AT A MEETING of HAVANT HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT ADVISORY PANEL of Hampshire County Council held at The Castle, Winchester on Wednesday, 19 March 2003.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: K.B. Estlin(Chairman); Mrs S.E. Allbright; I.F.E. Beagley; E.F. Gale; D. Gillett; R.C. McIntosh; Mrs V. Steele; W.H. Wheeler; Miss J.D. Wride.

Havant Borough Council

Councillors: Mrs G. Blackett; R.A. Bolton; D. Farrow; T.P. Hart; N. Tarrant

14. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

15. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2002 were confirmed as a correct record.


16. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no Chairman's communications.


17. DEPUTATIONS


There were no deputations.


18. 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.

Members noted that the county-wide maintenance scheme would come into operation on 1 April 2003. A draft traffic management agreement had been forwarded to Havant Borough Council for consideration, however it was not expected that the legal processes would be completed by the end of March and, in order to ensure continuity of service, a further letter of extension for a six month period for the existing arrangements had been issued. The Chairman urged the District Council to reach agreement within the time period to avoid the agency arrangements reverting back to the County Council.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.


19. 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.

Members were made aware of a successful bid by the Chairman for additional funding for footways and rural roads county-wide. Following agreement by the Cabinet a sum of £3,500,000 had subsequently been approved by the full Council. Based on the Hampshire Assessment of Maintenance Priorities (HAMP), the increased funding would enable the intervention levels for footways to be set at a level of approximately 95/97. The Chairman advised that the County Council were making considerable efforts to improve the condition of the network.

In response to Members' reference to the number of complaints they received about the personal problems caused by surface dressing, the Chief Engineer for Hampshire Highways South advised that to repair roads and thereby maintain the integrity of the network, it was the most cost effective way. Officers were aware of the short-term and long term difficulties and efforts to improve the bitumen were always being made.

In response to Councillor Gillett's comment about the superior condition of completed road surfacing on the A259 road in West Sussex, the Chief Engineer explained that the standard was achievable in Hampshire when the road condition required resurfacing as the remedial treatment. However surface dressing was used as a very low cost effective treatment for enhancing the life of the surface, but when the structural condition required it, resurfacing was carried out.

Councillor Miss Wride considered that Scratchface Lane was in a very poor condition and requested it should be included in the surface dressing programme. Officers agreed to investigate its rating level before coming to a decision.

Officers offered to circulate information on the surface dressing programmes to the district council and in forthcoming newsletters.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.


20. 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.

It was reported that the street lighting maintenance contract for 2002/03 was continuing to work well, with over 97% of street lighting in operation across the county.

Attention was drawn to the need to submit bids for the community safety initiative programme for the forthcoming financial year and Members were asked to submit their proposals in writing.

Copies of the County Council's Street Lighting Policy (second edition) document were circulated at the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.


21. CAPITAL MINOR WORKS PROGRAMMES 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 Capital Minor Works Programme for 2003/04.

Members were advised that within the Capital Minor Works Programme for 2002/03, Hulbert Road was complete, Hambledon Road was currently in progress and Northney Road was due to start the following week.

Members were asked to indicate their preference for minor works schemes in 2003/04. They requested that the A3023 Havant Road, Hayling Island scheme to provide an extension to the existing footway on the south side of the road be given priority. As referred to elsewhere on the Agenda (Item 15), Havant Borough Council had recently approved capital funding for a minor highway environmental enhancement scheme at the Purbrook Chase Precinct, Members therefore requested the proposed capital minor works scheme at Purbrook Precinct, listed in the Appendix to the report, for the removal of steps and construction of disabled ramps, be included as their second scheme to coincide with the enhancement scheme.

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) extension to footway in Havant Road, Hayling Island (south side) - £9,000; and


(ii) removal of two no. existing steps and construction of disabled ramps in Purbrook Chase Precinct - £10,000.

22. 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.

It was reported that seven schemes in the Casualty Reduction Programme had been implemented and that two schemes, the A3 London Road junction and A259/B2148 North Street roundabout had been deferred.

Councillor Mrs Blackett raised concerns about the junction of Copes Lane and Emsworth Road, Emsworth, which had been the site of four recent accidents and of the Warblington slip road with its turnings off to Havant and Emsworth. Officers noted the Councillor's comments and agreed to investigate the locations.

The Chairman stressed that where possible Members should encourage their local schools to submit their school travel plans as they would not be considered for inclusion in the Safer Routes to Schools programme.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

23. OTHER PROGRAMMES AND SCHEME STATUS REPORT

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

Councillor Mrs Blackett pointed out that Havant Bus Station was one of the busiest in Hampshire and that the proposed improvements plans had been reduced. She stressed that such a reduction would only cause further works having to be carried out in the future. The Chairman offered to meet and discuss the matter with the Councillor and officers.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

24. A3 PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORRIDOR - PROGRESS REPORT

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) advising Members of the recent developments and the current highway management issues relating to the A3 corridor phase of the South Hampshire Rapid Transit network.



Section 1 Widley to Purbrook

In response to Members' concerns about the narrowness of the path on the western side, officers agreed that the width was the minimum required but explained that prior to the implementation of the scheme, consultations were carried out and it was noted that people wished to retain the existing planting. Given that the County Council was not looking to compulsory purchase any land, a compromise was reached by maximising pedestrian features on the side with house frontages. Members noted the reasons for the decision but pointed out that it had created major safety problems for those persons using mobile wheelchairs who had now to cross and re-cross the road.

Section 2 Purbrook to Waterlooville

Members were advised that for Section 2 the utilities needed to be moved. British Telecom had advised it would take two years to move the equipment. In addition there was a problem with drainage. In view of the problems it was considered that the cheapest option would be to have underground culverts under the existing carriageway. A balancing pond would more expensive requiring pipes to be laid under the road and the utilities to be diverted. In light of the time scales involved, the technical difficulties and the cost, it was not considered feasible.

Concern was expressed by Councillor Bolton about the use of culverts as these had caused difficulties in the past by silting up and causing houses to flood. Past evidence had shown that they were not maintained and kept clear. He queried who would maintain them. The Chairman suggested that the points be raised at the Development Panel meeting where they could be discussed in detail.

Section 3 Waterlooville Town Centre

Councillor Mrs Blackett requested that to avoid confusion the reference to the Waterlooville Town Centre proposals as a temporary solution be deleted from the report. The Chairman urged that details be discussed at the next meeting of the Development Panel.

RESOLVED:

That the progress on the elements of the report be noted.

25. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS WEATHER EMERGENCIES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 12 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.

26. HAMPSHIRE HIGHWAYS ABANDONED VEHICLES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 13 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.

27. BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of the Environment (Item 14 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.

28. HAVANT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME 2002/03

The Panel considered the report of the Head Of Engineering, Havant Borough Council (Item 15 in the Minute Book) on the Traffic Management Programme for 2002/03 within the Borough.

Members were advised that the recommendations for the Community Safety Initiative lighting programme would be considered by the Borough Council's Executive at its meeting on 2 April 2003. Dependent on the outcome a request would be sent to the County Council's Executive Member for Environment for match funding.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Panel be held on Tuesday, 4 November 2003 at 2.00 p.m., at the Civic Offices, Havant Borough Council.

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