minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 September 2011 (Minute Nos. 225 - 238) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman, in response to the request in Minute No. 234, confirmed that an item on 'any planned improvements at the Stockbury roundabout in relation to future developments in Swale' would be added to the agenda for the 12 March 2012 JTB meeting.

Democratic Services Officer

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

public session

Item 5 - Proposed extension to residents' parking scheme - Edith Road/Belmont Road/Kingsnorth Road, Faversham.

Ms Renny, local resident, spoke against the extension to the residents' parking scheme. She explained that there was not a parking problem in these areas during the day, but explained that the congestion occurred after 6 pm. She considered the extension of the parking scheme would not help the residents in these roads.

Item 6 - Tunstall CE (Aided), Primary School, Tunstall - Traffic and Parking Issues

Mr Panton, Chairman of Tunstall Parish Council, explained the problem of all day parking outside the school, which reduced the width of the road and caused serious hazards. He considered it was difficult to apply the 'safety criteria' as set out in section 3.3 in the report, as the staff cars had only parked there in the last year, because of a lack of parking spaces at the school. He spoke in favour of parking restrictions being implemented and explained that Tunstall Parish Council would be happy to contribute towards the cost of this.

Ms Hunter, local resident and Chair of Governors, considered the parking outside the school was not a nuisance and the amount of cars that were parked there varied each day. She explained that the parked cars helped to slow the traffic down and that an option to park at the Village Hall had been offered, but the restrictions included were impractical for the school. Ms Hunter outlined a potential option with regard to talks with a local landowner, which could be implemented in the future. She spoke in favour of KCC's recommendations.

Item 14 - Progress Update

Mr Macdonald, Parish Councillor, spoke with reference to Minute No. 732/03/11. He advised that he had not yet received a drainage map; the Chairman reported that other Parish Councils had, and suggested the clerk to the Parish Council looked into this further in order to get a replacement map sent out.

Mr Macdonald also spoke on the reclassification of the B2231 to the A2500. He advised that a meeting had been organised at the beginning of January 2012 for discussion on signing for the road.

He also spoke on heavy flooding near Sheerness Post Office and improvements that were needed on Queenborough railway bridge to address subsidence problems. These matters were not on the agenda.

part a minutes for confirmation to cabinet

update report - proposed extension to residents' parking scheme - edith road/belmont road/kingsnorth road, faversham

The Engineer provided an update on the door-to-door research that had been carried out on these roads which had shown that local residents were not in favour of the parking scheme being extended.

Officers were congratulated on the work that they had carried out and the Chairman encouraged members of the public to respond to Council consultations.

tunstall c.e (aided) primary school, tunstall - traffic and parking issues

The District Manager for Swale introduced the report which considered the outcome of an investigation into traffic matters in the vicinity of the school, and the recommended course of action. The matter had been considered in June 2011 and the recommendation from that meeting was that more information be sought with the inclusion of the Police report and that consultation be carried out to include the views of County, Borough and Parish Councillors.

County Councillor Alan Willicombe acknowledged the parking situation at the school and the problems that it had caused within the community.

The following motion was proposed by County Councillor Alan Willicombe: That the proposal be deferred until a resolution had been made following negotiations that the School Governors were having with a local landowner. This was seconded by Councillor Jean Willicombe.

The KALC representative (Councillor Mike Baldock) explained that traffic congestion outside schools was a common problem, made worse by growing classrooms and a lack of resources, such as a good public transport system, to address the problem. He suggested that a more flexible approach be applied, not the 'safety critical' criteria adopted by KCC.

County Councillor Mike Whiting considered that there appeared to be a few options that could be put in place to address the parking problems. He suggested that these problems be resolved by the people living and working in the village and that opinion be sought through consultation as to the parking restrictions that could be implemented outside the school.

An amendment to the proposal was accepted by County Councillor Alan Willicombe: That consultation with local residents to take place to look at options of parking restrictions outside the school. This was seconded by County Councillor Whiting.

Councillor Harrison spoke in support of the recommendation in the report and considered deferring the matter would put pressure on the different parties involved.

