Contact: Frank Baxter, ext 6581 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report provides an update on key issues relating to the North Hampshire Transport Strategy area. These are considered to be:

(i) Safer Routes to School;

(ii) Hampshire Safety Camera Partnership;

(iii) Cycling;

(iv) Congestion;

(v) Rail issues update

- Chineham Station Update

- AirTrack;

(vi) Update on the Basingstoke Local Plan;

(vii) Large Development Areas in Basingstoke - Progress Report;

(viii) Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban Extension;

(ix) Blackwater Valley Network Public Transport Bus Strategy;

(x) A325/A30 Route 1 Corridor Phase III; and

(xi) Fleet Town Centre.

2. Safer Routes to School

2.1 The Safer Routes to School Programme is delivered through individual School Travel Plans. The TRANSPOL survey for Basingstoke revealed that over 40% of all morning peak traffic was related to the school run suggesting that tackling this issue could form a significant role in future strategies. In Hart and Rushmoor the TRANSPOL survey showed that the proportion of children being driven to school has risen from 53% in 1995 to 59% in 2001. The aims of the programme are to:

(i) reduce unnecessary car trips to school and encourage parents, pupils, teachers and visitors to travel to and from schools in safer, healthier and more environmentally sustainable ways;

(ii) improve the safety of the journey to and from school;

(iii) reduce the number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties; and

(iv) promote educational and practical opportunities for young people to determine changes to their own environment and travel habits and therefore raise awareness of transport, sustainability and health.

2.2 It is the County Council's intention to require all Safer Routes to School schemes from the 2004/05 financial year to be associated with the development and publication of School Travel Plans by the directly affected schools. This approach will ensure that schools as well as their pupils, parents and carers will fully benefit from the infrastructure measures installed. These include offering improved levels of child travel safety together with opportunities for increased levels of cycling, walking and passenger transport usage.

2.3 The full list of schemes comprising the 2004/05 Safer Routes to School programme has not yet been set; it will be reported to the HTAPs at their autumn round of meetings.

3. Hampshire Safety Camera Partnership

3.1 The 2002/03 Annual Review of the Hampshire Safety Camera Partnership will be made available to Members at the meeting. A report will be presented to all the HTAPs on those cameras currently operational as well as the future installation programme. Approval has to be sought from the Department for Transport (DfT) for the placement of fixed safety speed cameras and locations have to accord fully with the Government's camera conspicuity criteria.

4. Cycling

4.1 The County Council continues to work closely with district councils to implement a programme of priority cycling facilities throughout Hampshire as part of area transport strategy delivery programmes, the casualty reduction engineering programme and in association with the Safer Routes to School and School Travel Plan initiatives. The County Council has forged a strong working partnership with Hampshire Cycling and the Hampshire Association for the Care of the Blind, ensuring early consultation over matters of cycling strategy and subsequent scheme design and delivery.

4.2 In June 2002 the County Council launched a dedicated cycling website with the aim of providing a comprehensive one-stop shop for cycling information in Hampshire. The website includes information on routes, events, publications and safety, with a facility for free downloading of route information and maps. The site is constantly evolving and improvements to the content and navigation are planned for 2003/04. The number of visitors to the homepage is currently around 2,000 each month.

5. Congestion

5.1 Traffic congestion has been growing as a consequence of increased car ownership and car usage in recent years. Recent studies have shown that traffic levels in Hampshire are continuing to grow (2% per year on Motorways and Trunk Roads and 1% per year on Local (county) roads). While motorways and trunk roads are controlled by the Highways Agency it is clear that the two road systems should not be managed in isolation. Congestion in Hampshire is found:

(i) on motorways and trunk roads;

(ii) on approaches to motorways and trunk roads; and

(iii) in and approaching urban areas.

