Item 2

AT A MEETING of the GOSPORT HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL held at the Town Hall, Gosport on Monday 17 March 2003.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: M.S. Geddes (Chairman); D. Wright.

Gosport Borough Council

Councillors: R.P. Allen; Mrs I.E. Binfield; K.L. Gill; M. Hook.

16. 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 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. Any declaration to be made at the time of the debate.

17. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 19 November 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

18. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were none.

19. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

20. ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND HIGHWAY NETWORK MANAGEMENT BLUEPRINT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment detailing progress made with the implementation of the Environment Department Management Structure; the Highway Network Management Blueprint; and Hampshire Highways Management arrangements (Item 5 in the Minute Book).

Appointments had now been made at Assistant Director level posts and the revised structure broken down by function was shown in Appendix 1 to the report. Attention was drawn to Appendix 3 of the report containing the principal duties for Hampshire Highways Gosport staff.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

21. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE PROGRAMMES FOR 2002/03 AND 2003/04

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment outlining progress with the 2002/03 Highway Maintenance Programme; details of the 2003/04 Highways Management budget; and the 2003/04 Highways Maintenance Programme (Item 6 in the Minute Book).

The total allocation for Gosport in the Revenue maintenance programme for 2002/03 was £248,000 and the work anticipated would be completed within time and budget constraints.

The Highways Maintenance budget for 2003/04, approved by the Executive Member for Environment, was £46,492,000. The sum comprised £18,768,000 revenue funding and £27,224,000 funding from the capital programme provision. The revenue budget allocation had been maintained at a similar level to 2002/03.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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

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

The Street Lighting Maintenance Contract continued to provide a high percentage of "lights-on" across the County and this amounted to 99.3% at the present time. The programme of street lighting replacement had now been confirmed and design was well advanced on many of the schemes as set out in paragraph 3.5 of the report. Members were advised that maintenance of street lighting would normally pick up individual columns requiring attention, otherwise these should be drawn to the attention of the appropriate officer.

Letters requesting bids for the forthcoming financial year within the Community Safety Initiative Programme had been sent out, although the compilation of next year's schemes had not yet been completed. Copies of the Street Lighting Policy would be made available to Members.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

23. CAPITAL MINOR WORKS PROGRAMMES 2002/03 AND 2003/04

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

Members were advised that the scheme to enhance lighting to the cycleway at Whitworth Road to Military Road, Gosport had risen from £10,000 to £20,000, which would cause the scheme to be phased. The enhanced lighting to the cycleway from Military Road to Holbrook Road would require more finance, and that this would be sought from developer funding; and the safer routes to school programme into which category this scheme might also be deemed to fall. The 2003/04 minor capital works programme might be constrained financially by carry forwards. Detailed design work and costings would continue and a solution sought to enable this project to go ahead during the next financial year.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

24. CASUALTY REDUCTION AND SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL CAPITAL PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) outlining progress on the Casualty Reduction Programme and the Safer Routes to School. Potential sites for inclusion in the 2003/04 Casualty Reduction Programme based on accident figures were as follows:

(i) Marine Parade, Lee-on-the-Solent;


(ii) Rowallen Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue; and


(iii) B3333 Privett Road/Gomer Lane/Military Road Roundabout.


Complaints were still being received about the Rumble Strip surfacing on Tukes Avenue. A residents' meeting had agreed to hold twelve months' trial, and some holes reported in the surface were to be investigated.


Good progress had been made on the introduction of further safety cameras which should be in operation during April.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

25. OTHER PROGRAMMES AND SCHEME STATUS REPORT

The Panel considered the joint report of the Director of Environment and the Director of Development and Environment, Gosport Borough Council regarding the following issues: Traffic Regulation Order Programmes; Bridge Works Programme 2002/03; Intelligent Transport Systems Programme 2002/03; South East Hampshire Transport Strategy scheme of report; Regeneration of Older Urban Areas programme; and development related works. Works had continued on the phased upgrading and renewal of advance direction of signs and other signs within Gosport. Works had been completed along a section of the A32 this year. The Director of Environment was to notify Members of the anticipated start date for the Newgate Lane - Tukes Avenue cycle route set out in Appendix 2 attached to the report.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

26. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS ABANDONED VEHICLES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment outlining the issues associated with dealing with abandoned vehicles, the legislative framework and the division of responsibilities between authorities (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

It was pointed out that the cost of removal and disposal of abandoned vehicles had risen from £48,000 in 1997/98 to £394,000 in 2003/04. The end of life vehicle regulations which would cover everything involved in the dismantling of vehicles and which specifically identified products such as fluids and compound materials as hazardous, would place a further burden on local authorities. The scrap value of vehicles had fallen and therefore added to the problem of vehicles abandoned on the highway. The Director of Environment was to advise Members in more detail of the legislation and its impact upon the County Council.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

27. BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) covering the Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) reported for 2001/02 concerning the condition of the highway network in Hampshire and outlining a requirement for the 2002/03 indicators and providing comment concerning analysis and the use of data.

A workshop was to be held on 22 May to explain to Members the new and old systems. The Government required the County Council to assess the condition of the network against the Best Value Performance Indicators.

RESOLVED:

That this report be noted.

28. AN ACCESS TO GOSPORT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment outlining some of the numerous inter-related proposals that impact on the access to Gosport. The current situation regarding the progress with the South Hampshire Rapid Transit 1 Scheme for light rail between Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth was reported.

Consultations were anticipated in the late Spring on the Wider South Hampshire Rapid Transport Network Development. Members drew attention to the delays experienced with the traffic lights at Salterns Lane at Fareham Reach where considerable delays were experienced even on non-peak periods, i.e. late at night and at weekends. This was to be investigated. Members were given a short review on schemes to be reported to the SEHTS Panel on 26 March 2003.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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

The next meeting would take place on Wednesday 12 November 2003 at 6.00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Gosport Town Hall.

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