AT A MEETING of the GOSPORT HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL held at the Town Hall, Gosport on Tuesday 19 November 2002.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: M.S. Geddes (Chairman); P.J. Chegwyn; K.P.J. Searle; D.F. Wright.

Gosport Borough Council

Councillors: Mrs L. Angus; Mrs I.E. Binfield; P.R. Edgar; K. Edwards; M.W.P. Hook.

7. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Geddes declared a non-pecuniary interest in the Community Safety Initiative scheme for Rowner Close garages (Item 6 in the Minute Book).

8. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

9. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no issues arising under this item.

10. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

11. ENVIRONMENT GROUPING REORGANISATION AND BLUEPRINT UPDATE

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) concerning the progress of Blueprint including the reorganisation of the Environment Grouping, progress on the Traffic Management Partnership agreement and on the Development Control Review.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

12. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS SOUTH - GOSPORT - STATUS REPORT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the organisation, programme of works, and budgets for Hampshire Highways South, Gosport.

During the course of the ensuing discussion, the officers answered detailed Member questions regarding column replacement and hazard clearance,

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

13. MINOR WORKS PROGRAMME

The Panel considered the joint report of the Director of Environment and Director of Development and Environment (Gosport Borough Council) (Item 7 in the Minute Book) concerning the progress made on the 2002/03 minor works schemes and prioritisation of the rolling programme of minor works schemes for 2003/04.

The Panel discussed in detail the priorities for the minor works programme and made certain changes to the recommendations which are reflected in the substantive resolution below.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel advises the Executive Member for Environment of its preference for minor works schemes in 2003/04 in the following order of priority:-

(i) enhanced lighting on cycleway from Whitworth Road to Military Road - £10,000


(ii) enhanced lighting on cycleway from Military Road to Holbrook - £10,000.

14. A32 TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND URBAN TRAFFIC CONTROL

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the current position regarding Urban Traffic Control on the A32, current proposals and scope for future developments.

Mr Ken Laughlin, Chief Engineer, Intelligent Transport Systems Group set out the background and current position regarding SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) Urban Traffic Control System (UTC) for the A32. Future proposals under investigation included improved bus priority. He advised that current systems were regularly reviewed but that present levels of congestion on the A32 suggested that any further improvements would be marginal.

During the ensuing discussion, the officers answered detailed Members' questions on various issues in connection with congestion levels on the A32.

Officers took the opportunity to recap on the recommendations of the Gosport/ Fareham Accessibility Study which had been carried out earlier in the year. Investigation of various proposals was currently underway. Members requested that a report be brought to the next meeting of the Panel updating on any investigations.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

15. OTHER PROGRAMMES AND SCHEMES STATUS REPORT

The Panel considered the joint report of the Director of Environment and Director of Development and Environment (Gosport Borough Council) (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on a range of issues relating to other programmes in the Gosport area.

A full discussion ensued during the course of which officers clarified issues, provided updates on start and completion times of individual schemes and answered detailed Member questions.

Members welcomed the expansion of the use of safety cameras on routes with serious accident records.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

16. DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting be held on Monday 17 March 2003 at 6.00 p.m. at Gosport Borough Council offices.

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