5.2 The DfT recognises congestion (together with access to services, safety and air quality) as a major issue to tackle in the next Local Transport Plans (LTPs) to be submitted in 2005. It will invite authorities to set out its plans to address congestion including through capacity improvements and measures to reduce car use (by encouraging public transport, walking and cycling, travel plans, behavioural change and demand management). The DfT is going to release information derived from vehicles using Geographical Positioning Systems to allow objective monitoring of congestion to be introduced and used in the formulation of LTP proposals.

5.3 In the shorter term officers have carried out initial studies into perceived congestion `hotspots'. The assessment of these problems will be addressed in the LTP and Area Transport Strategy development programmes.

6. Rail Issues Update

Chineham Station

6.1 Hampshire County Council commissioned Laing Rail to conduct a feasibility study for Chineham Station and coordinate liaison work with the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and Network Rail. Laing Rail was commissioned to investigate previously identified timetable constraints and, through its existing contacts within the industry, to provide input to the SRA's strategic planning process so that Chineham Station could be included in future plans for the rail network.

6.2 Timetable studies showed that the project was feasible and that additional proposals for a station near to Reading were compatible with the Chineham Station proposal. Chineham Station now figures in the SRA's `Single List of Enhancements'. Listing here is a necessary pre-requisite to allow integration of timetable development work specific to the Basingstoke- Reading route within wider ongoing SRA processes.

6.3 It is clear that, with a clutch of major SRA strategic studies and franchise developments affecting the Basingstoke-Reading line under way (Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy, South Coast-Midlands Freight Strategy, the Greater Western franchise), a unique window of opportunity exists to take forward the Chineham Station project. The next stage is to develop the business case.

AirTrack

6.4 The AirTrack scheme represents a major initiative providing improved rail access to Heathrow Airport from the south with new direct links from London Waterloo and stations such as Guildford, Woking and Reading. AirTrack has been promoted over several years by a Forum led by Surrey County Council and comprising local authorities in the region, including Hampshire County Council, business interests, community organisations and SEEDA. Representatives of British Airways, Transport for London and the Heathrow Airport Consultative Panel sit on the Forum.

6.5 AirTrack would operate on the existing rail network but with a new connection linking the Windsor Line with Terminal Five and a vital new chord providing a direct link between two existing lines (to Windsor and Virginia Water) in Staines town centre, together with new station facilities at the Terminal. The `base case' AirTrack scheme comprises three lines, each operating to Terminal Five at Heathrow from:

(i) London Waterloo, with intermediate stops at Clapham Junction, Richmond, Twickenham and Staines;

(ii) Guildford with stops at Woking, Chertsey and Staines; and

(iii) Reading with stops at Wokingham, Bracknell and Staines.

6.6 The AirTrack Forum commissioned in 2003 prepared an Outline Business Case (OBC) for the AirTrack scheme. This OBC is due to be submitted this month to the SRA in order for it to be considered for the SRA's future development programme. The OBC produced very healthy economic benefits and presented a robust case for its consideration by the SRA.

6.7 Should AirTrack go ahead then the Reading and Guildford corridors stand to experience large travel time savings with the benefits extending to various locations along the rail lines, particularly from Reading and Woking, with Basingstoke and Oxford also enjoying large time savings. Destinations along the Portsmouth line would also experience reduced journey times.

7. Update on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council - Revised Deposit Draft Local Plan Review 1996-2001

7.1 The Borough Council published the Revised Deposit Draft Local Plan Review for a six week consultation period during November/December 2003. Around 500 responses were received (many of which contained a large number of individual representations), with the key issues of concern being:

(i) extension of the plan period to 2016 and associated issues resulting from this, including the increase in housing numbers. Comments specifically refer to the uncertainty about housing numbers and the fact that there is no regional or strategic figure to cover this period at a Borough level;

(ii) identification of land to the west of Basingstoke as a firm proposal in the plan and the need to use brownfield sites in preference to this large greenfield allocation;

(iii) various suggestions that other sites should be used, or re-phased, including Old Kempshott Lane and various employment sites in and around Basingstoke; and

(iv) on-going objections to the Local Plan from the Highways Agency, Thames Water and the Environment Agency, which are currently under discussion with those organisations.

