minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 December 2011 (Minute Nos. 413 - 428) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

With reference to Minute No. 417, County Councillor Mr Mike Whiting requested an update on the position with regard to traffic and parking issues at Tunstall Primary School. He suggested that the consultation referred to in that minute be commenced by the end of March 2012 in order that the matter can be progressed more quickly.

County Councillor Mr Bowles advised that he had recently attended a meeting where it had been proposed that three Kent Association of Local Council (KALC) members sit on the JTB, one from each area. The Chairman endorsed this.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

public session

The Chairman brought forward the items where there were members of the public speaking.

Item 5 - Highways at the junction of Warden Bay Road and the B2231 Leysdown Road

Parish Councillor Purssord, Leysdown Parish Council, thanked Kent County Council for the part of the A2500 (B2231) that had been gritted. However, he raised concern and asked why the upgrade to an 'A' road had only gone as far as Eastchurch. He considered the B2231 road beyond Eastchurch was sufficiently busy to be classed as an 'A' road, and he requested that part of the road was also upgraded to an 'A' road.

Please see Minute No. 590 for the rest of this item.

Item 10 - Petition - Parking, Meyrick Road, Sheerness

Janys Thornton, Secretary, Sheppey Entertainment Association, spoke in response to the petition that had been received in relation to problems associated with Sheppey Little Theatre. Mrs Thornton explained that the Theatre had taken many measures to encourage theatre customers to use nearby car parks. She advised that promotional documents from the theatre had maps that showed local car parks and signs were also put up asking people to use them.

With reference to noise, Mrs Thornton advised that she was not aware of any complaints and the theatre had put up signs asking customers to consider the neighbourhood when using the theatre.

Please see Minute No. 595 for the rest of this item.

Item 15 Progress Update Report

Parish Councillor Peter Macdonald spoke on the reclassification of the B2231 to the A2500. He raised concern that only part of the road had been upgraded and explained that this was contrary to the advice of the Department of Transport.

Councillor Macdonald thanked the Council for the worked that had been carried out on the Harty Road and the Old Ferry Road, Sheerness.

part a minutes for comfirmation to cabinet

highways at the junction of warden bay road and b2231 leysdown road

The District Manager introduced the report that provided a response to the petition presented to the Swale Joint Transportation Board on 12 December 2011.

The District Manager outlined the works that had taken place so far and the permanent work that would be carried out after all the remedial work was completed. With regard to the request for a reduction in the speed limit, the District Manager advised that as the road had a relatively good safety record, it did not meet the crash criteria required to reduce the speed limit. The Police did not support a change to the speed limit here.

The District Manager advised that the decision to end the reclassification of the B2231 to the A2500 at Eastchurch was being monitored and would be changed if it was seen to be necessary to do so. He advised that with regard to gritting, the entire road was on the same gritting run and was treated the same whether it was on the A2500 section or the B2231 section.

Councillor Pat Sandle explained that reference in the letter, set out in the report, to a three year accident-free period was irrelevant in this case as the school had not been there for that amount of time. She considered the site visit mentioned in the letter should have been opened for all to attend. Councillor Sandle outlined the dangers of parking near the school and proposed that the speed limit outside the school be reduced to 30mph. This was seconded by County Councillor Mr Ken Pugh.

Members of the Board made the following points: concerns with the criteria needed to reduce speed limit; we were led to believe the whole B2231 would be reclassified, with appropriate signage that was still not there; it was just a question of moving the 30 mph sign further down the road, so was quite a simple thing to do; and 30 mph should be extended to roads outside all schools.

The District Manager explained that there were some road signs ready to be placed on the road and suggested these be put in place prior to the suggested movement of the 30mph sign. Councillor Sandle advised that the signs that were to be added to the roadside were needed at the location in any case, regardless of the change of location of the 30mph sign.

highway works programme 2011/2012

Members considered the report that provided an update on the identified schemes approved for construction in 2011/2012.

The District Manager confirmed that he would provide further details to Councillor Mike Baldock with regard to Chestnut Street/Wrens Road and to Councillor Pat Sandle with regard to Warden Bay.

kent freight action plan

The District Manager introduced the report that described the current progress with the Kent Freight Action Plan (FAP) and the next steps in the process before it was formally adopted. He advised that a four-week consultation period on this would commence in a few weeks time.

Members raised the following points: concerns with the lack of toilet facilities in lay-bys; would like to see 'No HGVs' signs in villages and parishes; SATNAV needed to be updated to divert HGVs away from rural roads; and the haulage companies should take more responsibility for provision of sufficient parking at the lorries' destination.

a common sense plan for safe and sensible street lighting

The District Manager introduced the report that set out a review by KCC of its Street Lighting management, in response to rising energy costs. He explained that there were around 120,000 streetlights in Kent, with an annual cost of £5 million. Costs were likely to go up and he explained that it was also important to reduce carbon emissions. The views of the Swale Joint Transportation Board were welcomed.

In response to a question, the District Manager explained that LED lights were too expensive to use at the moment, and not always reliable.

