AT A MEETING of HAVANT HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL of Hampshire County Council held at The Civic Offices, Havant Borough Council, Havant on Friday 8 November 2002.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: K.B. Estlin (Chairman); Mrs S.E. Allbright; I.F.E. Beagley;
E.F. Gale, MBE; D. Gillett; R.C. McIntosh; Mrs V. Steel; Miss J. Wride

Havant Borough Council

Councillors: Mrs G. Blackett; R.A. Bolton; D.M. Farrow; T.P. Hart; K. Moss

1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No declarations of interest were made at this stage of the proceedings.

2. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed Members to the inaugural meeting of the Havant Highway Management Advisory Panel and explained that this was a joint forum which would provide an excellent opportunity for liaison and joint working between the two authorities.

3. DEPUTATIONS

No requests to make a deputation had been received.

4. PANEL CONSTITUTION AND PURPOSE

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 4 in the Minute Book) detailing the Terms of Reference for the Havant Highway Management Advisory Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

5. BLUEPRINT PROGRESS AND AREA SOUTH ORGANISATION

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) detailing progress within the districts and areas, the issues of traffic management and development control and searches.

Following new agency arrangements for highway maintenance in Fareham, Gosport and Havant, it was confirmed that 23 staff had transferred from the three Borough Councils to Hampshire County Council. Attention was drawn to Appendix 1 of the report, illustrating the split of staff between the three Highway offices in Fareham, Gosport and Havant.

Further to paragraph 3.3 of the report, it was confirmed that the previous traffic management arrangements had been extended until March 2003, with a new legal agreement having been drafted which would be sent to the Chief Executive of Havant Borough Council shortly.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

6. THE ASSESSMENT OF THE HIGHWAY CONDITION IN HAMPSHIRE

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) outlining the systematic approach currently in place to assess the condition of the highway network in Hampshire and the changes required to the condition assessment arrangements due to the County Council's Best Value Review, the implementation of the National United Kingdom Pavement Management System (UKPMS) and the recently launched National Code of Practice `Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance'.

It was confirmed that the current total backlog of maintenance work across the county to restore the network to the ideal condition had been assessed at
£75 million. Government targets had been set to stop deterioration of the network by 2004 and to eliminate the backlog by 2010 which would require an extra
£10 million of funding. It was noted that the backlog for Havant was £1.2 million.

The County Council's Assistant Director for Environment (Management) drew Members attention to the County Roads Term Maintenance Contract (TMC) that had commenced on 1 May 2002 covering the period 2002-2007 (extendable to 2010). It was very much a working partnership between the County Council and the contractor, Raynesway Construction Southern Limited and although there had been a few teething problems, it was thought to be the way forward for the future. The contract was unique, had been implemented county-wide, the quality of the work done to date had been of a high standard and importantly, the County Council was satisfied that they were getting value for money.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

7. HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE BUDGET 2002/03

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) outlining the Highways Maintenance budget county-wide and the specific budget and programme of work for Havant as detailed in the report's appendices.

Officers amplified the report and answered Members' detailed questions. Members were urged to feed any problems/issues that had been brought to their attention through to the appropriate Highways Team as soon as possible which would allow officers to take the necessary action to ensure a speedy resolution.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

8. OTHER NETWORK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) detailing the key issues in respect of other Network Management programmes.

A declaration of interest by Councillor Miss Wride was noted in respect of Fairfields Infant School (paragraph 2.6(i) of the report refers).

Casualty Reduction and Safer Routes to School Programmes

It was reported that the County Council's casualty reduction programme comprising over 70 schemes per annum, had produced encouraging accident reductions and financial rates of return which had attracted increased levels of funding from the Department for Transport. It was noted that when this programme was started, the criteria for inclusion had been set at nine or more recorded injury/accidents over a three year period, but had now been reduced to five or more recorded injury/accidents. Members attention was drawn to the programme for 2002/03 which was attached as an appendix to the report. In respect of School Travel Plans, the importance of gaining commitment from parents, school governors and staff to ensure the successful implementation of a Plan was noted.

In respect of paragraph 2.6 and the Hayling Billy route, the Head of Engineering for Havant Borough Council reported that discussions were underway between county and district officers in order to progress this scheme.