7.2 All responses received are in the process of being reported to the appropriate Borough Council committees, followed by reports to its Cabinet on 30 March 2004 and Council on 15 April 2004. These reports will include the Borough Council's suggested responses to the comments received and details of any pre-inquiry changes that the Council may wish to make. As yet, it is not known if any pre-inquiry changes will need to be made. It is possible that the Borough Council may wish to re-examine the issue of employment land, and is currently awaiting the completion of a report by Vail Williams into the availability of employment land in the Borough over the course of the plan period.

7.3 Following this it is proposed to discuss all unresolved issues at the Local Plan Inquiry, which is due to commence in September of this year.

7.4 With the exception of the inclusion of the Major Development Area, there are no additional allocated sites in the Local Plan Review. The allocation given to Skippetts House in Basingstoke has been amended, such that it is no longer a designated employment area, having been identified as a mixed employment/residential scheme including approximately 100 dwellings. Two small greenfield sites have been removed, due to issues surrounding water supply and sewerage infrastructure.

7.5 Draft Development Frameworks were published alongside the Revised Deposit Local Plan, and were available for comment over the same time period. It is proposed that comments received on these documents will be reported to the Borough Council's Cabinet in March, with a view to adopting these during the spring. These will form the basis of the Borough Council's evidence at the forthcoming Local Plan Inquiry.

8. Major Development in the North East Transport Strategy Area - Progress Report

Land North of Popley, Popley Fields and the John Hunt School Site

8.1 These are three of the key sites included in the Adopted North Basingstoke Action Plan. These are identified in the Revised Deposit Local Plan for a combined minimum total of 1,950 dwellings, including the provision of a mixed use local centre, further employment land, a replacement secondary school and further community facilities and open space.

8.2 With regard to the transport implications of these proposals, negotiations are well under way, in accordance with the aspirations agreed between the local authorities and the developers. It is anticipated that a package of measures, including junction improvements, traffic calming and the provision of facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, will be agreed prior to consent being given to the developments.

Major Development Area to West Basingstoke (Manydown)

8.3 The Borough Council published a Draft Development Framework for the site in November 2003, which was available for consultation alongside the Revised Deposit Local Plan. This sets out the principles for developing the site, and includes an examination of the site characteristics, such as the existing access arrangements, and goes on to look at the scale and type of uses that could be accommodated.

8.4 In response to this, the landowners of the site have submitted to the Borough Council a design document, which adds further detail to the Draft Development Framework. In light of the size and complexity of the site, it is likely that further work on the site will continue in the lead-up to the Local Plan Inquiry, later this year.

8.5 In terms of the required number of units to be accommodated in the Major Development Area, the Local Plan identifies an estimated need for 4,400 dwellings in the period 2011-2016, of which 3,100 are expected to be located on greenfield sites. However, in the longer-term, it is estimated that the site could potentially accommodate up to 8,000 dwellings in sustainable, self-contained neighbourhoods of at least 2,000 dwellings, with appropriate community facilities and small employment uses.

8.6 Detailed negotiations are expected between the local planning authority, the highways authority and the Highways Agency in relation to these proposals. Furthermore, these parties will be in discussion regarding the Highways Agency's objection to the Local Plan.

9. Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban Extension

9.1 Project Connaught was last reported on 8 October 2003 to the former North East Hampshire Area Transportation Strategy Panel. The Panel was informed of the Enquiry by Design (EbD) process. This involves bringing together public agencies, development partners, local groups and other stakeholders led by independent designers/facilitators to prepare illustrative development options. This exercise took place in December 2003.

