Contact: Kevin Travers, ext 7763

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines the funding available to support the Western Hampshire Transport Strategy (WHTS). This funding has been allocated from the settlement received by the County Council for the Local Transport Plan (LTP) 2001-2006. Members are asked to support the proposed investment programme in light of the funding available and the priorities being identified through the developing transport strategy for the area.

2. Background

2.1 In December 2000 Central Government announced the financial settlements in response to the submission of LTPs. The Hampshire LTP 2001-2006 was well received and the allocation for Hampshire totalled £23.37 million for 2001/02, with similar indicative allocations for the remaining years of the five year programme (2001-2006). This funding has been apportioned to principal roads and bridges structural maintenance, the casualty reduction programme and area transport strategies. Of the total settlement for 2001/02, £13.5 million has been allocated for integrated transport measures, including the area transport strategies. From this sum funding has been set aside for priority projects, minor works and Safer Routes to School, with the remainder being divided between Hampshire's ten area transport strategies. The transport capital programme was agreed by the County Council's former Planning and Transportation Committee on 22 January 2001.

2.2 The process outlined above resulted in an overall allocation for the WHTS area of £50,000 for 2001/02. This is the first time funding has been allocated exclusively to the WHTS area and this will be used to start funding a series of projects through the LTP period. In addition, £50,000 has been allocated to Western Hampshire to progress Safer Routes to School initiatives in the area.

3. Capital Programme for Western Hampshire

3.1 Several projects have already been progressed in the Western Hampshire area, which have made a contribution to the overall strategy for the area. Secure cycle lockers and cycle hoops have been installed at Dean, Dunbridge and Grateley stations, together with other enhancements, including bus stop maps and enhanced signing. Works to improve visibility have been carried out on the A30 at Nine Mile Water, Nether Wallop and, through the Parish Partnerships Programme, a number of traffic management initiatives are being investigated or trialed. Details of these are included in section 5 of this report.

3.2 The funding programme covering 2001/02 to 2004/05 for WHTS was approved by the County Council's former Planning and Transportation Committee on 22 January 2001. The level of funding for the area strategy and Safer Routes to School is shown below. Progress with the Safer Routes to School programme is discussed in section 4 of this report:

¹ Specific allocation for Test Valley School

² County-wide allocation of £1 million

3.3 In addition to the above there are a number of programmes being implemented across the County. Certain elements of these may be undertaken in Western Hampshire. The funding allocated to these programmes is as follows:

	2001/02 £'000	2002/03 £'000	2003/04 £'000	2004/05 £'000
Casualty Reduction	1,600	1,600	1,600	1,600
Central Intelligent Transport Systems	275	275	200	-
Passenger Transport Information 2000	125	125	25	-
Rural Partnership Schemes	140	140	140	100
Community Safety (Lighting)	60	60	60	50
Pedestrian Crossings	240	240	100	100
Community Transport	250	250	100	-
Minor Schemes	400	400	400	250
Safer Routes to School	113	1,000	1,000	1,000

3.4 The proposed programme for Western Hampshire is being devised to assist in meeting the LTP's targets and objectives. The programme will be reviewed on a regular basis, based on the progress being made in delivering the capital programme in WHTS, and can be reassessed to help ensure the targets are met. As the strategy is still being developed it is only intended to identify projects for implementation in 2001/02, utilising this year's allocation of £50,000 at this stage. The programme for future years will be drawn up to ensure it reflects the aspirations of the area strategy as it is developed.

3.5 Capital expenditures for Western Hampshire was approved by the Executive Member for Environment on 13 November 2001. The capital programmes for 2001/02 and 2002/03 are shown below. The sums allocated to the projects are only indicative at this stage and will be amended to reflect the actual costs of the projects, once they have been designed in detail. The programme for 2002/03 in particular will be subject to amendment as the WHTS is developed.

3.6 The County Council has been working in partnership with Kings Somborne Parish Council to develop a package of traffic calming and minor highway improvements for the village. These are intended to address high vehicle speeds through the village and, in particular, to help reduce the impact of heavy vehicles on the village environment. The project will include enhanced signing and gateway features at the entrance to the village, selective carriageway narrowing and footway improvements through the village, and measures to improve safety.

