AT A MEETING of HAVANT HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORT ADVISORY PANEL of Hampshire County Council held at The Civic Offices, Havant Borough Council, Havant on Wednesday, 24 March 2004.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: K.B. Estlin (Chairman); E.F. Gale; R.C. McIntosh; Mrs V. Steele; Miss J. Wride

Havant Borough Council

Councillors: Mrs G.V. Blackett, R.A. Bolton; K.M. Moss; N.J. Tarrant

43. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

44. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

45. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no communications.

46. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

47. REVISED ROLES OF THE PANELS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book) which considered the revised roles of the Panels, the scope of the new Highway and Transport Advisory Panels and their relationship with the area transport panels.

The Director of Environment reported on the revised terms of reference and scope of the new Highway and Transport Advisory Panels and advised that the Panel would now have greater responsibility for advising the Executive Members for Environment and Spatial Strategy on the implementation of all transport schemes. He explained that the four new Area Transport Strategy Panels, which had been set up in line with the Government's Regional Spatial Strategy, would be responsible for setting medium term strategies and share views on the priorities within these strategies.

The Chairman was disappointed to hear that no nominations had been received from the Local Strategic Partnership to sit on the Panel. He expressed the hope that representatives would come forward to participate in the partnership approach to addressing local issues.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

48. ALLOCATION OF THE HIGHWAY STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE BUDGET AND ASSESSMENT OF HIGHWAY CONDITION

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) which outlined the process for allocating the highway structural maintenance budget using current condition measurement techniques, and summarised the indicators used for assessing the condition of the network.

The Director of Environment explained that the County Council had historically used the Highway Assessment of Maintenance Priorities (HAMP) a visual assessment scheme to prioritise individual schemes for structural maintenance. The higher rated schemes indicated a greater need for maintenance. Inclusion of the lower rated schemes in the programme of works was dependent upon the budget allocation. New systems had started to be developed and in future these would allow the authority to assess the condition of the entire network and make comparisons with other authorities. Early indications were that the level of deterioration in the highway network had been halted. Members noted that an additional £3.5 million had been granted for highway maintenance for 2003/04 and that a similar sum would be made available for 2004/05. A Government grant of £1 million had been allocated to deal with the problems caused by clay shrinkage, and the majority of the grant would be allocated to those parts of the county worst affected in the east and north-east.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

49. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE PROGRAMMES 2003/04 AND 2004/05

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) which informed Members of the progress made on the 2003/04 Highway Maintenance Programme and the details of the Highways Maintenance Programme and Budget for 2004/05.

The Director of Environment reported that all the schemes in the 2003/04 special maintenance programme had been completed except for Malwood Close which had been delayed due to work being carried out by Transco.

A Member expressed concern about the condition of Oaklands Road, off Bellair Road and in response to concerns by local residents it was requested that details of the 2004/05 special maintenance programme be made available to local Members in advance of the work so they c an be in a position to alert residents.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

50. CAPITAL MINOR WORKS PROGRAMMES 2003/04 AND 2004/05

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the progress made with the 2003/04 Capital Minor Works Programme and on the details of the 2004/05 Capital Minor Works Programme.

After much consideration of the current under £10,000 schemes in the Havant area, Members indicated their preference for the Capital Minor Works Schemes in 2004/05.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Environment be advised that the following schemes, listed in order of priority, be included in the Capital Minor Works Programme for 2004/05:

(i) Beaulieau Avenue, Warren Park (£5,000);

(ii) A259 North Street Subway, Emsworth (£4,000); and

(iii) A259 Havant Road, Emsworth (£10,000).

51. STREET LIGHTING PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the current position on street lighting maintenance, column replacement, community safety initiative and the purchase of energy from April 2004 onwards.

The Director of Environment informed the Members that 99% of street lights were on at any time, however the contractor was currently experiencing some difficulty in keeping up with the level of work and some lights were off longer than the stipulated 5 days. Members noted that the new energy contract would provide for 100% green energy and that the cost overall had increased by 20%, although this reflected the general increase in industry prices.