Street Lighting

The County Council's Street Lighting Officer, Mr Pendrey, answered a number of concerns raised by Members in relation to the current state of some of the street lighting columns in the Havant area. Mr Pendrey reported that although re-painting a column temporarily enhanced its appearance, it did not unfortunately prolong its life. A column replacement programme was in place and the current status of the Havant 2002/03 programme was detailed in paragraph 3.5 of the report. It was noted that the replacement columns were coated with a substance that required no re-painting and only minimum maintenance in order to retain their `as new' appearance. It was recognised that the time taken to carry out street lighting repairs was not as good as it should be and staff were working with the contractor, Southern Electric Contracting, in order to improve performance.
Mr Pendrey confirmed that Members could direct any street lighting queries or problems to him and he would be happy to seek resolution with the contractor as necessary.

Under £10,000 Programme

Members were made aware of the detail of this years under £10,000 schemes and the current list of schemes in the programme.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) The Under £10,000 Programme would be considered at the next meeting of the Panel and Members would be requested to prioritise schemes.

9. HAVANT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND HIGHWAY WORKS PROGRAMME 2002/03

The Panel considered the report of the Head of Engineering, Havant Borough Council (Item 9 in the Minute Book) detailing the background to, and the arrangements for, the traffic management programme for 2002/03 undertaken by Havant Borough Council on behalf of the County Council. In respect of decriminalised parking enforcement in Havant, it was noted that a study had been commissioned to investigate the possibility of the Borough Council taking on this function.

Particular attention was drawn to the Government's `Invest to Save' initiative in respect of which Hampshire County Council, Havant Borough Council and New Forest District Council had submitted a joint bid for an electronic data interchange facility which would improve the way information was shared between the authorities.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

10. OTHER PROGRAMMES AND SCHEMES STATUS REPORT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) detailing the key issues in respect of the Bridge Works Programme 2002/03, Intelligent Transport Systems Programme 2002/03, South East Hampshire Transport Strategy Scheme and the Regeneration of Older Urban Areas Programme.

Officers amplified the report and answered Members' detailed questions.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

11. A3 PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORRIDOR - PROGRESS REPORT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) detailing the project background, current situation and future plans for the A3 corridor phase of the South Hampshire Rapid Transit (SHRT) network. It was noted that, with the exception of the Light Rapid Transit scheme (LRT) the A3 corridor was the largest capital scheme being undertaken by the County Council and was high on the list of priority schemes.

Officers provided amplification of the report section by section in order to bring Members up to date on the current situation. It was agreed that Members' detailed questions would be noted by officers and dealt with at the meeting of the SHRT Future Developments Working Party scheduled for Thursday 14 November 2002 as the A3 public transport corridor would be the main item on that agenda and therefore would be discussed in more detail. However, concerns were raised by Councillor McIntosh in respect of the last sentence of paragraph 5.2 of the report in that a petition from local residents had been submitted to the County Council. It was agreed that officers would contact Councillor McIntosh direct to discuss revised wording.

RESOLVED:

That progress on the elements of this transportation scheme be noted.

12. LANGSTONE BRIDGE WORKS AND HAYLING BILLY CYCLE TRAIL

To consider the report of the Director of Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) bringing Members up to date in respect of the Langstone Bridge works and Hayling Billy Cycle Trail, and detailing future options to improve cycling and pedestrian links between Hayling Island and the mainland.

It was noted that the next stage of the Langstone Bridge works were due to commence on 26 February 2003. A full discussion ensued and Members' detailed questions were answered. The Chief Engineer for Hampshire Highways South reported that a meeting between officers and the relevant County and Borough Members had been convened on Monday 25 November 2002 at 4.30pm.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) In respect of paragraph 5.3 of the report, it was noted that Members voiced unanimous support for the Phase 2 works on Langstone Bridge to mirror the Phase 1 works.

13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

An offer to visit the Intelligent Transport Systems unit at Monument House in Winchester was noted for a future meeting of the Panel.

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Wednesday
19 March 2003 at 2.00 p.m. in the Conference Room, The Castle, Winchester.

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