Archived decisions
APPENDIX
MULTI AREA AGREEMENT FOR SOUTH HAMPSHIRE: JUNE 2008
DRAFT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR HIGHWAYS: SEPT 2008
1. Parties involved
Parties to this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are Partnership For Urban South Hampshire (represented by the Managing Director for PUSH), Transport for South Hampshire (represented by the Project Director), the Department for Transport (represented by the Divisional Manager SEEEM), The Highways Agency (represented by the Divisional Director South East), and Government Office South East (represented by the Transport and Environment Deputy Regional Director).
2. Roles/relationships and responsibilities of the parties involved
The Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) is a voluntary partnership of eleven local authorities in South Hampshire dedicated to sustainable, economic-led growth and improving prosperity and the quality of life for everyone who lives, works and spends their leisure time in South Hampshire. The partners are:
· Hampshire County Council
· The unitary City Councils of Portsmouth and Southampton
· The Borough Councils of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Test Valley
· The District Councils of East Hampshire and New Forest
· Winchester City Council
·
The governing body for PUSH is a Joint Committee of the Leaders' and Chief Executives' Panel. It meets approximately bi-monthly with the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), the Regional Assembly (RA) and South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) represented as observers.
The key objectives for PUSH are promoting economic success, providing homes for sustainable communities, closing the community cohesion and inequalities gap, investing in infrastructure and sustainable solutions, promoting a better quality of life, and tackling climate change.
All transport issues in South Hampshire are led by Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH), which is governed by a Joint Committee of the three strategic transport authorities (Southampton City Council, Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council). TfSH works closely with key stakeholders (including the train and bus operating companies, SHBOA (a new body comprising the major bus companies in the area), Network Rail, ports and Southampton airport, the Highways Agency, the District and Borough Councils and local businesses). Complementing PUSH, TfSH is the delivery agent for sub-regional transport projects and programmes necessary to meet the transport requirements of the sub-region in line with the need for economic growth and continuing development.
The Department for Transport's (DfT) role is to advise on the national policy context, provide the interface between transport and the Department for Communities and Local Government, assess and communicate the final programme for Regional Funding Allocation and other government grant transport funding and to provide advice on rail policy.
The Highways Agency (HA) is an executive agency of DfT responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network, which for the South Hampshire area means the A3, A3M, M27, M271, M275 (part), and M3. Its key aims, in the face of continuing increases in demand for journeys, are to tackle unreliability, improve safety and provide better information to help road users make better decisions as they plan their journeys and travel.
Government Office for the South East (GOSE) is a formal body of officials from 10 government departments acting to facilitate and join up government policy and delivery in the South East, and to provide regional input to the formation of government policy. It has a particular role in negotiating Local Area Agreements (LAAs) and Multi Area Agreements (MAAs) with Local Authorities, in administering the Local Transport Plan system, in providing advice to DfT on regional transport interventions, and in delivering policy compatible spatial plans.
3. Transport elements of the PUSH MAA
Within the agreed South Hampshire Multi Area Agreement, enabling measure 5 refers to the development of the DfT and HA relationship with TfSH. This is aimed at achieving a balanced approach to the delivery of the sub-regional strategy, and management of the South Hampshire highway network as a whole to achieve economic growth, and manage journey time reliability, by: -
· developing a formal MoU as a framework within which the parties will operate and develop their approaches;
· Working together on a pilot to improve the operation of the local and national highways network, including Active Traffic Management on the M3 and M27;
· Working together on the establishment of a robust and comprehensive sub-regional evidence base.
4. Summary principles of the MoU
This MoU is a supporting document to the MAA, founded on the belief that close and constructive working between the parties is both beneficial and possible, and on a mutual commitment to deliver the change necessary.
Its intentions are to deliver the benefits of better partnership working as expressed in the MAA. The particular areas being partnership working and co-ordinated management and improvement of the road network in the area, and in establishing a suitable evidence base.
It is intended that all communications will continue to be effective and in an open manner, with the principle means of contact continuing via the current TfSH meeting arrangements.
This MoU has no formal status in is own right other than through its association with the MAA. It is an agreed statement of intention between equal partners based on trust, and is not enforceable in statute or law. Any concerns between partners about the actions or lack of action of others will, in the first instance, be communicated directly to the partners concerned without publicity.
5. Spatial Planning
Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) and the Highways Agency will continue working together on Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) and their constituent Local Development Documents (LDDs), including the provision of a robust and credible evidence base (as required by PPS12). To-date the HA has provided comments on all LDDs produced by LPAs in South Hampshire and is working with LPAs on the production of Evaluations of the Transport Impact (ETI) of those LDDs. These ETIs are on-going and at different stages. All parties to the MAA need to work together to ensure that the infrastructure requirements needed to deliver sound LDDs are, as far as possible, identified. Some of the infrastructure may not be deliverable by a single LPA and may need intervention at a sub regional level. The aim is to reduce the risk of individual LDDs being found unsound.
6. Transport Planning
Local Transport Plans: -
PUSH will act to strengthen co-operation between the Local Transport Authorities and Local Planning Authorities in the production of their Local Transport Plans, acting primarily through Transport for South Hampshire.
GOSE will render assistance through the provision of advice and guidance on the interpretation of policy and published guidance, through providing feedback on draft LTPs, and through disseminating knowledge, experience and expertise in the operation of the LTP system.
