do to help us?”
In response, Councillor Overton assured members that the Council was fully aware of the parking pressures in Newport and recognised the impact this was having on residents and businesses. He said the Council had taken a number of steps to address these challenges and had recently implemented a number of traffic regulation orders in key areas and was working with ward members with a view to exploring further options to manage on-street parking more effectively. Councillor Overton said that the Council's Electric Vehicle Strategy committed to balancing the need for charging infrastructure while maintaining parking provision. Where spaces were designated for each of the charging points, Councillor Overton said that the Council was working to make sure that this was done in a way that minimised disruption and supported the transition to cleaner greener transport while ensuring the infrastructure was accessible for all users.
Councillor Overton said that the Council was one of very few local authorities across the country that remained committed to providing free parking in its district centre car parks for the benefit of residents and businesses. This, he said, was a key principle for this administration and believed it supported the vitality of Newport's high street and local economy. He said that, alongside this, the Council continued to work closely with Newport Town Council to understand the issues and explore options to improve parking provision in the town, whilst ensuring that any future measures reflected local needs and priorities. In addition, he said, the Council also promoted sustainable travel alternatives, including improvements to public transport and investment in active travel infrastructure such as walking and cycling routes. These measures, he said, aimed to reduce reliance on car use, ease pressure on parking and support healthier, greener travel choices for residents and visitors.
In response to a supplementary question from Councillor Scott, which asked Councillor Overton if he (Councillor Overton) could see a time in the future when the Council might invest in more car parking spaces in or around Newport, Councillor Overton said the Council would do everything it could, and would work with the borough’s Town and Parish Councils to look at alternative options although these would depend upon land provision, finance etc. In conclusion, Councillor Overton said that, at the moment, and as mentioned previously, the Council was committed to having free parking in the borough’s district centres.
c) Councillor L Parker to Councillor O Vickers, Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transport
"In light of the Reform Leader of Warwickshire County Council writing to the Government asking them to change the law so the Council can take home to school transport away from children as young as eight years old, forcing them to walk a 10 mile round trip each day to access education, please can the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transport outline Telford and Wrekin's position on home to school transport?”
In response, Councillor Vickers said that the Council would always be on the side of residents, which included providing travel assistance to the borough’s children and young people. He said that Telford and Wrekin’s existing School Travel Assistance Policy, which determined eligibility, had been developed using the national statutory guidance on providing home to school transport and that this would continue.
He said that, over the last few years, here in Telford and Wrekin, the Council had bucked the national trend and had expanded its in-house travel offer that had both improved the quality of service while supporting children and young people get to school.
Councillor Vickers said that this was in parallel with the growing Travel Telford Bus Network that now not only provided improved connectivity, but independence with these routes now supporting a staggering 38,000 passenger trips each month, which was testament to the service and commitment provided by this Council. He said that, as well as this, the Council had maintained its two-pounds fare cap for adults and just one pound for children, meaning the Council had the lowest fares in the country.
In conclusion, Councillor Vickers said that transport costs were down, complaints were down and compliments were up and the future of the borough’s children was that they were cared about and cared for, which is what residents would receive from a Labour-led Council and that was what the Council would continue to deliver.
d) Councillor S Handley to Councillor C Healy, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Sustainability
"Many people in our borough are rightly proud of our independent museum trust and most of us have fond memories of visiting the museum sites over the years. With the news that the National Trust are to take over the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, what can we do to ensure our communities benefit from the transfer?”
In response, Councillor Healy said that people in the borough should be proud because for over 60 years, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust had brilliantly told the story of how the ingenuity and backbreaking work of the people in this area changed the world. She said she had had the privilege of being an observer on the board for the last few years and had seen how hard the trustees and the museum staff had worked to sustain the museums in an increasingly competitive market for people's leisure time.
Councillor Healy said that the impact of the COVID pandemic and the cost-of-living pressures had meant that this independent trust had struggled in recent years. She said that the transfer of the museum and its assets to the National Trust was largely down to the Chair of Trustees, Mark Pemberton, and that he deserved huge credit for the transfer that would be a massive boost to the borough.
Councillor Healy said that, as a Council, it provided crucial support, but this would also not have happened without the MP for Telford, Shaun Davies, who had secured the £9m investment from the Government to facilitate the transfer.
Councillor Healy said the National Trust had 600,000 members within an hour's drive of Ironbridge and, of course, membership across the country. That, she said, opened up a fantastic borough to new visitors, a whole new market of visitors who could come to the borough, not just to support the museums but also other parts of the borough’s visitor economy and its hospitality sector, a sector that already contributed £440m to the borough’s economy every year. She added that working more closely with a countrywide organisation like the National Trust would bring lots of opportunities to the borough, lots of opportunities for jobs, would bring some challenges, parking and traffic in her ward being one of them, but the Leader had asked that she, along with the Council’s Executive Director for Place, lead on those discussions with the National Trust to ensure that the Council got the very best from this transfer and that the borough’s museums and its history continued to be enjoyed by the borough’s residents as well as visitors here.
e) Councillor G Luter to Councillor A McClements, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism, Culture and the Arts
“I would like to join the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism, Culture and the Arts in celebrating the Council's decision to establish the Telford Day. This fantastic new initiative gives residents a moment to come together and take pride in our borough. Alongside the competition to design a new Telford flag, which involved all the schools in Telford, this marks another positive step in strengthening our local identity and showcasing Telford's creativity and community spirit. Could the Cabinet Member outline how these initiatives will build on our growing cultural offer and continue the excellent work already being done to promote pride of place across our borough?
