REPORT OF THE

EXECUTIVE MEMBER

ENVIRONMENT

PART II

LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN - ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2003

1. Although the County Council is no longer required to produce an Annual Progress Report (APR) for the Local Transport Plan (LTP) as a result of being awarded `Excellent' status from the Government's first Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) in 2002, it is considered good practice to monitor and manage performance of the (LTP). The APR is the main mechanism for reporting back to Central Government on the implementation of the LTP and progress made in working towards national and local objectives and targets. Therefore, the County Council submitted its third APR to the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and the Department for Transport (DfT) on 31 July 2003.

2. 2002/03 was considered an exceptional year with regard to programme delivery for integrated transport with substantial progress having been made. There was a total of £22.7 million investment in integrated transport, including £7 million in support of bus travel, £2 million on casualty reduction schemes, £4 million on cycling and walking and £800,000 on safer routes to schools. In addition, there was substantial investment in highways maintenance and bridges. A total of £23.5 million of capital funding was spent from credit approvals and the County Council's own resources, and this included the completion of the flooding damage remedial programme.

3. Key schemes that were undertaken during 2002/03 were:-

· completion of Stage 1 of the A3 bus priority corridor in Havant;


· commencement of main contract works on the Route 1 bus project in
the Blackwater Valley;


· increasing investment in bus quality partnerships and passenger
information systems;


· a further 76 improvements at accident sites produced by the `low cost'
schemes safety programme;


· improvements at Winchester rail station for bus integration and
pedestrian access;


· re-opening of Chandlers Ford Railway Station in May 2003 (developer
and County Council investment) providing direct local rail services to
Eastleigh and Southampton;


· a personalised journey planning project (DfT sponsored) underway
with four employers in Winchester.

4. The APR also highlighted other key areas/achievements:-

· launch of the Solent Transport Partnership demonstrating the County
Council's approach to working in partnership with other authorities,
key stakeholders and the community to develop initiatives to promote
new services and changes in travel behaviour;


· progress against Core Performance Indicators, Public Services
Agreement (PSA) targets and the County Council's own headline
targets;


· progress of the Light Rapid Transit project (Fareham-Gosport-
Portsmouth) towards a 2004 start date, with investment of £1 million
during the year.

5. In order to continue to demonstrate best practice, the County Council intends to carry on the process of preparing annual progress reports and a new Local Transport Plan covering the period 2006-2011.

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