AT A MEETING of the ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on Thursday 6 October 2005.

PRESENT:

Also in attendance: Councillors C. R. H. Davidovitz; J. K. Glen and T. G. Knight.

Also in attendance at the invitation of the Chairman for Item 6

Visit of the British Airports Authority: Councillors P.R. Edgar R. H. Price, JP.

42. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P. R. C Hutcheson, Sam Payne and D. Simpson

43. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed 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.

44. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2005 (Item 2 in the Minute

Book) were confirmed by the Committee and signed by the Vice-Chairman.

45. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

(a) Reported that the Leader and Chairman of the County Council have both

agreed to put back the next meeting of the County Council meeting planned

for 24 November to 8 December to facilitate consideration of the next stage

of the South East Plan by the County Council. The Environment Policy

Review Committee meeting scheduled for 8 December will need to be

rearranged.

(b) Reported that as most of the topics scheduled for the autumn will now have

been debated we need to consider items for future agendas. Would

Members therefore consider any items which they believe it would be

appropriate for the Policy Review Committee to discuss and forward these

to Lindsey Hawke-Davies in the Chief Executive's Department by

26 October 2005. It is proposed that a group comprising the Chairman,

Director of Environment and opposition Member representatives together

with Officers should meet at the conclusion of the November meeting to

consider and prioritise the suggested items.

(c) Reported that as Members will be aware there are regular agenda items

which are for information only or provide the latest position. It is felt that

such reports could be circulated to Members outside of the formal agenda

process. It is suggested that either papers are sent out at the same time as

the agenda, by email to Members or to produce a regular information

newsletter. Perhaps Members would consider their preferred choice and

advise Lindsey Hawke-Davies in the Chief Executive's Department, again

by 26 October. The chosen option would then start from the December

meeting.

46. MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

No questions to the Executive Member for Environment : North Hampshire

and Spatial Strategy and the Executive Member for Environment : South

Hampshire and Resource Management had been received.

47. VISIT OF THE BRITISH AIRPORTS AUTHORITY

The Chairman introduced David Cumming, Managing Director of

Southampton Airport , Jan Halliday, Director of Communications and

Mo Fitzpatrick, Head of Development and Strategy and Planning at the

Airport.

The Chairman advised that all Members of the County Council had been

invited to attend the Policy Review Committee meeting for this item and

Members of the Committee had been invited to propose a response to the

consultation which will be considered by the Executive Member for

Environment : South Hampshire and Resource Management at his Decision

Day on 11 October 2005.

David Cumming presented an outline Master Plan for the airport for public

consultation which has been developed in response to the Government White

paper `The Future of Air Transport' and which requires specified operators

such as British Airports Authority (BAA) to outline their vision for growth up

to 2030. The presentation explained how Southampton Airport intends to meet

the growing demand for regional air travel from now until 2015 and from 2015

to 2030. A map detailing the potential expansion of the airport to accommodate

6 million passengers and possible development on land currently controlled by

BAA was displayed. Members noted that BAA had assumed the completion of

the Chickenhall Link Road by 2010 and agreed to contribute to the cost of the

road although it had indicated that it was not in a position to fund the total cost.

A summary of the key points was circulated to members which detailed the

forecasts for 2004 - 2030 in terms of annual passenger numbers and annual

passenger air transport movements. Members noted that a movement described

a take off or landing.

During the course of discussion, Members noted the two scenarios presented

for expansion up to 2030. These identified either the existing terminal being

extended and the current multi-storey car park undergoing significant

reconfiguration to allow for a terminal extension next door to the railway

station, or an additional terminal being built in the north east zone, with

additional short term car parking.

Members agreed that consideration needed to be given to opportunities in

terms of developing the area for visitors as well as improvements to the

infrastructure and local economy and links with Europe.

Members noted that the full Master Plan was available at

www.southamptonairport.com/masterplan

The Chairman thanked Mr Cumming, Jan Halliday and Mo Fitzpatrick for

taking the time to attend the meeting and giving input to the debate on what

was a very important area of concern for Members.

The Committee received and noted the report of the Director of Environment

(Item 6 b in the Minute Book) considering the County Council's response to

the consultation document prepared by BAA on its outline Master for

Southampton International Airport.

Members welcomed the Outline Master Plan and supported the economic

expansion but expressed concerns about the environmental impacts of the

growth both in terms of noise and air pollution. Members agreed that the

continued success of Southampton Airport was based on the provision of

suitable infrastructure and recommended that BAA be asked to make a

significant contribution towards the cost of additional transport infrastructure.

48. SPEED MANAGEMENT SERVICE

The Committee received, discussed and noted a report of the Director of

Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) setting out the key findings and

interim recommendations following a Service Improvement Review of the

activities of the Environment Department in the field of Speed Management.

The Committee confirmed that casualty reduction should continue to be the

County Council's highest priority. Views varied on what the County Council's

response should be for interventions what were not casualty related. Some

Members thought that this should be contained by clear, County wide policy

stances. The wide ranging discussion also covered speed limits/police

enforcement, being seen to respond to community concerns and empowering

local communities to help themselves.

49. RAIL FREIGHT DEVELOPMENTS IN HAMPSHIRE

The Committee received and noted a report of the Director of Environment

(Item 7 in the Minute Book) setting out progress with the latest position

regarding the prospects for further development of rail freight in the county and

the constraints which are preventing capacity measures.

Members strongly supported the need for further development of rail freight in

the county but did not favour the proposed rail freight interchange at Alstrom

works, Eastleigh..

50. LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN UPDATE (SMARTER CHOICES)

The Committee received a report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the

Minute Book) proposing a policy annex on `smarter choices' for inclusion in

the full Local Transport Plan (LTP). Members congratulated the Officers on the

excellent work undertaken.

RESOLVED:

That the initial draft of the `smarter choices' policy annex for inclusion in the

full Local Transport Plan be supported.

51. SCHOOL TRANSPORT PLANS/SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOLS

The Committee received and noted a report of the Director of Environment

(item 10 in the Minute Book) setting out progress to date in delivering the

County Council's school travel plans and safer routes to schools programme.

Members were generally pleased to see progress on the Hands-up Survey and

congratulated the Officers on the excellent work achieved with delivering the

school travel plans. Members noted that County Councillors could assist further

by continuing to take an active interest in the programme and should encourage

Members to maintain contact with their local schools to ensure that school

Travel Plans continued to be developed.

52. ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE -

FORWARD PLAN

The Committee received and noted a report of the Chief Executive and

Director of Environment (Item 11 in the Minute Book) setting out issues for

future consideration.