Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the WINCHESTER HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL of Hampshire County Council held at The Guildhall, Winchester, on Friday 28 February 2003.
PRESENT:
Hampshire County Council:
Councillors: K.B. Estlin (Chairman); Mrs A.E. Bailey; Mrs P. Dickens;
Felicity Hindson; P.K. Mason.
Winchester City Council:
Councillors: J. Beveridge; Mrs G. Busher; P. Clohosey; P. Davies; F. Pearson; J. Wagner.
12. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.
13. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on Thursday 10 October 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
14. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
There were no Chairman's communications reported to the Panel.
15. DEPUTATIONS
No requests to make a deputation had been received.
16. ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT REORGANISATION AND BLUEPRINT UPDATE
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) informing Members of the reorganisation of the Environment Department and a Blueprint update. It was reported that the Management team was now in place and that three further appointments of Assistant Director had been made:
(i) Alan Mills - Management
(ii) Stuart Reynolds - Design and Implementation
(iii) Merrick Denton-Thompson - Performance and Innovation
Officers reported that Hampshire Highways East had been fully operational since 1 October 2002. The departure of Douglas Hill as Assistant Chief Engineer had left a key vacancy. The Panel were informed that a replacement had now been appointed. Chris Wilson would be taking up his post in May 2003.
Councillor Beveridge welcomed this information and requested that Winchester City Councillors meet Hampshire County Council officers to see where they are based and meet those who are a point of contact. Councillor Beveridge and Councillor Estlin would liaise to arrange this meeting.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
17. INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, WINCHESTER
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 15 in the Minute Book) outlining the proposals for expanding the intelligent transport systems in Winchester in order to provide accurate and timely travel information which would be considered by the Winchester Movement and Access Plan Joint Members Panel on 4 March 2003.
After much debate, Officers answered Members' detailed questions. It was the consensus of the Panel that it was important to keep the public informed of the progress made and the advancement in new technology used. It was agreed that advance publicity would be looked into and that officers would write an article for the next edition of the Insight magazine.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
18. HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) outlining the progress made with the 2002/03 Highways Maintenance Programme, details of the Highways Maintenance budget and details of the 2003/04 Highways Maintenance Programme.
It was reported that the county-wide highways maintenance budget for 2003/04 was approved by the Executive Member for Environment at a sum of £46,492,000. This sum comprised £18,768,000 revenue funding and £27,724,000 funding from the capital programme provision.
The Panel were generally happy with this report but noted a correction on appendix 2 of the report as follows:
RESURFACING PROGRAMME
St. Peters Street, Bishops Waltham
Councillor Davies asked a question regarding how programmes were identified. Officers responded by saying that a site is identified through a scheme submission process, each scheme would then be visually inspected on the basis of maintenance need. Funding would then be allocated on those schemes with the greatest need.
The Panel asked for a definition of the word `Haunch' used in the report and its appendix. Officers responded by stating that a `Haunch' scheme was where the edge of the carriageway was breaking away and in need of repair. The repair undertaken is localised to the edge of the carriageway and is the reconstruction of the carriageway for approximately 1m in width.
Councillor Mrs Busher was concerned that not enough money was being inputted for gully cleansing, she was concerned that this was a prime cause of flooding and that funding for these schemes should be increased. Officers responded that the contractor has an obligation to regularly inspect and clear gullies, but if Councillor Mrs Busher was unhappy officers would welcome details of specific locations to resolve the problem. A contact number was given as 01962 848108 and an email address available on [email protected].
Councillor Beveridge raised a query as to when a finalised programme of schemes would be available. It was anticipated that a confirmed schedule would be available within six weeks and that this would be published in the Hampshire Highways Newsletter breaking the schemes down into which quarter of the year they would fall.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
19. STREET LIGHTING PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) informing Members of the Street Lighting Maintenance Contract, Column Replacement programmes 2002/03 and 2003/04, Energy Contract, Community Safety Initiative 2002/03 and 2003/04; and Street Lighting Policy.
The Panel were happy with the report and generally content with progress made so far. Councillor Beveridge raised an issue regarding the Maintenance Contract. He had received complaints regarding the time taken to replace broken street lighting.
Officers responded that the length of response was dependent on the nature of the problem. The Panel were informed that there was now a new number to call to report street lighting defects, 0800 506060, operators would need to know the column numbers but understand that this might not always be possible. People can ask to be called back with an update. This information was welcomed by the Panel and it was anticipated that this would help with the identification of problems.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
20. UNDER £10,000 MINOR CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) outlining the progress of the 2002/03 Capital Minor Works Programme.
The Panel were updated on the progress so far and informed that funding and schemes for 2003/04 had not yet been finalised. Members were content with the report.
RESOLVED:
That the Panel determine a recommended priority ranking for the Under £10,000 schemes for the 2003/04 programme as presented in the report.
21. CASUALTY REDUCTION AND SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL CAPITAL PROGRAMMES
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) outlining the progress of the Casualty Reduction and Safer Routes to School Capital Programmes.
It was reported that there was good progress on low-cost casualty reduction schemes in Winchester but understood that there were a number of further sites to be considered for the 2003/04 programmes. The Panel was advised that these new schemes were monitored after implementation to check their effectiveness and whether any further measures were necessary.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
22. CAPITAL PROGRAMMES AND SCHEMES - UPDATE
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 10 in the Minute Book) updating the Panel on Winchester Movement and Access Plan and Central Hampshire Rural Transport Strategy Capital Programmes for 2002/03. The Panel welcomed the progress on the schemes.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
23. TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) detailing the main programmes of Traffic Management work in the Winchester area in 2002/03 and 2003/04.
It was reported that under the revised agency arrangements for traffic management, Winchester City Council had taken direct responsibility for certain traffic management functions throughout the whole of the City and the rural District area on behalf of the County Council. Councillor Beveridge requested that officers at both authorities make every effort to finalise the new legal agreement as soon as possible.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
24. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS WEATHER EMERGENCIES
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) outlining the current policy and procedures relating to weather emergencies and the impact of adverse weather on the highway network.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
25. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS ABANDONED VEHICLES
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 13 in the Minute Book) outlining the issues associated with dealing with abandoned vehicles the legislative framework and division of responsibilities between authorities.
It was reported that there has been a steady increase in costs for removing abandoned vehicles and that Government only provide a small amount of money toward this. A new legislative framework is due to be implemented in 2007 whereby the vehicle producer would be required to meet all or a significant part of the cost of collection and treatment of vehicles that have no or negative value.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
26. BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 14 in the Minute Book) reporting for 2001/02 concerning the condition of the highway network in Hampshire. The report outlined the requirements for 2002/03 indicators and provided comments on the analysis and use of the data.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
27. MAJOR MAINTENANCE SCHEME - A334 CURDRIDGE
The Panel considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 16 in the Minute Book) outlining the maintenance scheme on the A334 planned to begin in summer 2003.
The Panel were content with the report but were concerned as to publication of the proposed work in advance. The Panel felt it was important that members of the public were kept informed. Officers stated that there was a Liaison Group meeting on 28 February attended by local residents and business representatives to discuss works programmes, temporary traffic managements measures and communication links in advance of and during the scheme.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
28. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
RESOLVED:
That the next meeting of the Panel be held on 31 October 2003 at 9.00 a.m. at the Guildhall, Winchester.
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