9.2 Since the EbD meeting in December a steering group, including the County Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, the Defence Estates and other partners, has been set up to agree a way forward. This will include a public consultation in spring 2004 and a revision of the existing Supplementary Planning Guidance. The County Council will formally comment on the two documents through the Environment Policy Review Committee, followed by a decision from the Executive Member for Spatial Strategy.

9.3 Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban Extension has the potential to help finance a step change in bus provision in the area as part of an overall package of transport measures. A key issue to consider, as the proposals evolve, is the implications of the development for other programmes of work. The existence of the development proposals will require careful consideration and coordination of future transport related schemes and programmes. In principle, any schemes implemented in the short-term should not conflict with the evolving proposals for Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban Extension.

9.4 Hence it will be necessary to integrate short-term schemes with a vision for the wider area, linked to the development proposals as they evolve. The Capital Programme as agreed is unlikely to be adversely affected by the evolving proposals. In particular, North Camp is likely to benefit from improved bus services.

9.5 The new Local Transport Plan (LTP) process will develop integrated transport proposals for 2006-11. It is essential that the LTP programme transport infrastructure required to facilitate this development ties in with the evolving vision for Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban Extension.

10. The Blackwater Valley Network - Public Transport Implementation Plan

10.1 The Blackwater Valley Network of local authorities is developing a public transport implementation strategy for the shorter term (2004-2011) that recognises the future implications of Project Connaught and the Aldershot Urban. It will promote a range of measures, including bus stop improvements, real-time information and bus priority measures that the various authorities can develop through current programmes and the next round of Local Transport Plans. The strategy is currently being developed by officers and it is expected that it will be consulted on through the Blackwater Valley Network, the results of which will be reported to this Panel at a later date.

11. A325/A30 Route 1 Corridor Phase III

11.1 The first phase of this scheme, involving bus priority, maintenance, street lighting, road safety and cycle measures in Rushmoor Borough, was substantially completed in August 2003. `After' monitoring of the scheme's success is due to take place in April, when equipment at traffic signal junctions giving priority to buses has become operational. Hackney carriages are permitted to use the bus lanes under an experimental traffic order. A decision on it becoming a permanent order will be made after the results of the ongoing monitoring have been assessed. These results will be reported to Members in due course.

11.2 Phase II of the schemes involves bus priority measures along the A30 London Road within Surrey. These works are starting this month.

11.3 For Phase III of the A325/A30 Route 1 Corridor bus improvements (now proposed to be renamed `Blackwater Valley Quality Bus Partnership') consideration is to be given to the development of Real-Time Information (RTI) (to link with neighbouring authority RTI programmes), and bus stop upgrades and enhancements and improvements that might be made in Aldershot town centre to improve bus access, patronage and the pedestrian environment. Consideration will also be given to possible priority measures. It will be necessary to ensure that the proposals developed add value and complement future potential developments, such as the Aldershot Urban Extension.

12. Fleet Town Centre Update

12.1 The scheme is for major improvements to be made to the Fleet Road corridor in the town centre. The scheme is expected to cost up to £2.6 million, of which £2.2 million is funded from developer contributions. The legal agreement associated with the developer contributions requires the money to be spent by the time the 1,700th dwelling is constructed. On the basis of the current rate of build it can be expected that this might be as soon as two years time.

12.2 The County Council is currently carrying out the detailed scheme design and consultation in close cooperation with Hart District Council. Several liaison meetings have been held with District Council Members and officers. Meetings have also been held with the Fleet Town Centre Management Group, business representatives and a local access group. Further consultation and liaison is continuing, including a presentation to interested Members and senior officers.

12.3 A project appraisal is proposed to be submitted in May 2004. The works are currently programmed to commence on site in early 2005. However, implementation in line with the tight timescale will require outstanding issues of rear servicing, car park access, provision and alterations to be resolved. This includes the extension of, and a new access to, Church Street Car Park and alterations to Victoria Road Car Park, including the construction of a rear service road.

Recommendation

That progress on the matters presented in this report be noted.

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