HA will meet with LTAs under the PUSH/TfSH umbrella and separately as necessary to provide knowledge based input into strategic roads and demand management aspects of LTPs.
7. Operation of national and local highway network
The HA and TfSH will keep each other up to date about progress on schemes which may affect each others network, and engage positively in discussions about sub regional strategic traffic management.
A Managed Motorways (MM) technical feasibility study is being carried out within the PUSH geographical area and a ministerial announcement is expected. Further to the announcement, whether Managed Motorways are intended to be rolled out or not, a working group will be set up to consider the impact and strategy for the routes within the area.
The HA and GOSE will also aid the communication of information concerning PUSH and the MoU within their respective organisations and Parent Departments.
8. Evidence Base
In developing all future evidence bases, there is agreement: -
a. to the principal that all relevant information that any party to this MoU holds is available to other parties, accepting that for reasons of commercial or other sensitivity there will be exceptions.
Protocol for data sharing
The above information is to be made available on request to MoU parties in an electronic form and provided within 14 working days. Requests are to be as specific as possible.
b. to inform people when data collection is planned.
Protocol for future data collection and manipulation
Consultation with MoU parties shall take place prior to significant programmes of data collection being determined, with a clear objective of maximising the mutual use such data, and with the option of cost sharing being actively considered where mutual benefits are evident.
Briefs to consultants shall include a requirement to consult with MoU partners and to consider, and cost where appropriate, providing raw data to partners.
Unless otherwise agreed additional costs associated with manipulating data to provide it in the appropriate form will be borne by those benefiting.
c. to consider the scope to enter into partnership agreements for modelling.
9. The Cross-Government approach - (reflecting joint working e.g. between HA and local authorities)
The overarching principals of joint working are of openness, explanation and discussion, together with shared responsibility and ownership for problems and solutions.
That is not to suggest that all information, meetings and discussions are open to all, as it is accepted that internal policy formation and discussion and the like are legitimate areas for in house contemplation, but more that the presumption should be that information is open to all unless there is a clear reason why that would not be appropriate. Also that as much information as possible is conveyed, such as the existence of a pilot testing programme or imminent data collection exercise.
To provide a platform for regular communication all parties will identify a senior contact officer with lead responsibility for PUSH MAA, and these officers will attend the Transport for South Hampshire Strategic Working Group, chaired by TfSH. Current senior contact Officers are Keith Willcox for TfSH, David Cooper for GOSE, Paul Robinson for HA, and Mike Goodwin for DfT. Contact officers will also seek to bring colleagues to the table (or ensure they are fully briefed) where that is appropriate to address particular issues. An example of this is of DfT bringing a rail representative or encouraging NR to engage, and of HA bringing colleagues to brief on national programme and smarter measures issues.
In addition, Director level officers from DfT, HA, GOSE and PUSH (currently identified as Ian Jordan, John Aspinall, Susan Stuart, and Stuart Jarvis) will seek to be available for meetings to resolve extraordinary issues of importance.
10. Undertakings
Where necessary, we will develop programmes, establish working groups within the ethos of partnership working, and identify resource requirements. As at September 2008, we agree to work together under the principles set out above on the following Projects and Programmes:
HA ATM/Pilot
Joint traffic management initiatives
SHSEZ
Major development proposals
Development of sub-regional transport and land use strategy
Spatial land use plans
RFA bids to the RA
The further development of the MAA
This list will be reviewed at TfSH Strategy Working Group meetings.
11. Future stages
This MoU will be considered and monitored on a quarterly basis at TfSH Strategy Group meetings. It will also be reviewed annually at a Special MoU review meeting following all parties, completing a review questionnaire.
11. Glossary of Terms
PUSH Partnership for Urban South Hampshire
TfSH Transport for South Hampshire
DfT Department for Transport
GOSE Government Office for the South East
HA Highways Agency
MAA Multi Area Agreement
MM Managed Motorways (see below)
LTP Local Transport Plan
LTA Local Transport Authority
LDF Local Development Framework
LDD Local Development Documents
ETI Evaluation of Transport Impact
Managed Motorways: Managed Motorways is a `tool-box' which facilitates the dynamic control of traffic for congestion and incident management. The tools allow the road space to be managed in different ways for varying conditions to maximise capacity whilst providing a safe and informed environment for the travelling public and on-road resources (Emergency Services, Maintenance Operatives, Recovery Operators and Traffic Officers). The `tool-box' includes:
· _Dynamic use of the Hard Shoulder: Controlled use of the Hard Shoulder during times
of heavy congestion or during incident management;
·_ Controlled Motorways: The dynamic management of traffic in the designated running
lanes (either in 3 or 4 lane operation using Variable Mandatory Speed Limits (VMSL));
·_ Queue Protection: Automatic protection of incidents and queues;
· _Lane Specific Signalling: Protection of incidents and on-road resources;
·_ Ramp Metering: Controlling traffic entering the main carriageway from slip-roads to
maintain the flow on the main carriageway;
·_ Integrated Traffic Management: Management of traffic on the motorway and local
road network.
Note: The term Active Traffic Management (ATM), is not clearly defined, and Managed Motorways is the term used in preference.