AT A MEETING of FAREHAM HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL of Hampshire County Council held at The Civic Offices, Fareham Borough Council, Fareham on Thursday 13 March 2003.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: K.B. Estlin (Chairman); Dr R.J. Ellis; Mrs D.M. Harrison; T.G. Knight; R.H. Price

Fareham Borough Council

Councillors: B. Bayford; S.R. Clark; A. Mandry; D.C.S. Swanbrow; Mrs K.K. Trott

Councillor D.J. Murray attended as deputy in place of Councillor P.J. Davies.

21. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

22. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2002 were confirmed as a correct record.

Arising thereon:

Minute No. 19 - Other Programmes and Scheme Status Report

The Chairman advised that due to a number of complex issues, tenderers had been asked to bid again. The new closing date for bids was Monday, 17 March 2003. A report on the outcome of the bidding would be submitted to the South Hampshire Rapid Transit (SHRT) Procurement Panel on 20 May 2003.

Minute No. 20 - Date, Time and Venue for next Meeting of the Panel

Members requested that the visit to inspect the UTC system at Monument House, previously postponed due to a Ministerial visit, be re-arranged to immediately precede the next meeting of the Panel on 23 September 2003.

23. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman advised Members that as the Executive Member for Environment he had made a successful bid for additional funding for footway and rural road maintenance. Following agreement by the Cabinet, a sum of £3.5 million had subsequently been approved by the full Council.

24. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

25. ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND HIGHWAY NETWORK MANAGEMENT BLUEPRINT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) concerning the progress made on the implementation of the Environment Department management structure, the Highway Network Management Blueprint and the Hampshire Highways South management arrangements.

The Director of Environment advised that the existing highway agency agreements with the District and Borough Councils would end on 31 March 2003. A draft traffic management agreement including capital works design and environmental maintenance, had been forwarded to Fareham Borough Council for consideration. Agreement had not yet been reached and an extension of six months to the existing agency agreement arrangements had been granted by the County Council.


The Chairman urged Fareham Members to seek finalisation of the agreement within the time period to avoid the agency arrangements reverting back to the County Council.

It was confirmed that the consultation on the review of Development Control Services was still ongoing. A series of meetings at officer level were being conducted and Members were advised that should a successful agreement not be reached, meetings with Members would follow.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

26. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) concerning the progress made on the 2002/03 Highway Maintenance Programme and the details of the Highways Maintenance Programme and budget for 2003/04.

The Director of Environment explained that the levels of funding allocations varied each year due to the maintenance needs identified by the rating system. By this means the budget could be allocated fairly across the county. Concern was raised that the budgeted figure for hazard clearance might not ultimately prove sufficient and could impact upon the budgeted sums for other maintenance areas. The Chairman advised that depending on the circumstances it would be covered by the Reserve budget.



RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

27. STREET LIGHTING PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the current progress of the Street Lighting Maintenance Contract, the Column Replacement Programmes for 2002/03 and 2003/04, Energy Contract, Community Safety Initiative 2002/03 and 2003/04 and the Street Lighting Policy.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted

28. CAPITAL MINOR WORKS PROGRAMMES FOR 2002/03 AND 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the progress made with the 2002/03 Capital Minor Works Programme and on the 2003/04 Capital Minor Works Programme for 2003/04.

The Director of Environment advised that further to the previous Panel meeting in October 2002 at which Members had indicated their preference of schemes, there had been amendments to the programme which impacted upon those choices and new preferences were needed to be indicated by the Members.. The two affected schemes were the extension to the cycleway in Gosport Road, Fareham, now to be incorporated into a larger scheme which was not in the 2003/04 programme, and the new footway in Funtley Lane, the cost for which would be covered by developer funding.


RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Environment be advised that the following schemes, listed in order of priority, be included in the Minor Works Capital Programme for 2003/04:

(i) provision of street lighting in Fisherman's Walk - £10,000; and

(ii) provision of a new rural footway from the railway bridge to the motorway bridge in Downend Road - £10,000.

29. CASUALTY REDUCTION AND SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL CAPITAL PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the progress made with the Casualty Reduction and Safer Routes to School Capital Programmes.

The Director of Environment advised that the NewgateLane/Longfield Road Roundabout lining scheme had been completed.

Fareham Members expressed concern about the imminent start of a scheme of works on the Seafield Park Estate, about which they had not been officially consulted or informed. Officers agreed to investigate the matter.

The Chairman stressed that no consideration would be given to future schemes in the Safer Routes to School programme until the schools involved had submitted their school travel plans.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

30. STATUS REPORT ON OTHER HIGHWAY RELATED CAPITAL SCHEMES FOR 2002/03 AND PROPOSED SCHEMES FOR 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment ( Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the present position of the South East Hampshire Transport Strategy programmes 2002/03 and 2003/04, the Bridgeworks programme 2002/03/04, the Home Zone Project, the Regeneration of Older Urban Areas and Hook Road, Warsash.

Fareham Members were concerned that opposition had arisen from the bus companies over the use of the proposed bus/rail station interchange in conjunction with the SHRT scheme. The Chairman advised that an interim positional statement was currently being prepared to clarify matters.

The Director of Environment reported that the Home Zone project in Portchester was proceeding well. A week-long `drop-in' workshop session had been held in January for residents to comment on the design of the proposals. A similar workshop was due to be held later in March. Members thanked the County and Borough officers for their hard work.

During the course of the discussion officers answered Members detailed questions and updated them on the progress made on the Regeneration of Older Urban Areas schemes.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

31. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS WEATHER EMERGENCIES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) on 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

32. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS ABANDONED VEHICLES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 12 in
the Minute Book) on the issues associated with dealing with abandoned vehicles, the legislative framework and the division of responsibilities between authorities.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

33. BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 13 in the Minute Book) on the Best Value Indicators reported for 2001/02 concerning the condition of the highway network in Hampshire and on the requirements for 2002/03 indicators.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

34. FAREHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of Fareham Borough Council's Director of Planning and Transportation (Item 14 in the Minute Book) concerning the traffic management programme to be undertaken by the Borough Council.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

35. DATE, TIME AND VENUE FOR NEXT MEETING OF THE PANEL

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Panel be held on Tuesday, 23 September 2003 at 10.00 a.m., at The Castle, Winchester and be preceded by an inspection of the Urban Traffic Control (UTC) system in Monument House, Winchester to commence at 8.30 a.m.

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