This meeting of Exeter City Council will feature discussion of two Notices of Motion proposed by Councillors, a Council appointment to the Team Devon Joint Committee and questions from Members of the Council.

School Streets Motion

Councillor Rees has proposed a Notice of Motion on school streets¹.

Councillor Rees’ Notice of Motion notes Many schools in Exeter have significant problems with cars and road safety issues at school run time. It describes School Streets as, “car-free areas outside schools. Roads are closed to vehicles (or they have severely restricted access) for a short period at the start and end of the school day". The Notice of Motion describes School Streets’ benefits as:

removal of congestion and reduction in emissions outside schools; reduced instances of dangerous driving, parking and turning outside schools at times of day when many children and families are present; fewer road safety issues and improved perceptions of road safety; increased levels of walking, wheeling and cycling to school; enhanced opportunities for social interaction; improved physical and mental health amongst pupils; increased pupil independence; and developing early active travel habits which can be carried into later life.

It goes on to say that School Streets “will help to deliver on City Council policies of Net Zero, reduced air pollution and increased active travel".

It proposes that the City Council should Call on Devon County Council to work with schools and communities to increase the number of School Streets in Exeter, where schools are willing to explore this option and To provide a progress report on this activity to the ECC Transport Member Working Group in six months’ time.

Climate and Nature Bill 2024

Councillor Tess Read has proposed a Notice of Motion on the Climate and Nature Bill 2024².

This Notice of Motion notes Exeter City Council's previous Climate Emergency declaration and its further motion declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency in April 2021. It describes the Climate and Nature Bill as:

“requiring the United Kingdom to achieve climate and nature targets; giving the Secretary of State a duty to implement a strategy to achieve those targets; establishing a Climate and Nature Assembly to advise the Secretary of State in creating that strategy; and giving duties to the Committee on Climate Change and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee regarding strategy, targets, and connected purposes”

The Notice of Motion proposes that the Council should “Write to Exeter’s two MPs, Steve Race and David Reed, to ask them to support the Climate and Nature Bill as it progresses through Parliament, in particular at its second reading in the House of Commons on 24 January 2025".

Council Appointment to the Team Devon Joint Committee

Exeter City Council is being asked to approve the appointment of Councillor Philip Bialyk, the Council Leader, to the Team Devon Joint Committee. The report notes that, Local authority partners in Devon came together in 2018 to form the Team Devon partnership.

“The Team Devon Joint Committee will comprise the Leader of each of the nine local authorities (i.e. the County Council and eight district, city and borough councils) and a member of the Dartmoor and Exmoor National Park Authorities. The Chair of the Devon Association of Local Councils will be an associate member together with representatives of the NHS and police.”

The purpose of the Team Devon Joint Committee is to:

“Support continuous improvement and value for money in the ways that Devon’s National Park Authorities, parish, town, district, and county councils exercise their duties and responsibilities. This could include aligning performance measures and sharing or integration of services. Contribute to the following environmental, economic, and social wellbeing objectives for Devon’s people and communities: o economic development (incorporating green growth); o housing and homelessness; o transport infrastructure; o climate change; o natural and cultural heritage; o health and wellbeing inequalities; and o Migration and asylum. Advise, inform, and support the work of any future Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority.”

Questions from Members of the Council under Standing Order No. 8

Members of the Council will be able to ask questions on any matters “for which the Council has powers, duties or affects the City”.