Contact: Jonathan Crabb, ext 6047 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The transport strategies for New Forest and the other three areas will form part of the next Hampshire Local Transport Plan (LTP). Hence, it is intended to develop the transport strategies for the new areas in tandem with the next LTP. These will take account of the issues carried forward from the previous area transport strategies and will provide the framework within which currently identified/new schemes and initiatives will be assessed and considered for implementation. The transport strategies will be integrated with policies formulated for the county as a whole and the region, but will also address issues at a local level.

1.2 Members are asked to comment on the approach set out in the report which envisages the adoption of the area transport strategies in spring 2005.

2. Introduction

2.1 Work is now commencing on the preparation of the second LTP to be submitted to Central Government in summer 2005. This report outlines the process and timescales for the preparation and delivery of the LTP and the Annual Progress Report (APR) (2004). The area transport strategies are the mechanism through which transport schemes and initiatives are promoted and delivered. A transport strategy will be developed for each of the four areas in Hampshire within the LTP. The development of the strategies involve the participation of the key stakeholders, including transport providers and operators as well as local authorities, the business community, interest groups, organisations and local residents.

3. Second Local Transport Plan 2006-2011

3.1 It is expected that the County Council will need to produce its second LTP by 31 July 2005. The Department for Transport (DfT) is likely to produce draft and then official guidance for the preparation of this LTP in spring and summer 2004 respectively. However, details are beginning to emerge about the new processes that will be added to the LTP, including the requirements for accessibility audits and strategic environmental assessments (discussed in section 4 below). It is likely that the broad principles will be similar to those applied to the first LTP.

3.2 The present LTP is based on the Government's five overarching policy areas relating to Integration, Economy, Environment, Safety and Accessibility. In setting out its guidance for the next LTP the Government is expected to place emphasis on measures to improve accessibility and tackle congestion.

3.3 It is intended that the following principles form the basis for the County Council's LTP:

(i) it should be a `whole of council' strategy that is owned by all parts of the Council and helps to deliver a wide range of non-transport objectives. This reflects the fact that transport contributes to most of the Council's objectives;

(ii) it should exceed Government guidance, in order to achieve a `well above average' status and number one LTP rating;

(iii) it should be developed following thorough consultation to reflect the public's needs and views;

(iv) as part of the County Council's `centre of excellence' status, that information is shared with other authorities about the steps being taken to produce the LTP, in particular the Solent Transport authorities of Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight; and

(v) the LTP strategy should be an appropriate balance of the effective delivery of core services and innovative transport solutions.

3.4 The Hampshire LTP is developed in conjunction with the LTPs of neighbouring authorities, including Dorset, Wiltshire, West Berkshire, Wokingham, Surrey, West Sussex, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. Joint working between authorities on LTPs is encouraged by Government.

3.5 A management structure and programme to deliver the LTP is being developed, which will ensure involvement of the Transport Panels at key stages of the production of the document. In particular they will be able to consider the overall vision and strategies of the LTP. The key stages in the process are likely to be as shown in Appendix 1.

4. Strategic Environmental Assessments

4.1 The preparation of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) is a requirement from Central Government that applies to a range of plans produced by the County Council, including the LTP. The objective of the SEA Directive, laid down from Europe, is to "provide a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans ... with a view to promoting sustainable development".

4.2 The SEA for the LTP needs to commence at the start of the preparation process of the document and continue to be applied through the consultation and production phases. The DfT issued draft guidance in December 2003 covering how SEA should be applied to LTPs, including the relationship with other plans, the development of objectives and indicators, identifying problems and opportunities, consideration of options and monitoring.

4.3 An officer forum has been set up to look at the implications of this Directive on the work of the Environment Department and the County Council as a whole. The forum is currently in the process of appointing external consultants to support work in this area, with the preparation of protocols. This will provide an additional resource to support the SEA work during the preparation and production of the LTP.

5. Annual Progress Report 2004

5.1 The County Council will need to consider its 4th Annual Progress Report prior to a submission to Government on 31 July 2004. Government guidance on APRs currently requires the authority to demonstrate performance against three main criteria:

(i) the effectiveness of the authority's spending programme, including how closely actual spending for the year matched its plans;

(ii) the number of schemes delivered in the year, and how closely this compared with the authority's plans for that year; and

(iii) progress against targets and performance indicators, including an assessment of which targets are on track and those which are not.

5.2 In addition to a statistical analysis of these three points, the APR will provide a commentary on spending, scheme delivery and performance targets. Where targets are not being met, the commentary explains why and what the authority has done, or is planning to do, to rectify the situation.

6. Relationship with Community Strategies

6.1 Community Strategies are at the heart of the Government's inclusion and delivery agenda. They are seen as the practical tool for councils and their partners to ensure the economic, social and environmental well-being of the community. Increasingly they are promoted by Government as the basis for dealing with life-style matters such as accessibility. They are expected to be dynamic documents dealing with current issues within a long-term framework. Their action plans need to be flexible in order to respond promptly to changing circumstances. Not surprisingly, traffic and congestion feature highly in the issues identified in Community Strategies.

6.2 It is important to link the aims and objectives of Community Strategies with those of the LTP. The issues that they seek to address are similar. They share a common feature in the importance both processes attach to community involvement and partnership working.

