Archived decisions

Agenda Item 10

Report to the

Transport for South Hampshire Joint Committee

Date: 22 January 2010

Report by: Pete Brunskill, Hampshire County Council

Tel: 01962 846707 email: [email protected]

Subject: South Hampshire Multi-Area Agreement

Purpose of the Report

The Joint Committee has previously considered reports on The South Hampshire Multi-Area Agreement (MAA) which was signed in July 2008 as one of the first wave of MAAs.

This report seeks Joint Committee approval of a new Transport Chapter for inclusion in the refreshed South Hampshire MAA which will be considered by the PUSH Joint Committee on the 26 January 2010.

Recommendation

1. That approval be given to include a new transport chapter in the refreshed South Hampshire Multi-Area Agreement along the lines of the attached draft, subject to ongoing negotiations with Government and the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire Joint Committee be advised of this.

2. That delegated authority be given to the Transport for South Hampshire Project Director, in consultation with the Chairman of the Transport for South Hampshire Joint Committee, to conclude negotiations with Government on this chapter.

Introduction

1. At the Joint Committee meeting on the 28 January 2009, approval was given to participate in refreshing the South Hampshire Multi Area Agreement and the Project Director was delegated to negotiate applicable transport provisions on behalf of Transport for South Hampshire.

2. The original South Hampshire MAA transport chapter was predominantly focussed on issues related to the highway network, including inter alia congestion and network resilience. Following its submission, further close working with the Highways Agency resulted in the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2008.

The refreshed Multi-Area Agreement

3. Public Transport has a vital role to play in helping to support the growth agenda, minimise congestion and protect the environment. Increased use of buses for example can help to ease pressure on the highway network and release valuable road space for essential freight movements. The rail network is critical to the ongoing success of South Hampshire both in terms of current and anticipated passenger journeys and crucially in moving large numbers of containers to and from the Port of Southampton.

4. A key part of the MAA provides for `asks of Government' as a means of ensuring commitment and support to the process. These could potentially be useful in enabling public transport improvements to be delivered in a timely manner that might otherwise prove to be difficult.

5. The detail of these `asks of Government' is still being developed, but it is important to provide a structure within which the respective organisations can move forward. Therefore, a Bus Partnership Agreement is currently being developed with South Hampshire Bus Operators Association (SHBOA) to ensure that there is a framework in place to deliver increased bus patronage and modal share across South Hampshire. Initial work has also commenced with Network Rail on a potential MoU that would, once signed, provide a counterpoint to that already in use with the Highways Agency.

6. These points are covered by the revised and updated Transport Chapter (see attached appendix) which will form part of the refreshed MAA, including highway developments since the original MAA was submitted. This chapter shows anticipated timescales for the signing of the Bus Partnership Agreement and MoU.

Conclusion

7. The refreshed MAA will be considered by Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) at its Joint Committee next week and this revised and updated Transport Chapter requires Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH) endorsement for inclusion. The Joint Committee is therefore invited to approve the recommendations.

2278Rpt/PB