Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

EXECUTIVE MEMBER - ENVIRONMENT: SOUTH HAMPSHIRE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

ITEM 5

PROJECT APPRAISAL

PROJECT:

COUNTRY TOWNS INITIATIVE - SWANMORE CENTRE IMPROVEMENTS

COMMENCEMENT DATE:

MARCH 2006

COMPLETION DATE:

JULY 2006

PLANNED YEAR OF START IN ACCORDANCE WITH CAPITAL PROGRAMME: 2005/06

1.

FINANCE (Client Department, Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services [Estates Practice] and County Treasurer)

Current

Capital

Estimate

Programme

(at 2005

(at 2005

prices)

prices)

Capital Expenditure

£'000

£'000

Land to be purchased

Nil

Nil

Construction

120

120

Fees

15

15

135

135

Less developers/

other contributions

135

135

Financial provision for total scheme

Total Cost

1.

From Committees own resources

(a) Capital programme- Country Towns Initiative

50

(b) Other - Safer Routes to School

50

- Highways Maintenance

10

110

2.

From other resources

(a) Winchester City Council

12.5

(b) Swanmore Parish Council

12.5

(c)

TOTAL

135

Value of land for this project in HCC ownership £

Variations from capital programme

Revenue implications

£'000

% variation

to Committee's

budget

Net current expenditure

2

0.003

Capital charges

13

0.011

TOTAL net expenditure

15

0.014

2.

STATEMENT OF NEED/JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT

(Client Department)

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

2.11

Swanmore centre serves a rural community in excess of 4,000 people and comprises the area around the junction of Church Road and New Road where the shopping parade, St Barnabas and Methodist churches, the Patterson Centre and Swanmore Church of England Primary School are all located.

A Design Statement for the community was prepared in 2001 and has been adopted as informal Supplementary Planning Guidance by Winchester City Council. Issues identified in this include the problem of parking in the vicinity of the school at certain times of the day in relation to the Church Road/New Road junction; the need to improve and widen, where necessary, footway links to the school; and the need to deter traffic on Church Road from speeding through the centre.

The Parish Council has also identified the need to create an improved sense of place in the centre to reinforce its role as a shopping and social focus for the community. Poor quality environment and unattractive front boundaries to the shops and the school have had an inhibiting effect on the commercial and social success of the centre. The height of the retaining wall and planting in front of the shops screen them from passing trade, whilst vehicular access and junction visibility from Church Road are also problems.

The chain link fence boundary in front of the attractive Victorian school buildings is particularly intrusive in the street scene. Overhead wires on wooden poles are an eyesore which should be removed if possible.

The Parish Council has approached the County and City Councils to work in partnership to confront these issues as part of its strategy for the community.

Swanmore Church of England Primary School has prepared a School Travel Plan (STP) which has been approved by the County Council. Amongst the issues it identifies are the following which directly affect the setting of the primary school and whose resolution tie in closely with the objectives of the Country Towns Initiative (CTI):

(i) need for improved road crossings in particular on Church Road;

(ii) school entrance obstructed by parked cars;

(iii) need to encourage walking to school;

(iv) lack of footpaths;

(v) busy bus route and bus stop location;

(vi) some children unused to walking short distances; and

(vii) lack of appropriate parking for parents/visitors.

The school has a pupil role of 380 and of the 336 surveyed as part of the Travel Plan, 151 already walk to school and any improvements to pedestrian access would benefit these pupils. It is hoped that additional children will be encouraged to walk.

School staff escort children across Church Road to the Patterson Centre for daily events and crossing safely at this point is a key issue. There is a school crossing patrol east of the school entrance which would be complemented by the proposals.

Parents with children gather outside the school in the morning and afternoon in an area of narrow footway. It would be desirable to reorganise the entrance approach to the school, improve the Church Road/New Road junction, widen the footway outside the school and create a space in the public domain where parents could congregate and sit.