A further amendment to the proposal was proposed by County Councillor Alan Willicombe: That consultation with local residents to take place to look at options of parking restrictions outside the school, so that options were available to take forward when a decision had been made on any additional land that was available for parking. This was seconded by County Councillor Whiting. On being put to the vote the motion was agreed.

sittingbourne northern relief road (nrr) and sittingbourne southern relief road (srr)

The Regeneration and Projects Manager introduced his report which provided an update on transport modelling and work on strategic highway schemes in Sittingbourne. He also gave a presentation and explained that the NRR would be open to the public by the end of the week. He outlined the processes that had taken place since March, which included a traffic model being submitted to the Local Development Framework (LDF) Panel, further consultation and the results of that consultation. Most had been in favour of the NRR being finished to the A2 and for Bapchild to be by-passed.

The Regeneration and Projects Manager reminded Members that the JTB had previously discussed the strategic need, the wider impacts, development, environment and delivery of the NRR/SRR. He explained that the traffic model was a simulation of traffic scenarios in the future. Option one and option three, selected in the LDF Pick-Your-Own process, had been used in the modelling and he outlined the effects of both of these on the modelling.

The results of the modelling suggested that the joining of the two schemes was not appropriate in the light of development in the Borough.

Members discussed the outcomes of planning the two parts of the road separately, including the impact this could have on congestion on the A2 and in the surrounding villages.

The Regeneration and Projects Manager confirmed that the presentation would be made available to all Councillors.

Democratic Services Officer

find and fix 3

This report detailed how funds were spent on roads within the Swale District, following the winter of 2010/11 and the subsequent damage to the road network across the country. Central Government provided additional funding for local authorities to carry out road repairs. Kent County Council was allocated £6.5 million for such repairs across the County.

quality bus partnership in swale

The Public Transport Team Leader (Kent County Council) introduced the report which considered the proposals for the establishment of a Quality Bus Partnership in Swale.

Members welcomed the report and the opportunity to provide an increase in bus use.

Representatives from Arriva and Chalkwell bus companies provided Members with information on the way forward with regard to bus travel. Measures included: their experience in delivering bus partnerships; ability to demonstrate strong investment and passenger growth; improvement of trunk roads; and continually seeking to improve services.

swale winter service plan

The District Manager for Swale introduced the report which considered the annual policy and plan which were used to determine actions that will be taken to manage KCC's winter service operations. He explained that the document was a starting point and he welcomed the feedback that Members gave which would help to build on the information which was needed to make improvements in the work carried out in the future.

The District Manager for Swale explained that it was possible to see the information provided in the report, on the KCC website. He welcomed any information from Parish Councils on what they considered to be priority roads for ploughing in their area.

formal objections to recently advertised traffic regulation orders

The Engineer introduced his report which considered objections received during the recent formal advertising of the latest Swale Traffic Regulation Order.

proposed double yellow lines, the broadway, minster - member highway funded scheme

The Engineer introduced his report which considered the results of recent consultation carried out in relation to proposed waiting restrictions in The Broadway, Minster.

various proposed waiting restrictions - an update report for information only

The Engineer introduced his report which provided an update on progress of various waiting restrictions in the Swale area.

progress update

Members considered the report which gave an update on the progress made regarding various schemes in the Borough, and Officers answered Members' questions. Members considered the report page by page.

100/06/08
Councillor Pat Sandle questioned why the process seemed to be taking a long time.
County Councillor Ken Pugh advised that he was attending a meeting regarding this matter at the beginning of January 2012 and would forward a written response to Councillor Pat Sandle.

235/09/11
With reference to Minute No. 100/06/08, Councillor Pat Sandle reported that she had not yet received a written response from the Swale District Manager.

Democratic Services Officer

information items - environment, highways and waste policy, overview and scrutiny committee (kcc)

Members considered the report of the Environment, Highways and Waste Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

exclusion of the press and public

part a minutes for confirmation to cabinet

disabled persons' parking bay installations and parking bay removals