Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The purpose of this report is to present details of the third quarter's capital budget monitoring position for the 2009/10 financial year, in order to provide reassurance that programmes are being delivered within current approvals, in accordance with financial regulations.

1.2. In summary, the financial position is satisfactory for this stage in the year and the outturn is expected to be in line with current approvals.

1.3. The M27 Junction 5 Major Scheme, phases 1 and 2 are progressing on time and within budget. Phase 3 estimates have increased and similarly, the overall cost estimate has risen from £8.325 million, agreed in January 2009, to £8.8 million.

1.4. The integrated transport programme is proposed to be amended to include five new developer funded schemes (within the main programme) and two developer funded projects will not now start in this financial year, and are proposed to be rescheduled to 2010/11.

2. Contextual information

2.1. The report presents an overview of the third quarter's monitoring for the 2009/10 financial year. It covers the Integrated Transport, Maintenance, Bridges, Waste and Quality of Place programmes.

2.2. Approvals, across all headings, is £95.007 million with a forecast spend this year of £65.019 million.

3. Finance

3.1. The following table is an overview of the current approvals and expenditure forecast for 2009/10 across the budget headings:

4. Major Schemes

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) £22.396 million

4.1. The previous decision by the High Court, which completely vindicated Hampshire County Council's planning process, will now be reviewed by the Court of Appeal. Permission to appeal and a further interim injunction have been granted. Construction of the new dedicated busway has ceased pending the outcome of the Appeal Court hearing.

M27 Junction 5 £8.325 million

4.2. Phase 1, £2.65 million is now underway and progressing to time and within budget. Completion expected February 2010.

4.3. Phase 2 designs are now complete. The Project Appraisal was approved in December (subject to funding being fully sourced) and the scheme is progressing to time and within estimates. Financial resources have yet to be confirmed at £3.25 million. PUSH proposes a contribution of £1.915 million in 2010/11, (to be approved at PUSH Joint Committee in January 2010) and a contribution of £1.0 million is anticipated from Regional Funding. The remaining £0.335 million is proposed to be funded from developer contributions. Advanced clearance works are already underway. The main contract will not be let until resources are confirmed. It is hoped to complete this phase by March 2011.

4.4. Phase 3 designs are well advanced. Delivery is dependent upon confirmation of future funding. The initial estimate of £2.45 million has increased to £2.9 million. A bid for Regional funding has been submitted, and a decision is currently awaited.

4.5. Whilst each phase of the scheme is justified on a stand alone basis, the real strength and the cumulative effect of the benefits are greatest when all three phases have been implemented. Investigations are underway to allow the full extent of Phase 3 to be completed by March 2011.

4.6. Total scheme estimate is now £8.8 million. It is recommended that the programme value be amended accordingly.

A3 Bus Priority

4.7. Accounts with the main contractor have now been finalised and agreed. The revised total scheme cost is now £34.484 million against current resources of £33.991 million. To bridge the £493,000 gap, it is proposed to redistribute savings from the Integrated Transport Programme.

5. Integrated Transport Programme

5.1. The latest starts programme, including amendments mentioned in this section, are set out in the appendix. The revised 2009/10 programme value is £17,049 million, compared to £18.364 million in October. The difference being due to the rescheduling and amendments of schemes detailed from paragraph 5.4 onwards.

5.2. Spend at 16 November was £8.892 million (LTP and developer contributions) which is in line with expectations. It is likely that a £2.3 million deferred spending of savings against total current approvals will be required to be carried forward.

5.3. Delivery of the programme remains generally on track, with the majority of schemes still expected to start in-year. Proposed amendments are detailed below.

Rescheduled Schemes

Whiteley to Swanwick Pedestrian and Cycle Accessibility. £244,000 Developer Contributions.

5.4. Scheme has had to be re-designed to avoid the need to raise parapets on motorway and railway bridges in order to stay within budget. Some safety issues were also identified that required resolution. Construction planned for early summer 2010.

Old Basing Footway Improvements £330,000 developer contributions.