Members supported the report and raised the following points: sometimes lights were on during the day; acknowledgement that light pollution was bad; different area scenarios did not always require the same quantity of lighting; it was important to think of the safety of pedestrians if lighting was to be reduced; cyclists should wear more visible clothing; it was important than any consultation was informative of what was hoped to be achieved; introduce light sensors; response to faulty lighting issues needed to be resolved more quickly; there was also a problem with industrial lighting with regard to light pollution; welcome decreased lighting, especially in the early hours; and include local residents and Parish Councils in the consultation, to enable a localised approach to be taken.

The District Manager advised that lights fail in the 'on' position, so that was why they sometimes remained lit during the day. He welcomed information from local residents on lighting in their neighbourhoods that had appeared to fail.

m2, junction 5 - an update

The Regeneration Projects Manager introduced his report that set out a summary of studies carried out to-date on the traffic problems at M2 Junction 5 (Stockbury). He also gave a presentation on the various possible improvement plans and some of the issues/constraints in trying to overcome the problems.

The Regeneration Projects Manager advised that the junction had a sub-regional function and was not fit for purpose. He explained that the roundabout did not work well and there was not a good safety record in the vicinity; 3 - 6 crashes in a three year period was normal, whereas there had been 57 crashes at this location.

The Regeneration Projects Manager showed some proposed options to the road layout to address the problems which included a flyover at ground level, with a cost of £5.3 million; introduction of additional traffic lights, with a cost of £7.5 million, but with an additional problem of there being no option to carry out a u-turn. A preferred option was to keep the junction control as it was and widen the carriageway to four lanes on the A249 northbound, with a cost of £3 million. He advised that the Southern Relief Road would ease the problems, but would not completely solve them; an additional junction increased safety problems.

The Regeneration Projects Manager explained that there was no guarantee that these improvements would address the problems and there would be a lot of disruption. He added that constraints to these options included: the area is in a flood risk zone; land south of the motorway is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and it is close to Ancient Woodlands. Ownership of the land involved was also a further complication, none of the land was in Swale and Swale was not the planning authority.

The Regeneration Projects Manager outlined the development implications and the risk of the junction acting as a brake on development in Swale if the problems were not addressed. He advised that the specific location of any development in the future would have an impact on the flow of traffic at the junction. The Regeneration Projects Manager outlined the new structure for commissioning new major Highway Agency work that now had direct oversight by the Department of Transport. He added that the Regional Local Enterprise Partnership and Local Enterprise Partnership had greater influence on prioritisation of road infrastructure, rather than just the Highway Agency.

County Councillor Mr Bowles explained that something needed to be done to help Swale advance economically; Councillor Whelan suggested a high level flyover, the Regeneration Projects Manager considered this would cost around £55 - 60 million to construct.

The Director of Regeneration explained that the options were to continue to press Government for maintenance and improvements to the road network and to develop local jobs to keep the level of congestion down.

The Regeneration Projects Manager confirmed that he would forward details of KCC's new Project Officer to the Board.

The Chairman announced that this was George Chandler's last meeting in his current role. He thanked him for the work that he had done in Swale and wished him well in the future.

petition - parking, meyrick road, sheerness

The Engineer introduced the report that set out a response to a petition recently received from residents in Meyrick Road, Sheerness, in relation to problems associated with Sheppey Little Theatre.

Members welcomed the measures that the theatre had taken to address the parking issues.

changes to the blue badge (disabled parking) scheme

formal objections to traffic regulation orders amendments 3a/3b

The Engineer introduced the report that outlined the recently advertised Amendment 3a/3b Traffic Regulation Order for parking restrictions throughout the Borough. He also brought Members' attention to the tabled paper that set out the formal objections that had been received. The Engineer advised that, with reference to the proposals for double yellow lines at Lower Road/Roebuck Road, Faversham he had been made aware of a petition, but had not yet received it. He therefore suggested this matter be deferred to the next meeting, for further information.

In response to a question, the Engineer advised that the lay-bys on Sittingbourne High Street would be taxi-ranks from 7pm - 7am and bus stops from 7am - 7pm.

A Ward Member requested that the parking scheme proposed in Faversham at Davington Hill be carried out at the same time as the extension to double yellow lines on Dark Hill.

information item - environment, highways and waste policy, overview and scrutiny committee (kcc) - 22 november 2011

The District Manager advised that ten bus services in Kent were being looked into with regard to their cost effectiveness. He reported that Service 327 was being extended for one year, following Member Highway Funding from KCC Councillor Mr Alan Willicombe.

information items - environment, highways and waste policy, overview and scrutiny committee (kcc) - 12 january 2012

progress update report

Members considered the report that 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.

feedback on the winter service plan

The District Manager explained that the Winter Service Plan would be reviewed in April 2012 and he would contact the Swale Parishes that were not members of KALC to ask for any feedback on provision of Winter Service over the recent months.

exclusion of the press and public

part a minutes for comfirmation to cabinet

disabled bay installations and removals

There was some discussion on the criteria needed to be eligible for a Disabled Parking Bay. The Engineer explained that the applicant would need to be claiming higher rate disability allowance and also be a Blue Badge holder. If a space was no longer required, SBC needed to be notified.