Members were advised that the three street lighting schemes in the Havant area for 2003/04 would be completed by the end of March and a further three schemes were programmed for 2004/05. As next year's budget had not yet been fully allocated the Chairman invited Members to consider proposing additional bids for Community Safety lighting schemes.

In response to Members' particular concerns about the poor condition of many of the street lighting columns, the Chairman concurred and advised that the County Council was currently considering making a representation to the Government for additional funding to overcome the problem. Officers noted Members individual concerns.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

52. TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME 2003/04 AND 2004/05

The Panel considered the report of the Head of Technical Services, Havant Borough Council (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the traffic management programme to be undertaken by Havant Borough Council in the Havant area for 2003/04 and 2004/05.

Members were informed that in respect of the Havant to Warblington cycleway, the County and Borough Council were in the process of holding discussions with Network Rail and with Warblington School concerning access and security arrangements. The cycleway could meet with the improved Hayling Billy route, and would in turn link with the Rail Station and the Southleigh Road cycle route. It was hoped that some progress on this matter could be brought to the next meeting of the Panel. In response a Member's concern that the Purbrook Way cycleway was subject to flooding and at times impassable due to flooding, the Director of Environment advised that the problem was not just due to blocked drains and could cost in the region of £60,000 to rectify.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

53. CASUALTY REDUCTION PROGRAMME AND SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL CAPITAL PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) on the progress made on the Casualty Reduction Programme and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Safety Camera Partnership and the Safer Routes to School programme.

The Director of Environment outlined the report and updated Members on the progress of the schemes in the Low Cost Casualty Reduction Programme 2003/04. The A3 London Road junction with Lovedean Lane was awaiting anti-skid treatment, the C248 Emsworth Road junction with the C240 Southleigh Road and Pook Lane required changes to the signals and would be completed within the first quarter of the 2004/05 financial year. The B2149 Park Road south scheme was completed on 22 March 2004. Further funding had enabled additional schemes to be implemented at locations across Hampshire with a record of high severity casualties. Together with other improvements, the early signs were that the County Council was on target to meet the 40 per cent reduction by 2010 as required by the Government. It was too early to state that fixed cameras had been of benefit in casualty reduction terms, however there had been a considerable reduction in vehicular speeds at many of the camera sites. A copy of the Safety Camera Partnership Newsletter 2002/03 was circulated to Members for information.

Particular attention was drawn to the need for schools to produce school travel plans, the purpose of which was to encourage children to walk, cycle or use public transport in travelling to and from school. The plans helped to identify child safety problems and assisted in determining those infrastructure measures which might be needed to ensure travel plans were successful in meeting their objectives. The Chairman urged Members to speak to local schools in their areas to encourage them to submit school travel plans. Officers were advised that residents had complained about a parking problem at the Queens Enclosure Primary School. The Department of Education and Science had made considerable grants available to support School Travel Plan led schemes. He suggested that with the permission of schools already participating in the scheme copies of their plans be circulated to interested schools as a guide in compiling their own travel plans.

Members noted the following amendment in Appendix 4 to the report : St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School's bid for the Safer Routes to School scheme should read `2004/05' and not `1003/04' as listed.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

54. PROGRESS UPDATE ON SCHEMES IN THE CAPITAL PROGRAMME

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) which outlined the progress made on transport schemes within the 2003/04 and 2004/05 Capital Programme previously approved for implementation within the Havant area.

The Director of Environment amplified the report answered Members' detailed questions.

The Chairman advised that the Leigh Park `Cango' bus scheme would be withdrawn due to very low patronage, which during its operation had amounted to a subsidy of £20 per each passenger journey. The Havant Quality Bus Partnership service 21 had proved to be a more popular alternative.

RESOLVED:

That the progress made on schemes in the Transport Capital Programme be noted and the schemes approved for inclusion in the Capital Programme for 2004/05 be supported.

55. OTHER HIGHWAY RELATED PROGRAMMES

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 13 in the Minute Book) on the programmes for Regeneration of Older Urban Areas, the Intelligent Transport Systems and Bridgeworks.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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

It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Tuesday, 2 November 2004 at the Civic Offices, Havant Borough Council.

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