5.5. Proposals at Milkingpen Lane are expected to start early in the new year. Difficulties in agreeing details with parish have delayed the start beyond this financial year. Three separate priority areas within Old Basing were identified for footway improvements, these were estimated and preliminary designs completed. In October, the Parish confirmed support and Councillor Still is also supportive of the improvements.

Proposed Deferrals

Lyndhurst Signing and Traffic Management £224,000 LTP.

The changes have been made to help improve traffic flow on High Street, where vehicle emissions are contributing to poor air quality. High Street is an Air Quality Management Area, and action is required to reduce the causes of pollution. This will reduce the scale of the impact.

5.6. A new detection system has now been installed at the A35/A337 junction in Lyndhurst to detect large vehicles which are unable to turn left without crossing into the path of on-coming traffic. Romsey Road, which receives green with the left turn filter arrow, may now receive a short green from time to time. When this occurs, the filter arrow is prevented from appearing in the following cycle in order to reduce excessive delay.

5.7. Further changes to the signals have been suggested by road users regarding delay on the A337 Romsey Road. A trial was subsequently deferred over the Christmas period to allow further changes to be made and will recommence early in the New Year.

5.8. It is therefore proposed that a reduced scheme be developed for re-entry into the programme at a later date.

New schemes

Winchester Bus Priority £170,000 developer contributions

5.9. Proposal to undertake first phase of bus priority measures to complement the South Winchester Park and Ride Project, focussing on new bus shelters outside the hospital, traffic management at Chilbolton Avenue roundabout and efficiency improvements at Battery Hill Signal Junction.

Fernhill Road Safety and Cycle Improvements, Farnborough, £75,000 developer contributions

5.10. Introduction of two new roundabouts to aid pedestrian safety and provide cycle improvements.

Solartron Road Bus and Pedestrian Improvements, Farnborough, £60,000 developer contributions

5.11. Bus stop upgrades at various locations along Solartron Road, including improvements for pedestrian access.

Central Farnborough Bus Infrastructure, £40,000 developer contributions.

5.12. Bus stop upgrades at various locations.

Grange Road, St Cross. Winchester. £70,000 developer contributions and £30,000 from capital maintenance programme.

5.13. Resurfacing of Grange Road/Grange Close to repair the damage caused by construction vehicles. Improvements to the bus stop on St Cross Road to provide level access and provision of a dropped pedestrian crossing on St Cross Road.

Significant Amendments

Major Scheme Preparation Costs £600,000

5.14. £300,000 savings arising largely from securing alternative funding for this work are proposed to be redistributed.

South Winchester Park and Ride £6.557 million LTP and £150,000 developer contributions.

5.15. Construction is progressing very well and is on time for April completion. Forecasts have been revised to reflect latest position and it now looks as though savings, in the region of £400k will be achieved. It is proposed that these be carried forward and reallocated across the programme next year.

Access to Countryside £86,000 LTP and £57,000 developer contributions

5.16. Proposal to utilize £31,000 of the expected savings in the LTP programme and deliver four additional projects this year.

6. Roads Maintenance Programme

6.1. The overall highways maintenance programme for 2009/10 amounts to £63.4 million, including routine highways maintenance activities funded from the revenue budget and capital programme provision for structural maintenance of roads and bridges.

6.2. The roads element of the capital maintenance budget totals £28,973 million and reflects a decrease of £500,000 since the last report arising from a need to realign expenditure for certain categories of spend. The Revenue Budget report, paragraph 3.5, elsewhere on this agenda refers.

6.3. Delivery is currently progressing according to schedule, with £18.8 million paid/committed in November.

Major Maintenance Schemes

6.4. Delivery of the £3 million A326 major maintenance scheme was brought forward in October. Phase 1 of the two phase programme is on track to be completed by June 2010. Phase 2 will start in Autumn 2010.

6.5. The High Street, Winchester £2.2 million major maintenance scheme started on site in September. The refurbishment, which includes major drainage and surfacing improvements, is on hold for the Christmas period. The improvements will take approximately one year to complete.

6.6. A3023 Hayling Island major maintenance is to be delivered over a number of £250,000 phases, dependent on future budget settlements, the first phase is programmed for March 2010.

