Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

 

“1      Relevant Background Information

 

1.1     The Council secured £698,700 funding in August 2011, towards the provision of a Belfast Public Bike Hire Scheme as part of the Department for Regional Development (DRD) Active Travel Demonstration Projects fund. The development of a Public Bike Hire scheme is identified as a partnership project in Belfast City Council’s Investment Programme 2012-2015. The Council proposes to work in partnership to develop a public bike hire scheme that encourages increased use and facilitates active travel in Belfast.

 

1.2     An Outline Business Case (OBC) for a Belfast Public Bike Hire scheme was commissioned by the Strategic Investment Board in conjunction with the Department for Regional Development and Belfast City Council and completed in July 2011.  The OBC suggests that a public bike hire scheme would be viable for Belfast based on experiences and evidence from other cities. The Outline Business Case estimated the funding will cover the costs of the physical infrastructure for a midsized scheme providing up to 300 bikes and up to 30 docking stations in city centre locations. 

 

1.3     The Council aims to develop a 3^rd generation public bike hire scheme characterised by:

 

-         public access bikes situated on public spaces with a standard robust design;

-         a network of docking stations and bikes throughout city centre locations;

-         a self service model;

-         flexible rental periods with tariffs to encourage short term rentals; and

-         a scheme with the potential to expand to other parts of the city.

 

2       Key Issues

 

2.1     Geographical coverage of the Public Bike Hire Scheme

 

         Based on the approved funding bid, the first phase of the Belfast Public bike hire scheme will give priority to the core city centre area as designated in the Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan. Based on experience elsewhere docking stations should be located no more than 300-500 metres apart at key strategic locations. Belfast City Centre boundary covers 3.611 km² and one docking station should cover a buffer area just over 0.1 km². It is recommended that consideration is given to extending the coverage to include parts of Titanic Quarter and up to the Queens Quarter area if it can be accommodated within the current funding arrangement. The Council wish to develop a scheme which has the potential to expand to other parts of the city and to cater for city events.

 

2.2     Siting of Docking stations

 

         Bike Hire Docking Stations need to be located at frequent intervals and placed at strategic locations. It is essential the docking stations are visible, easy to find and should not impede pedestrian or vehicular movements.

 

2.3     The process to identify suitable sites in Belfast City Centre for the bike hire docking stations is currently underway. A number of criteria have been identified in order to select the most appropriate sites considering the following elements:

 

-         Employment clusters / high footfall areas

-         Cultural / tourism destinations

-         Educational destinations

-         Inner city residential areas

-         Public transport nodes / existing cycle infrastructure

-         Available space and ability to meet infrastructure requirements

-         Visibility and accessibility

-         Compliance with disability legislation requirements

-         Aesthetics – ability to fit into the built heritage and public realm. 

 

2.4     The Council will work with the statutory bodies and other land owners to obtain public and private commitment and secure agreements and statutory approvals for use of the land for docking stations and other service requirements. A site locations workshop was held on the 24^th January 2013 with government departments who own land in the city centre such as DRD Roads Service, DSD, NIHE and also involved Planning Service and the universities.

 

2.5     Consultation

 

         A stakeholder forum will be set up for the duration of the project and community consultation is also planned. The Council aims to meet the needs of the local communities when delivering the public bike hire scheme in Belfast. The Council will promote opportunities such as training schemes and city events to encourage use of the scheme by local communities particularly in disadvantages areas or with disadvantaged groups.

 

2.6     Procurement

 

         The OBC recommends an integrated Design, Build, Operate and Maintain (DBOM) contracting approach as the preferred form of delivery for bike hire schemes and is likely to deliver the greatest level of risk transfer; generate the greatest level of interest across experienced scheme operators and deliver greatest value for money. Expressions of Interest are currently being drafted to scope the level of interest for the Design, Build, Operate and Maintain element of the scheme. A further Expression of Interest will be issued to seek the level of interest of companies seeking sponsorship/branding associated with the scheme. In line with Council attributes certain products/services will be excluded such as alcohol and tobacco branding The income generated from sponsorship will contribute to the annual running cost of the scheme.

 

2.7     Delegated Authority

 

         It is recommended that the Planning and Transport Unit work in liaison with the Project Management Unit of the Property and Project Department who will manage the procurement of design, build, operate and maintain services required to implement the public bike hire scheme and the procurement of potential sponsorship/branding associated with the scheme and the subsequent administration of the contracts..

 

2.8     The award of funding for the physical infrastructure of the project is time bound and must be drawn down before March 2015. The Council should proceed with the procurement process and appoint the most appropriate operator in Autumn 2013. The Council would envisage that the construction process should proceed in 2014 in order for the scheme to go live by March 2015.

 

2.9     Committee is therefore requested to approve, from a service perspective, the invitation of tenders, the award of contracts and the implementation of the Belfast Public Bike Scheme.

 

2.10   As this project is included in the capital programme and the Investment Programme the decision of the Development Committee will be commended to the SP&R Committee for their consideration and decision from a corporate financial perspective.

 

3       Resource Implications

 

3.1     There are resource implications in relation to the future operation and maintenance of the implemented Bike Hire scheme.

 

4       Recommendations

 

4.1     It is recommended that Members:

 

-         note the update of progress for the Belfast Public Bike Hire Scheme and the proposed coverage of Phase 1; and

-         approve the advancement of the project to tender, award of contracts and implementation and to commend this decision to the SP&R Committee for their consideration and decision from a corporate financial perspective.”

 

            A prolonged discussion ensued in respect of the report. In response to a Member’s question, the Director indicated that the revenue costs associated with the project had, as yet, to be determined. He indicated that a report in this regard would be submitted for consideration in due course once a business model for the had been agreed.

 

            A further Member expressed concern that Phase I of the Scheme had indicated that, in addition to the City Centre, the Queen’s and Titanic Quarters would be incorporated within the initial operating model. He pointed out that such a proposal would be to the detriment of other Quarters of the City, especially those within areas of disadvantage and social need, such as the Gaeltacht Quarter and the North Belfast Cultural Corridor. He suggested that the proposals should have been considered within context of creating connectivity across the City. He added that areas of major employment, such as the Royal Group of Hospitals and the Mater Hospital, should have been incorporated within any plan to extend the Scheme beyond the City Centre.

 

            The Director pointed out that there were limited resources available to oversee the implementation of Phase I of the Scheme and that any proposals to extend its scope beyond what had been suggested would need to be considered as part of the Council’s future Capital Programme. He indicated that the recommendation to extend the Scheme to the Queen’s and Titanic Quarters had been based on an appraisal of the viability of incorporating those two areas and added that this assessment had indicated that there would be sufficient demand to sustain the project. He emphasised that, given that there existed an urgency to utilise the funding allocated to establish the Scheme, it would be prudent for the Committee to endorse the proposals, as submitted, and that the matter of extending the Scheme to other areas of the City could be addressed in due course.

 

After further discussion, it was

 

Moved by Alderman Ekin,

Seconded by Councillor Webb and

 

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to adopt the recommendation and agrees that a further report be submitted to the Committee’s meeting on 9th April which would outline the potential capital costs associated in extending the scope of the Scheme to include the Gaeltacht Quarter, the North Belfast Cultural Quarter and the Lower Newtownards Roads.

 

            On a vote by show of hands, twelve Members voted for the proposal and six against and it was declared carried.