7. Developing the Area Transport Strategies

7.1 Government guidance on producing the next round of LTPs has not yet been published. However, indications are that the approach taken by the County Council for its current LTP will continue to be welcomed. Each of the previous area transport strategies formed, in effect, a mini LTP covering its area, taking into account local views and circumstances.

7.2 As a first step each transport strategy will need to determine a vision for the area so that the policies and initiatives can have direction. Objectives will need to be determined although these can, to some extent, be updated from those for the former areas.

7.3 The involvement of stakeholders in addition to local authorities is a vital element in the preparation of a strategy. These are likely to include:

(i) transport infrastructure providers (eg Highways Agency, Network Rail);

(ii) interest groups (eg cycling and walking organisations);

(iii) business interests (eg Hampshire Economic Partnership, commuter forums, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, town centre managers);

(iv) public transport operators (rail, bus and ferry operators);

(v) freight interests (eg local operators, Freight Transport Association); and

(vi) representatives of disabled people, residents associations, parish councils, developers, health authorities, schools, etc.

7.4 Realistic targets will need to be set with appropriate, measurable performance indicators. A monitoring framework will need to be determined so that data can be provided for the performance indicators. This monitoring will need to include information from a range of transport and economic sources as well as attitude surveys where possible. Base data for the area will be consolidated so that future changes, trends and the impacts of policies can be demonstrated.

7.5 As the strategy is developed, a programme of measures will need to be agreed. This will include a range of schemes to support the objectives of the strategy that will be assessed to indicate priorities. The programme will need to include initiatives to promote alternatives to car use in addition to physical schemes. A five year outline of proposed measures will need to be determined so that the funding from both LTP and external sources can be identified in the County Council's capital programme. Once the shape of the programme has been determined, then individual measures can be taken forward through the process of feasibility studies, surveys, design and implementation.

7.6 The inclusion of the area transport strategies in the LTP will require them to be agreed in early 2005, and therefore initial drafts should be considered in autumn 2004. Consultation with stakeholders and the wider public is required prior to submission. In order to complete the initial draft, work will commence in spring 2004 with the views of the main contributors being invited at an early stage. The LTP process envisages extensive dialogue on the area transport strategies and on specific themes, eg bus services, freight, school travel, etc, and this will be reflected in the development of the area strategies.

7.7 The area transport strategies form one layer in a hierarchy of plans. At a regional level, the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) will set the direction for land use and transport planning across the South East (these were discussed further under Agenda item 5). LTPs are expected to conform with the RTS.

7.8 The area transport strategies should be strongly related to development plans, either ongoing Local Plans or emerging Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). This will ensure the integration of transport and land use considerations. The Regional Spatial Strategy will supersede Structure Plans and the direction for LDFs.

7.9 Within each strategy area, specific policies and initiatives for key settlements/areas or route corridors will be carried forward or developed.

8. Base Data and Targets

8.1 The LTP requires the setting of a range of targets against which progress is reported annually. These need to be considered in the context of the revised strategy areas, particularly where there are urban concentrations - maintaining distinct targets for some smaller areas may be appropriate within wider areas. Regular monitoring is a requirement of the LTP and the requirements are being extended, where possible, to include all modes of transport and related economic and social indicators. These requirements, and the regular cycle of Transpol household questionnaire surveys and other attitude surveys, need a considerable resource input.

8.2 Traffic data for major routes is shown in Appendix 2. This indicates that on the trunk road network there are significant flows, particularly on the M3 towards London, with increasing demands in recent years. The A34(T) has the highest growth in Hampshire over the past five years from around 29,000 vehicles per day near Whitchurch in 1997 to around 41,000 in 2002. The A3 and A303(T) also demonstrate high growth in recent years.

8.3 On county roads, while there are a few examples where traffic levels have declined slightly, most have increased although to a lesser extent than the trunk road network. The highest flows in the area include the A31 Bentley Bypass (around 19,700 vehicles per day) and the A325 at Bordon (around 17,900).

9. Key Issues and Actions from the Former Transport Strategy Areas

9.1 Many of the key objectives and themes from the former area transport strategies will be carried forward to the new areas for consistency. A number of themes have emerged for New Forest that will need to be considered within the new arrangements including the following:

(i) National Park designation;

(ii) Accessibility; and

(iii) Tourism

10. South West Regional Strategy

10.1 Work has just started on a South East Dorset Sub-Regional Study, looking ahead to 2026. An officer team has been set up and a Member Steering Group is to be established. This Sub-Regional Study will input to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West, of which a draft is to be prepared by the end of this year. No area has yet been defined for the South East Dorset Sub-Regional Study but it will focus on the Bournemouth/Poole area together with adjacent areas, including the adjoining part of New Forest District. The outputs will include a spatial development framework for the area, a sub-regional transportation strategy and an implementation plan.

11. Conclusion

11.1 The development of revised area transport strategies provides an opportunity to consider issues on a wider basis in tandem with the preparation of the Hampshire LTP. While the former areas have been amalgamated, specific issues will be considered in the new strategies ready for inclusion in the next LTP in 2005. To achieve this, initial work to draft the strategies will take place prior to the autumn 2004 meeting of the Panel.

Recommendation

That the Panel endorses the approach and timetable of developing strategies for the newly established transport strategy areas.

8680/JC

APPENDIX 1

LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN DRAFT PREPARATION PROGRAMME

APPENDIX 2

All Day, All Vehicles, Two Way Traffic Flows (24 hour Annual Average 7 day, Daily Totals)

New Forest