Issue - meetings

This report provides Members with an update on the Beryl Bike Share pilot operating in Croxley Green since October 2024 delivered in partnership with Watford Borough Council and Smidsy Ltd (trading as Beryl). The report further details a proposed expansion to the bike hire scheme and advises that a further Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) bid has been submitted for expansion into other parts of the district.

Recommendation:

That the committee:

i)     notes the update on the Croxley Green Beryl Bike Share pilot;

ii)    approves the proposals for expansion of the bike hire scheme and delegates authority to agree final sites within the areas outlined in the report to the Head of Regulatory Services in consultation with the Lead Member for General Public Services and Ward Councillors;

iii)    notes that a CIL bid for this further expansion of the scheme into Rickmansworth, South Oxhey and Leavesden has been submitted and will be considered separately under the CIL governance process; and

iv)   agrees to delegate authority for approving and entering all required contractual arrangements to implement the pilot scheme to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Lead Member for General Public Services.

The Principal Sustainable Travel Planner and Transport Officer presented a report which provided Members with an update on the Beryl Bike share pilot which had operated in Croxley Green since October 2024.  The report also detailed a proposed expansion to the scheme and set out that a further Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) bid had been submitted for the expansion into other parts of the district.  The CIL bid would be brought forward separately for determination through the Council’s CIL governance process.

The Committee heard from officers that the Croxley Green pilot had been considered a success.  There had been an average of 1.2 rides per bike per day recorded since launch.  This compared to 1.9 in the main Watford area; however, the lower figure for Croxley Green was to be expected given its location on the outskirts of the area and lower population density. 

The extension of the scheme (including from Bushey into some Hertsmere Borough Council areas) was expected to improve connectivity further.  The proposal for expansion within Three Rivers would involve a further 36 new e-bikes and 13 physical bays at a cost of £138,000, and this was the sum of the current CIL application.  The proposed locations were:  Rickmansworth (station, Watersmeet, Aquadrome café, Aquadrome bridge and Harefield Road); South Oxhey (Carpenders Park station, junction of Gosforth Lane and Hayling Road, junction of Green Lane and Prestwick Road, near the Prestwick Road Parade opposite Greenfields School and near the parade on Little Oxhey Lane) and Leavesden (Warner Bros Studios, Leavesden Country Park and near Evergreen Park on South Way).  However, the Principal Sustainable Travel Planner and Transport Officer highlighted that these proposals would be subject to consultation and alternative locations could be considered.

A Committee Member noted that the report presented the scheme positively, but highlighted that there been some issues, including reports of bikes being dumped in the river in Croxley Common Moor and at the Aquadrome.  The docking station outside Croxley Green Library had also not gone live, which presented an operational risk to the rest of the programme.  Additionally, a docking station requested for the Moor Lane Crossing industrial estate - in order to link Croxley Green Station and Rickmansworth Station with one of the district’s largest industrial estates - had not been included in the proposal. 

Officers clarified that residents were asked to report issues with the bikes directly to Beryl and not the Council.  The incidents referred to had not been recorded by Beryl as issues or complaints.   However, it was acknowledged that use of the complaints data provided by Beryl resulted in a discrepancy in presenting the issues which had been experienced and officers would review this.

With regard to the delay at the Croxley Green Library site, officers advised that difficulties had been experienced in securing a licence for the site due to complexities relating to land ownership.  For the new expansion sites, officers were looking to mitigate similar problems by prioritising the location of docking stations on land which could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20