7. Bridges Programme

7.1. The bridges programme, which is part of the overall £64 million identified in section 6.2 above, is £4.533 million (inclusive of £0.3 million carried over from 2008/09 for completion of programmed works).

7.2. Spend to the end of November was £1.984 million, with a predicted total spend this year of £3.9 million, giving a predicted carry forward of £0.633 million.

7.3. Pressure to deliver the BRT major project has resulted in resources being reprioritised. With reduced staff in the Bridges Team, delivery across this programme has, unfortunately, slipped in the last quarter. Those schemes are planned to be completed early in 2010.

7.4. Two painting contracts, reported as delayed in October, have now been completed, as a result, in part, of the dry weather during the Autumn.

8. Quality of Place Programme

8.1. The total 2009/10 programme value is currently £377,000; 2009/10 approvals at the start of the year were £2.715 million.

8.2. Spend to the end of November was £244,000 and forecasts now indicate a total spend from this programme of £646,000, with £2.069 million carry forward in relation to continuing spend profiles.

8.3. Seven schemes, totalling £1.5 million from the Regeneration of Older Urban Areas (Roua) sub-programme, are proposed to be rescheduled to 2010/11, owing to delays in resolving land ownership issues and securing external funding from partner organisations. Of the seventeen schemes in this sub-programme two are now completed at The Square, Hamble and Stoke Road, Gosport. One is on site at Glebe Gardens, Basingstoke.

8.4. Delivery is progressing well across the rest of the programme with 26 of the 39 smaller value improvements already completed.

9. Waste Management Programme

9.1. Current approvals at the start of 2009/10 were for £8.115 million.

9.2. The Household Waste Recycling Programme is expected to spend in the region of £200,000, predominantly on the cost of feasibility studies to enable schemes to be developed for future delivery. A total of £33,000 has been spent at the end of October.

9.3. The closed landfill maintenance programme is forecast to spend £43,000 in 2009/10 on several systems. Less than £1,000 has been spent within this area, although work has been completed but not yet charged for.

10. Recommendation(s)

10.1. That the proposed amendments to the 2009/10 programme be approved.

10.2. That the 2009/10 M27 Junction 5 Major Scheme approval value be increased from £8.325 million to £8.8 million, as detailed in section 4.

10.3 That five new developer funded schemes be added to the Integrated Transport Programme; Winchester Bus Priority £170,000, Fernhill Road Safety and Cycle Improvements, Farnborough, £75,000, Solartron Road Bus Stop and Pedestrian Improvements, Farnborough, £60,000, Central Farnborough Bus Infrastructure, Farnborough, £40,000 and Grange Road, St Cross. Winchester £70,000.

10.4 That two developer funded schemes; Whiteley to Swanwick Station cycle route, Fareham, £244,000 and Old Basing Footway Improvements £100,000 be rescheduled for delivery in early 2010.

10.3. That the Lyndhurst Signing and Traffic Management £224,000 be deferred from the programme.

2271Rpt/1182/HA

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Other Significant Links

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. The proposals in this report are derived from the departmental service plans and LTP objectives, and are in accordance with the budget strategy and the County Council's financial management policy. An impact assessment of the departmental service plans and the financial management policy has been carried out and the proposals in this report are not considered to be discriminatory.

1.2. Furthermore, all named schemes within the Integrated Transport programme are subject to an independent peer review process as part of the department's Gateway system of project control. This review requires evidence that customers and equalities have been considered and are being considered at all stages of the scheme's development.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. This is a monitoring report and has no direct impact on crime and disorder, however some of the schemes within the capital programme may contribute to a reduction in the fear of crime that may have been identified by local communities during consultation or development stages.

3. Climate Change:

How does what is being proposed impact on our carbon footprint / energy consumption?

How does what is being proposed consider the need to adapt to climate change, and be resilient to its longer term impacts?

As this is a general report covering the monitoring of the budget and delivery of the programmes, it cannot set out detailed climate change implications. However, climate change implications of specific departmental issues would be reflected in individual project appraisal reports where appropriate.

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