AT A MEETING of the CENTRAL HAMPSHIRE TRANSPORT STRATEGY PANEL held on Tuesday 14 June 2005 at The Castle, Winchester.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors: T. G. Knight (Chairman); A. Carew; Mrs P. Dickens; M. Kemp-Gee;

R. Perry.

East Hampshire District Council

Councillors: R. Ayer; A. B. Chick; Mrs J. J. Gray; A. Ludlow.

Test Valley Borough Council

Councillors: R. J. Bailey; A. Hope; T. M. Southern.

Winchester City Council

Councillors: Mrs G. M. C. Busher; P. Davies.

Also present: Councillor Jackie Porter and Councillor Charlotte Bailey.

1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believe they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

2. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 1 March 2005 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

3. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no Chairman's communications.

4. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

5. LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN UPDATE

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 5 in the

Minute Book) outlining the progress and timetable, vision, structure, programme and targets associated with the Local Transport Plan (LTP) together with a note of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The Director of Environment emphasised that the current report was essentially an update and that the LTP itself provided a greater depth of information on, in particular, strategic direction and the full version would be submitted to the Panel in October

During the course of the full discussion which ensued, the officers answered detailed Member questions on a range of issues, including road user charging, ways and means of encouraging modal shifts from car to public transport, including ongoing discussions with bus and rail operators; and different approaches to the tackling of congestion problems, including School Travel Plans.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and that the various points raised by Members in discussion be noted for further action as appropriate.

6. LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN SCHEMES ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 6 in the

Minute Book) on feedback on consultation on the proposed methodology for the assessment and prioritisation of potential Local Transport Plan (LTP) schemes.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Panel notes the comments received on consultation on the proposed

scheme assessment framework, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

(b) That the Panel notes the comments received on the consultation on the

proposed scheme assessment framework, as set out in Appendix 1 of the

report and advises the Executive Member for Environment that it endorses the

responses suggested therein.

7. DRAFT AREA STRATEGY LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN SECTIONS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (item 7 in the

Minute Book) on the draft text being prepared for the Area Strategy sections of

the provisional Local Transport Plan (LTP).

In amplifying the report, the Director of Environment advised Members that the

draft text was at an early stage and would inevitably require significant

amendment and refinement both in the light of Member comments and ongoing

officer discussion. A full discussion ensued during which Members raised a

number of points both on broad principles and on the detailed wording of the text.

These included: the need to build in more travel choice; the need to recognise that

rural areas have entirely separate needs to urban areas, more parking at Andover

Railway station; traffic using rural roads, strong support for a Park and Ride in

south Winchester (but concerns about how this may compete with rail and buses);

congestion on the M3 and notably at junction 9; the impact on alternative routes

into Winchester when there is an incident on the motorway; and the need to lobby

Central Government about capacity problems on the rail network and problems

with short term franchises.

RESOLVED:

That officers be requested to carry out further work on the issues raised in

discussion by Members for incorporation into the Area Strategy section of the

report as appropriate prior to consideration by the Executive Members for

Environment.

8. FEEDBACK ON LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN CONSULTATIONS

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (item 8 in the

Minute Book) on consultation seminars and workshops held as part of the

consultation and engagement exercise with stakeholders.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel notes the key themes and comments relating to the feedback on

Local Transport Plan (LTP) consultations as set out in the report and

accompanying Appendices.

9. POSSIBLE 2006/07 PROGRAMME

The panel considered the report of the Director of Environment (item 9 in the

Minute Book) containing a list of potential schemes for the Area Strategy

Programme for Member comment. A Test Valley member suggested that

Monxton village should be considered for possible measures under the `Village

Transport Programmes' heading and he would consult further with officers.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Panel notes the overall cost of the possible pool of countywide and

area strategy schemes listed in the report exceeding the actual level of

funding likely to be allocated by Central Government, but that this is

necessary in order to ensure adequate forward planning.

(b) That the Panel notes that the actual programme will be subject to the level of

funding yet to be confirmed by Central Government.

(c) That the Panel endorses in principle the list of possible Area Strategy

schemes as set out in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report.

10. DATE, TIME AND VENUE FOR THE NEXT PANEL MEETING

The next meeting of the Panel will be held on Tuesday 25 October 2005

at 2.00pm in the Conference Room, The Castle, Winchester.