REPORT OF THE

Cabinet

PART I

LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 2006-11

The County Council approved the provisional Local Transport Plan (LTP) on 21 July 2005

and this was subsequently submitted to the Government. In December 2005 the Government announced the result of its assessment of the provisional LTP, which was ranked as "promising" with a score which was just below the "very promising" threshold. The Government's decision letter stated that "it was a very sound plan, consistently and comprehensively linking wider policy aims with the proposed strategy and objectives". In the meantime work has been undertaken to prepare the draft full Local Transport Plan, which the Cabinet considered on 23 January 2006. This Plan is due to be submitted to the Government by the end of March 2006. The full LTP builds on the provisional LTP and addresses the Government's comments from their assessment, principally their desire to see more information about buses and measures to tackle poor air quality problems. It also seeks to demonstrate a clearer link between problems, options, solutions and outcomes.

The announcement on the provisional LTP also included the capital allocations for the full LTP as follows:-

· £14.601 million for maintenance spending in 2006/07


· £13.306 million for integrated transport (excluding maintenance) in 2006/07 - which includes 5% reward funding in recognition of a "good" Annual Progress Report score


· integrated transport allocations of £12.001 million for 2007-08; £12.244 million for 2008-09; £12.480 million for 2009-10; and £12.710 million for 2010-11, all of which could be increased by reward funding of up to 25%, although indications are that it is unlikely that the full 25% will be awarded to any authority every year

Although the settlement for integrated transport could be boosted by reward funding, the amount announced is some £6.8 million less than the £69.5 million planning total that the Government had set as the basis for the provisional LTP. This has necessitated some refinement of the proposed capital programme, whilst also taking into account improved information about the costs and benefits of capital measures, the Government's decision on the South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme, consultation responses on individual schemes and the emerging scale and distribution of development proposed in the South East Plan. In order to address the deployment of reward funding, the capital programme allocations are proposed to be split into a "core" programme, based on the committed figures, and a reserve programme which would draw upon any reward funding secured by the County Council. Therefore the recommended allocations for the proposed Capital Programme are:-

Category	Recommended "Core" Programme £ million (5 years)	Reserve Allocation £ million (5 years)
Safety
Casualty reduction	13.530	0.25
Safer routes to schools	5.000	1.00
Congestion
Access to Gosport	4.000	0.00
Other capacity improvements	2.900	1.00
Passenger transport infrastructure	5.875	2.00
Quality bus partnerships - information	0.980	0.00
Winchester Park and Ride	5.300	0.00
Accessibility
Access Plans and air quality	9.635	5.70
Pedestrian crossings/severance	3.701	0.00
Countryside access (Statutory Rights of Way Improvement Plan)	0.900	0.50
Community Transport	0.950	0.00
Personal security/community safety initiative	0.180	0.00
Air Quality
Air Quality Management Areas	Now included in town access
Others
Innovation and Monitoring	1.910	0.00
Developing Major schemes	1.000	0.00
Environment	0.530	0.20
Minor schemes - rural partnerships, etc	2.450	0.70
Street lighting column replacement	3.900	1.00
Total	62.741	12.35

The spending profile for the "core" programme is set out in the attached appendix.

The above recommended allocation of funding has been proposed in order to:-

· meet a large proportion of the identified district council priorities

· provide sufficient resources to meet LPSA2 casualty reduction targets

· offer a realistic chance of maintaining bus patronage at current levels (the stated LTP target)

· tackle air quality problems at each of the declared air quality management areas

· provide funding for measures to tackle congestion and to improve accessibility (especially in Gosport)

NB: an assessment of congestion problems in Hampshire has been carried out to prioritise congestion relieving schemes, each `hotspot' having been assessed against set criteria

· provide funds to develop major bids, including possible alternatives to light rail

· meet stated LTP targets and objectives

It is proposed to include an Accessibility Strategy in the full LTP based on a new concept of access plans which could be developed for towns, wider geographical areas or routes by way of a rolling programme. The Accessibility Strategy is described in detail in the full LTP.

In respect of major schemes, it is not proposed to make a formal bid at this stage. The Government has a stringent assessment process for which none of the schemes currently being developed are ready. Major schemes are now funded from a regional transport allocation, with advice from the Regional Transport Board on priorities, and indications are that there is little scope at present for new major schemes to be funded in the near future. A potential major scheme bid for the Chickenhall Lane Link road is being developed, but the bid cannot be completed at this stage due to uncertainties including the level and location of development in the South East Plan and the Airport Masterplan. The Government Office for the South East has consistently advised that they do not see this scheme as a transport priority and this may affect the County Council's ability to secure funding, which now comes from a separate regional transport allocation. Other major scheme bids will be developed for the second Winchester Park and Ride and for critical infrastructure schemes identified for the South East Plan. It is also proposed that a holding statement be included in the LTP on the Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth light rail scheme pending decisions on the future of the scheme or possible alternatives. Major schemes such as the Stubbington Bypass, and Botley Bypass remain under development, whilst new proposals, such as capacity enhancements to the A33 between Basingstoke and Reading are being developed for implementation on a longer timescale.

In conclusion, the Cabinet endorsed the LTP and commended the quality of the work that had been undertaken in the preparation of this comprehensive document. This decision supports Aims 1 to 5 of the Corporate Strategy (Maximising life opportunities; Stewardship of the Environment; Achieving economic prosperity; Building strong and safe communities; and Improving services) all of which are covered by the LTP.

The full LTP document is available in the Members' Rooms; additional copies can be obtained from the Environment Department upon request.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Cabinet recommends the County Council to approve the Local Transport Plan 2006-11.

APPENDIX

Proposed Capital Programme