The opportunity has been taken to link the CTI and Safer Routes to School (SRTS) programmes. A sum of £50,000 has been identified in each programme to carry out the environmental improvements and works identified in the STP. In this way overall savings can be achieved and works coordinated. The School Head and Governors fully support the project and are in discussion with the County Council for making available school land for footway widening and environmental improvement works.

There are essential remedial drainage works which need to be carried out in the scheme area and these will be incorporated into the project so as to achieve economies.

2.12

2.13

2.14

2.15

Targets and Outcomes

The scheme will make significant improvements to the centre and set a standard for future works in the area.

The main targets for the scheme are as follows:

(i) raising the environmental quality of the centre and identify it to residents and visitors as the recognisable heart of the community;

(ii) creating a safer environment for schoolchildren and pedestrians approaching the school;

(iii) providing help towards creating an environment which influences driver behaviour to the benefit of pedestrians and of highway safety;

(iv) providing support for the commercial success of the centre; and

(v) implementing the SRTS travel plan actions which relate to widening footways to improve child safety, improving road crossing points, reducing parking in front of the school and improving access to buses.

The expected outcomes are as follows:

(i) creating a centre with a distinctive and attractive street scene and a strong sense of local identity, focus and `arrival' with street facilities for the local community;

(ii) creating a lively and commercially active centre with fully utilised commercial floor space;

(iii) improving walking conditions for the 151 pupils who currently walk to school;

(iv) improving junction safety at Church Road/New Road for the benefit of the estimated 120 pupils who access the school from that direction;

(v) encouraging an estimated additional 25 pupils to walk to school; and

(vi) creating a safer highways environment for all users with greater emphasis on the needs of pedestrians.

This scheme also meets the expectations published in the recent Government Education White Paper `Higher Standards, Better Schools For All: More Choice for Parents and Pupils'. Local authorities are encouraged to use innovative solutions which include the development of safe walking routes as part of their statutory duty to support choice, diversity and fair access.

3.

IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL (Client Department)

National/County Network and Policies

3.1

3.2

The scheme meets the policy aims of the CTI programme, approved 15 October 2003. It also addresses the objectives of the SRTS programme and meets the general design and environmental objectives of the draft Winchester and District First Review Local Plan.

It addresses the following Local Transport Plan objectives:

(i) Increasing Accessibility;

(ii) Promoting Safety;

(iii) Supporting Quality of Life Objectives.

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

Details of Scheme and Design Standards

The scheme involves the following:

(i) Resurfacing the carriageway and footways in the core area around the main junction in a single, bound gravel finish to reinforce a strong sense of local, rural identity and "arrival" in the centre. The consistency of appearance of the carriageway and the footways also aims to encourage more cautious driver behaviour in favour of pedestrians.

(ii) Creating a raised "courtesy crossing" at the crossing point between the school and the Patterson Centre to make it easier for people to cross the road and help maintain low traffic speeds, and improved crossing points with dropped kerbs elsewhere.

(iii) Forming a raised carriageway table, with a minimal upstand kerb height, at the junction of Church Road and New Road to create a sense of shared space and "calmer" driver behaviour.

(iv) Widening the footway and improving the school forecourt in front of the school with new surfacing, public seating, landscape planting, ironwork fencing and community notice board to improve the appearance of the school in the street scene and create a sitting area for parents collecting or dropping off children.

(v) Providing bollards to deter vehicles overrunning on the junction corners and dropped kerb crossing points across Church Road and New Road.

(vi) Improving access to the shops from Church Road.

(vii) Lowering the existing retaining wall and planting in front of the shops to improve the view to the shops and attract passing trade, with the installation of seating and a new fence to match that proposed in front of the school.

(viii) Reorganising vehicular and pedestrian access to the school.

(ix) Placing unsightly overhead wires underground where possible.

(x) Improving street lighting.

(xii) Resiting the bus stop south of New Road and provision of a timber bus shelter opposite St Barnabas Church to echo the design of the nearby lych gate.

