Decision details

To approve the business case to deliver a comprehensive bike share scheme across Adur and Worthing.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 13.

The report noted that progress had been made on the strategic opportunity for Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils to introduce a large scale bike and e-bike share scheme to Adur and Worthing through Brighton & Hove City Council’s new BTN Bikeshare Procurement Framework.

This presented the opportunity to benefit from one of the most successful bike share schemes in the UK outside London, which could transform the way local people travel; open cycling to a wider audience; help reduce congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions; improve the health of local communities; benefit the visitor economy and increase connectivity across our places.

Adur & Worthing Councils and Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) had worked closely together on procurement specifications and governance arrangements since the approval by Joint Strategic Committee in February 2021 to become party to the BTN Bikeshare Framework.

Brighton & Hove City Council were exploring options to build flexibility into the BTN Bikeshare Operator Framework to facilitate future e-scooter integration into the contract. This could provide some local control of the safety and sustainability of e-scooter rental if integrated into the bike share scheme, while maintaining scheme viability. 

This report brought detail of the options appraisal, the funding strategy that had been produced and requested approval to progress to the procurement stage to seek an Operator for an Adur and Worthing scheme in parallel with the Brighton & Hove scheme. 

Members welcomed the report and were interested to see how an e-scooter scheme would work in Worthing, acknowledging that both e-scooter legislation and local infrastructure needed to catch up. 

The recommendations set out in the report were proposed by Councillor Sean McDonald seconded by Councillor Kevin Boram and unanimously supported. 

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee :

1.     Approved that Adur District and Worthing Borough Council proceed to procure a bike share Operator for an Adur and Worthing scheme, using call off contracts from the Brighton & Hove City Council Framework; noting that a report would be brought back to Joint Strategic Committee in December following the outcome of the procurement process to approve the award to the successful operator. 

2.     Noted the proposed finance strategy for funding bike share, subject to final approval at Committee in December 2021; and noted the indicative map of hub locations. 

3.     Delegated authority to the Director of Digital, Sustainability & Resources in consultation with the relevant Executive Members from Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils to approve the inclusion of e-scooters in the call off BTN Bikeshare contract for Adur & Worthing should B&HCC include this option within their Framework.

Call In: 

The call-in deadline for this decision will be 5.00pm on 23 July 2021.