Contact: John Buckett, ext 6599 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report discusses the draft Local Transport Plan (LTP) guidance received from the Department for Transport (DfT) and the procedural timetable issues that need to be addressed to produce a good LTP by the deadline of 29 July 2005.

1.2 A draft timetable is put forward which is intended to enable proper engagement to be carried out with Area Transport Strategy Panels, individual district councils, local strategic partnerships and other key stakeholders.

2. Local Transport Plan Guidance

2.1 The County Council's new LTP, covering the period 2006 to 2011, is required to be submitted to the Government by 29 July 2005.

2.2 Draft LTP guidance was received from the Government on 2 August 2004. It contains 70 pages of advice, plus annexes and reference lists. Responses to this consultation are required by 8 October 2004 and final guidance is expected to be issued in November.

2.3 A summary of the main points of the guidance is included in the attached appendix. While there may well be some changes incorporated in its final version, the timetable is such that it is necessary to begin the production process in earnest now, rather than wait until final guidance is issued.

3. Timetable

3.1 The LTP to be published in July is required to include:

(i) an analysis of problems and opportunities;

(ii) a longer term strategy set within a wide policy context;

(iii) county-wide (and other) targets showing what the County Council and its partners intend to achieve in the five year period 2005/06 to 2010/11; and

(iv) proposed programmes of capital investment and other measures.

3.2 The overall objectives for Hampshire's LTP are proposed to be the same as the corporate objectives, seeking to develop the quality of life for everyone by:

(i) maximising life opportunities;

(ii) stewardship of the environment;

(iii) achieving economic prosperity;

(iv) building strong and safe communities;

(v) improving services; and

(vi) developing Councillors and staff.

3.3 These objectives need to be presented in a form required by the DfT, with particular reference to the four priorities it has agreed with the Local Government Association:

(i) Tackling Congestion;

(ii) Safety;

(iii) Accessibility; and

(iv) Air Quality.

3.4 It is proposed that the following timetable is adopted for Transport Strategy Panels' formal contribution to the LTP:

Autumn Panel Meetings Agree timetable

(this meeting) Consider key policy issues

Special January Meetings Consider outline LTP

Report on accessibility planning

Report on environmental assessment

Approve area priorities

March 2005 Meetings Report on consultation

Approve draft area programmes

Consider draft document

3.5 The views of Panels would then be presented to the Environment Policy Review Committee and the Executive Member for Environment, and the final text approved as a corporate Hampshire County Council document.

3.6 It is intended that the new LTP will not become frozen at its publication date, like its predecessor, but will continue to be developed beyond that date. A modular format is proposed which will enable readers to select areas of the county or topics that they are particularly interested in, rather than wading through what will inevitably be a large document.

4. Consultation and Joint Working

4.1 Consultation will take many forms but the main areas will be:

(i) Strategic Environmental Assessment - formal consultation with key environmental and other interested parties required under new legislation at each stage of the preparation process. First (scoping study) consultation in October 2004.

(ii) Consultation with District Councils - initial discussions already held with officers to be followed up by discussions with Councillors between November and January.

(iii) Consultation with Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) - special meetings to be sought early in 2005 with all LSPs on the Local Transport Plans and in particular their community strategies, and the Accessibility Planning agenda. Each LSP is required to produce a community strategy for its area, which is designed to identify local priorities, and the LTP will be written to address and incorporate these priorities where appropriate. An initial Accessibility Audit exercise is expected to be carried out in December, which will identify problem areas in terms of people's ability to access employment, education, health and shopping facilities. This is subject to the computer software packages being developed and delivered in time by the Government.

(iv) Other stakeholders - there will be consultation with business and other transport interests in various ways, including the Solent Transport Partnership in that area, as well as regular liaison with government and regional agencies and neighbouring authorities.

(v) Joint Working with Portsmouth and Southampton - there is a very strong case for joint working with the two cities on certain aspects of the LTP. The DfT requires congestion related indicators and targets covering the larger urban areas in the country (including greater Portsmouth and greater Southampton). Officers from the three authorities will produce a report setting out how a joint approach might work, for the January meetings cycle.

Recommendation

That the Executive Member for Environment be advised of the Panel's agreement with the timetable set out in Section 3 of this report and the proposed consultation arrangements set out in Section 4.

9032/JWB

APPENDIX

LTP Draft Guidance Main Points

The guidance identifies four new principles for LTPs in that they should

· set transport in a wider context (and for LTP objectives in the longer term through transport strategies)

· set locally relevant targets for outcome indicators

· identify the best value-for-money solutions to deliver those targets

· set trajectories for key targets (to aid assessment).

Other changes from the current LTP are:

· The `shared priorities' for local transport which are tackling congestion, accessibility, road safety and air quality are to become the focus for targets.

· There will be new formula-derived spending guidelines indicating approximate funding levels available which the authority should use as a basis for its investment programme.

· There are new requirements for consistency with Regional Strategies and guidance on cross-boundary working.

· New requirements to produce Accessibility Strategies.

· Incorporation of Air Quality Action Plans and Rights of Way Improvement Plans.

· Reference to the Transport Asset Management Plan Report.

· The requirement to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment exercise throughout the plan preparation period.

· While not specifically mentioned in the draft guidance, the final guidance is expected to contain reference to the Traffic Management Act 2004 which establishes new obligations on transport authorities, including the need to appoint `Traffic Managers'.