The opportunity has been identified for possible widening of the space around the war memorial at the main junction, subject to a Church Faculty being obtained, to allow memorial events to be held there.

A location plan is attached and a detailed plan will be displayed at the meeting.

The opportunity is being taken to carry out necessary remedial drainage works within the area and by so doing achieve cost savings.

Outside the scope of the project, the Parish Council is working closely with the County Council and the School Governors to extend the existing public car park in Church Road, opposite the Patterson Centre to the west of the centre, for additional parking. The land is owned by the County Council and could provide for a future "park and walk" facility for parents dropping off children, as an alternative to parking in front of the school, as well as offering valuable additional capacity for community events at the Patterson Centre. This could incorporate a play facility and would offer the opportunity for a footway link direct to the school, avoiding the need for access along Church Road.

3.8

Environmental Impact

The scheme will reinforce the role of the centre and improve it as a safe and attractive environment. The reduction of kerb heights, footway widening and improved crossing points will assist pedestrians. The use of distinctive, long life materials will reinforce the sense of local identity and minimise maintenance costs.

3.9

Land Requirements

No land acquisition required. Works on the forecourt of the primary school, improvements to the screen wall in front of the shops, drainage works and possible works around the war memorial will require the consent of landowners. Current indications are that all of these will be forthcoming.

3.10

Statutory Procedures

Statutory consultations, with a period for public objections, will be required in respect of the speed tables.

3.11

Public Consultation

The draft proposals have been the subject of extensive consultation with the Parish Council, local stakeholders and the public. An exhibition with questionnaire survey was held in the Patterson Centre on 6 and 10 October 2005 attended by over 100 residents. Sixty-seven questionnaire responses were received which have resulted in changes to the scheme. Following the consultation all key stakeholders, including the School Head, Governors and Parish Council, as well as the majority of residents who responded, support the scheme.

3.12

Local Member's View

The local Member, Councillor Felicity Hindson, supports the scheme.

3.13

Impact Assessments

Equalities of access and opportunities have been taken into account in the scheme in accordance with current best practice and guidelines. The creation of dropped kerbs, surface improvements and wider footways will assist wheelchair users, people with pushchairs and vulnerable highways users, in particular children.

3.14

Maintenance Implications

The selection of materials has been made with fitness for purpose and ease of maintenance in mind. Hard surfacing in public areas will be maintained by the County Council as highway authority. Maintenance of planting, lighting and seating within the public domain will be the subject of discussions with Swanmore Parish Council under a service agreement. Works within private areas will remain the responsibility of the landowners.

3.15

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

All seating has been designed to be in full public view with maximum informal supervision. By improving street lighting, widening the footway in front of the school and making the shops forecourt more open to view from the main road will enhance the sense of personal security for those using the area.

3.16

3.17

3.18

3.19

Sustainability

The scheme will improve the setting of the historic primary school building and St Barnabas Church.

The products used, and the use where possible of natural materials, conform to sustainability best practice.

The scheme will provide a more attractive and recognisable centre to the community and make a socially and economically useful contribution to the life of Swanmore. It will improve facilities for pedestrians, encourage walking to school and help encourage implementation of the school's travel plan aim of reducing dependence on the motor car. Where electric warning signs are included, these will be solar powered.

Efficiencies

Budget savings of £25,000 have been achieved by contribution funding from Winchester City Council and Swanmore Parish Council. Further efficiencies have been achieved by coordinating STP works and essential drainage renewal works within the one scheme.

4.

IMPROVEMENT - ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED (Client Department)

4.1

Alternative approaches were considered but options for enhancement were selected which focus on achieving CTI and SRTS objectives, as well as responding to the aspirations of the community.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1.

Published works.

2.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE

LOCATION

Executive Member for Environment

15 October 2003

Country Towns Initiative - Future Programme.

Environment Department

Room 418