3.7 The Andover to Salisbury Bus Quality Partnership is being developed between the County Council and local bus operators; Stagecoach and Wilts and Dorset. Through the capital programme the County Council will look to provide additional bus stops/waiting facilities and improve infrastructure along the corridor. A network of real-time passenger information at bus stops and transport interchanges will be considered. In conjunction with those improved facilities, the provision of new and improved links and services will be encouraged.

3.8 It is proposed that a package of measures be developed for Stockbridge to address concerns about the speed and volume of traffic passing through the town. The emphasis will be on improving pedestrian security, especially for children, with the measures varying depending on local circumstances but including road markings, footways and traffic management measures or gateway features. The funding identified for this year will allow initial investigations and consultations to take place as the first stage of identifying a package of measures to enhance the overall environment of Stockbridge, with a view to implementation of an agreed programme being brought forward in future years.

3.9 As indicated above, the programme for future years will be determined as the strategy is developed. Initiatives to be developed include local environmental management projects, which will aim to improve local communities to make them better places to live and work in, focussing on measures such as rural traffic calming and the provision of travel information. Attention will also be paid to the development of the local cycle network and other cycling facilities in the area. A section of the National Cycle Network Route 24 passes through the WHTS area, and the County Council will work with Sustrans and Test Valley Borough Council to help define the route. A strategy for the Andover to Romsey corridor will be progressed, concentrating on improving safety for all road users, whilst improving the environment of the villages along the route. Access to public transport modes, in particular local railway stations, will also be addressed.

4. Safer Routes to School

4.1 The County Council has introduced a new Safer Routes to School capital programme, with over £1 million per year available from 2000/01 onwards to 2005/06. For WHTS, £25,000 has been allocated in 2000/01 and £50,000 in 2001/02, with schemes in future years forming part of an overall county-wide programme.

4.2 The County Council is forming a dedicated team to deal with issues of safety and infrastructure improvements, and partnership arrangements are being set up with schools to cover road safety education and school travel plans, linked to physical measures to improve safety. It will take some time to fully develop the partnerships, and for 2000/01 and 2001/02 the County Council has looked to honour existing commitments to school projects.

4.3 In the WHTS area there have been long standing concerns, raised by Test Valley School and Longstock Parish Council, about the arrangements for getting pupils onto school buses. Works have recently been completed to the layby area which has been redesigned using £25,000 from the 2000/01 budget and £20,000 from the 2001/02 budget. Details of the scheme and future works are contained in a separate report elsewhere on the agenda.

4.4 A programme of schemes to be implemented in 2001/02 has been drawn up. Projects will be favoured where a school has introduced or is developing a School Travel Plan. Such initiatives are generally in an early stage in Western Hampshire, but initial preparatory work is being undertaken to investigate the feasibility of a number of potential schemes that have arisen from the Parish Partnerships Programme. The schemes generally consist of relatively small scale traffic management, white lining and footway improvements which will improve safety and access to a number of schools. The provisional programme for 2001/02 is as follows:

	2000/01 £'000	2001/02 £'000
Test Valley School, Stockbridge	25	20
Clatford C of E Primary School	-	10
Shipton Bellinger County Primary School	-	10
Kings Somborne C of E Primary School	-	10
Total	25	50

5. Parish Partnerships Programme

5.1 The Parish Partnerships Programme has been developed by the County Council in response to legislation enacted in 1997, which permits parish and town councils to fund or contribute towards traffic calming schemes. The County Council is able to match local funds and within WHTS additional funding has been forthcoming from Test Valley Borough Council for certain projects.

5.2 The general concept is that the local community works jointly with the County Council to identify priority issues and develop appropriate measures. Consultation with the local community ensures that the scheme proceeds with the full approval of the parish and town councils. Local contributions range from £1,000 to £20,000, with £2,000 to £3,000 being fairly typical. In some cases projects may develop so that it is appropriate to use alternative funding, such as the Safer Routes to School initiative or the Area Strategy programme, as is the case for the A3057 in Kings Somborne.