In response, Councillor McClements said that the Leader had already spoken on Telford Day in his speech this evening, which was a fantastic opportunity to bring residents together to celebrate all that people loved about Telford, including arts and culture.
Councillor McClements said it had been great for her and the Leader to have met with Amelia today, a nine-year-old pupil from Randlay Primary School, who was the winner of the Telford Flag Competition. Councillor McClements said the flag looked amazing and had a design, which featured the borough’s iconic iron bridge, a cog as a nod to the borough’s proud industrial heritage, and the colour green to represent the borough’s many wonderful parks and open spaces, which certainly captured the hearts and votes of local people.
Councillor McClements said she looked forward to seeing Amelia's flag raised at South Water Square on Telford Day on 29 November, when she hoped that all councillors would join her as part of that Telford Day celebrations, which was an opportunity to show local pride, and hoped that it would be adopted by local businesses and residents to fly the flag for Telford.
Councillor McClements said that Telford Day had the power to connect and revitalise communities and achieve a sense of togetherness. Equally, she said, cultural activities tackled challenges around health and well-being by improving mental and physical health while addressing social isolation and the positive impact that had on children and adults should never be underestimated. She said that, as a Council, it had a commitment to making arts and culture accessible to all and supporting in the borough's vibrant creative sector, including the borough’s network of community venues and businesses.
In response to a supplementary question from Councillor Luter, which asked Councillor McClements if she could outline all the cultural initiatives that were part of the borough’s cultural offer across the borough, Councillor McClements said that the Council-run festivals and events were attracting ever-increasing audiences. These, she said, included events and performances through a significant range of arts, heritage, dance, music, and theatre experiences and that 75% of those attending was local.
Councillor McClements said that the Council was proud to host a packed programme of free or very low-cost events with the headline Telford Balloon Fiesta this year seeing a record number of over 50,000 visitors. She said it was a highlight of the events calendar enjoyed by Telford and Wrekin residents, which put Telford on the map, drew visitors from across the Midlands and across the UK. She added that this event had grown in 2025, which included the Telford Community Carnival on the Sunday, an amazing spectacle of diversity, creativity, colour, and music.
Councillor McClements said that the Council had received positive feedback from residents and visitors, with visitor survey feedback showing an overwhelming 90% positive support for the Council’s event and culture offer. She said the Council could not underestimate the economic boost events provided and was excited about the redevelopment of the Telford Theatre building in Oakengates, which would be at the heart of the Council’s culture offer, whilst the building was undergoing a major redevelopment. The Telford Theatre Team, she said, had been taking shows and events to venues across the borough through the Telford Theatre on Tour project. From Shakespeare in Bowring Park to Tina Turner Tribute Acts at the Little Theatre in Donnington and Children Theatre shows at the Anstice in Madeley. In conclusion, Councillor McClements said that the Council was already looking forward to 2026 and building on its existing culture and events programmes with new events and partnerships. She said that the touring programme would continue once Telford Theatre opened, working with a network of venues across the borough.
f) Councillor N England to Councillor G Luter, Chair to the Council’s Boundary Review Committee
"Can the Chair of the Boundary Review Committee join me in welcoming the outcome of the recent Borough Boundary Review, which received an impressive level of engagement from local residents? I’m particularly pleased that thanks to the Council listening carefully to those views, proposals to merge certain parish areas were not taken forward. Could the Cabinet Member outline how the consultation responses shaped the final recommendations and how this process demonstrates our continued commitment to local democracy and empowering communities to have their say?”
In response, Councillor Luter said that, as a Co-operative Council that engaged and listened to the community it served, when it sets out to undertake the community governance review of arrangements for town and parish councils in February this year, the Committee was very clear that it wanted to ensure that the outcome of the review was shaped by robust community engagement. Councillor Luter said that the process and outcome that the Committee had delivered had shown that this was anything but the case. When the Boundary Review Committee made its final decision on the community governance review, three phases of community engagement had been completed. He said that it had first sought views on current town and parish council arrangements. The Committee wished to know what worked, what it should change, and where and how, for example, could community identity be strengthened. He added that over 292 responses to this first phase had been received and that the responses from this, together with consideration of legal requirements for the community governance review, were then used to shape the development of a proposed set of town and parish councils for the borough.
Councillor Luter said that these proposals were then the subject of a second phase of community engagement, whereby people were able to share their views with the Council via an online questionnaire, by email or simply writing in. He said that officers also ran a series of drop-in sessions in different parts of the borough to discuss and gather feedback about the proposals. He extended his thanks to Anthea Lowe for her work on that.
Councillor Luter said that the engagement was promoted via social media, through town and parish councils and by other key community stakeholders too. He said the Council had received more than 1,000 responses to this phase of the consultation and informed by the responses to this engagement, a revised set of proposed parish and town councils were considered by the Boundary Review Committee.
Councillor Luter said that whilst the Committee felt able to agree in principle to town and parish councils’ arrangements for a significant part of the borough, there were seven areas it felt further community engagement was required in order to make final decisions. He said that this third phase of engagement was completed with over 210 responses being submitted, which the Committee had taken into consideration as part of its deliberations.