5.3 Common concerns are the speed and volume of traffic, with particular emphasis on improving pedestrian security, especially for children. The measures vary depending on the circumstances of each project but examples include road markings, additional footways, chicanes or gateway features.

5.4 In the WHTS area 14 parish and town councils have to date expressed an interest in the programme. Of these, projects have been implemented or are under consideration in eight parishes, as described below:

Parish	Start of Partnership	Project	Status
Barton Stacey	2001/02	Gateway signs and road markings.	Details to be developed.
Braishfield	2001/02	Braishfield Road, gateway signs and road markings.	Details to be developed
Broughton	2000/01	B3084 Romsey Road/ Salisbury Road signs and markings.	Revisions required following consultation. To be implemented early in 2002.
Kings Somborne	2000/01	Winchester Road and Eldon Road. The works on the A3057 will be picked up through the WHTS capital programme.	Proposals to be developed.
Mottisfont	2000/01	Church Lane junction environmental enhancement. Additional funding provided by Test Valley Borough Council.	Completed in June 2001.
Thruxton	1999/00	Minor signing and lining completed. Trial of junction priority change abandoned following local consultation by the Parish Council.	Completed in May 2000.
West Tytherley	2000/01	North Lane gateways, including coloured surfacing and road markings.	Details to be developed.
Wherwell	2001/02	B3420 Winchester Road - gateway signs and road markings.	Details to be developed.

6. Other Transport Initiatives

6.1 Delivery of the capital programme is only one way in which the County Council seeks to achieve the objectives identified in the LTP being developed through the WHTS. A range of other measures is being developed for the area in support of the overall strategy. These include the support of a number of bus services, both in terms of financial support for conventional services, which are not viable financially, and through the development of community transport schemes, which are very local in nature and rely on the goodwill of volunteers.

6.2 A pilot community transport database has been developed and this feeds a community transport website which is also under development. The website provides information on local transport services, advice and information for operators of voluntary transport services and news on current and new initiatives.

6.3 The website has been designed to be as interactive as possible. For example, transport services can be identified using two transport searches. People will also be able to book places on training courses and order publications through the website. The website is being piloted by a number of organisations during the autumn and is due to be formally launched in spring 2002.

6.4 The County Council is working with health authorities, district councils and the voluntary sector to produce a Community Transport Development Plan. This will set out a joined-up policy on how the various agencies will support the community transport sector and identify the resources required to sustain and develop the infrastructure which is needed to deliver local services. The Plan is due to be completed shortly and will set out how the money allocated in the LTP will be used in this year and future years.

6.5 A successful bid has been made for funding through the Bus Challenge Fund to develop a three year initiative known as TESTBED. This offers a unique opportunity for integration between public, community health and social services and education transport needs at local level.

6.6 During the first year of the project two new wheelchair accessible bus services will be introduced, operating in the villages to the north of Andover providing services into Andover. These will replace two existing services, although the routes will be different. One service will operate along a scheduled route, diverting on demand, the other will start from a fixed point into Andover, with the route being determined by the bookings received.

6.7 A routeing strategy for heavy goods vehicles will also be developed to ensure that lorries and other strategic traffic stay on the main routes where possible. This will be supported by projects in the capital programme to minimise their impact where it is necessary for them to pass through settlements.

6.8 Working with the community to inform and educate will also be an important element of the of overall strategy. This will be through the development of travel plans for businesses and schools, designed to reduce the impact of travel, especially in the peak hour, and to help alleviate localised congestion problems which can occur in rural areas.

7. Conclusion

7.1 The proposed programme for WHTS will form an initial stage in delivering a strategy for the area. The programme for future years will be developed in line with the emerging strategy to help ensure that the agreed objectives and targets are met.

Recommendation

That the capital programmes for 2001/02 and 2002/03 covering the Western Hampshire Transport Strategy and the Safer Routes to School programme be noted.

6802/KT