urgent item

confirmation of chairman and vice-chairman

Kent County Councillor Mike Whiting was confirmed as Chairman and Councillor John Wright as Vice-Chairman for the 2012-2013 municipal year.

minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 March 2012 (Minute Nos. 587 - 603) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

Kent County Councillor Tom Gates declared an interest in Agenda Item No. 11: Extension to Faversham Pedestrianisation Scheme (Minute No. 67) as he had also discussed this matter at Faversham Town Council and attended the recent Town Centre Exhibition as part of the consultation process.

public session

The Chairman brought forward the following item where members of the public had registered to speak.

part a minutes for comfirmation to cabinet

petition received - parking restrictions, west street, sittingbourne

Mr Davison and Mr Fletcher, local residents, spoke on behalf of businesses and residents in West Street, Sittingbourne. They made the following comments: a petition with 1,300 signatures, from customers and businesses had been submitted to the JTB; recent enforcement on parking on single yellow lines was adversely affecting the trade of local businesses; deliveries to businesses had also been affected; the petitioners requested a relaxation to the enforcement and the creation of a few bays with 20 minute waiting restrictions, which should not alter the flow of traffic.

A Ward Member considered that parked vehicles did not have a serious effect on the traffic in this location. He considered the new parking enforcement measures were more stringent than before and that this was not necessary as the traffic appeared to flow adequately. He suggested the parking restrictions were removed.

Another Ward Member reported that he had never seen a hold-up in traffic in this area. He suggested that some parked vehicles helped to restrict the speed of cars along the road.

Members of the Board made the following points: why had these restrictions been installed in the first place, the situation needed to be reviewed urgently; trade was being affected; and add a temporary measure if the process takes too long.

The Head of Service Delivery advised that a temporary measure was not possible in respect of parked vehicles. He explained to Members the process that would be required which included talks with Kent County Council (KCC) to ensure that safety issues were looked into. Businesses would then be consulted and if they were in favour of a 20-minute waiting bay the traffic order could be made. The Engineer advised that it was his understanding that the next Traffic Order would be in August 2012.

In response to Members' request for urgency on this issue, the Head of Service Delivery explained that once the process had been carried through, August was, in reality, the earliest that the Traffic Order could be completed.

A motion was proposed that Swale Borough Council (SBC) Officers liaised with KCC Officers to look into installing 20-minute waiting bays adjacent to the shops, following consultation with local residents and businesses and with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Transportation Board and to be to be included in the August 2012 Traffic Order. This motion was seconded and on being put to the vote, the motion was agreed.

kent association of local councils (kalc) representation at swale jtb meetings – amendment to the swale joint transportation board agreement

This report advised Members of the amendments being made to the Swale Joint Transportation Board Agreement.

County Councillor Mr Bowles advised that there was an error in the report - David Brazier was the Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste (KCC), not the Chairman of the Swale Area KALC. Following the recent KALC meeting, two representatives were appointed to sit on the Swale JTB and KALC would be notified that a representative was also required from the Faversham area.

bold steps for aviation - discussion paper

The District Manager introduced the report which was a discussion paper from KCC which suggested how the United Kingdom's aviation capacity needs could be met without the need to develop a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary.

Members of the Board welcomed the report and made the following comments: make better use of Manston; London can only support one hub airport; support third runway at Heathrow which was not mentioned in the report; should not be spending money on a new airport when there were possibilities for expansion at other existing airports; Lydd expansion was not necessarily a good idea; and a new airport on the Thames Estuary would have a detrimental affect on the people who lived there.

various waiting restrictions

The Engineer introduced the report which considered the results of recent consultations carried out in various locations in relation to proposed waiting restrictions. He explained that since the report had been written, two further responses had been received in respect of Frognal Gardens/Station Road, Teynham, which resulted in three in support of the proposals and two objections. One further response had also been received in respect of Cranbrook Drive/Tunstall Road, Sittingbourne which resulted in eight in support of the proposals and six in objection.

blue badge reform

The District Manager introduced the report that provided an update on the implementation of and progress made on the revised Blue Badge service. He reported that the new system was implemented on 1 January 2012. Measures that had been taken to help reduce fraud included the badge design being updated to make it harder to copy, and a new national database was in place.

Members welcomed the measures taken to help reduce fraud. In response to a question, the Head of Service Delivery explained that new badge holders were made aware of the need to park responsibly and enforcement officers were able to report anyone who they considered was using the blue badge illegally and also to take action when a vehicle had parked illegally or caused obstruction.

a2, the street, bapchild - bus stop improvement

The Traffic Engineer introduced the report that considered an objection received to the upgrade of an existing bus stop in The Street, Bapchild. This bus stop location had not been resolved during the period when improvements to bus stops along the 333 service had taken place.

extension to faversham pedestrianisation scheme

This report provided a summary of the recent consultation for the possible extension of a full pedestrianisation scheme for Faversham Town Centre, to include Fridays. The Head of Service Delivery read out comments from Mrs Brenda Chester who had registered to speak on this item, but had sent her apologies. She considered that additional disabled parking in Partridge Lane was not appropriate for disabled people because of the slope; it would be better positioned in Court Street. She also requested that traffic closure on Saturday and Friday should be from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm.

Town Councillor Mrs Cindy Davis reported that Faversham Town Council was in support of the proposal and considered it to be the sensible way forward. She also considered that provision for disabled parking in Court Street would be a good idea.

Members made the following comments: would like to see closure on each market day; the majority of people in Faversham wanted closure on market days; closure would address safety issues; café culture was important in Faversham; and businesses would need to be more flexible with regard to when their deliveries were made.

The Head of Service Delivery advised that implementation of the trial period would be from 1 August 2012, and he further advised that funding was required to enable the trial to go ahead. Kent County Councillor Mr Tom Gates thanked the Head of Service Delivery for the work that had been carried out so far and he suggested that funding could be made available from local Members.

southeastern travel timetable - december 2012

The District Manager introduced the report which considered the proposed Southeastern Railway December 2012 timetable and requested a consultation response from the JTB.

Members of the Board made the following comments: the proposals had a bad impact on Newington, with a 50 minute gap in services at peak times; it would be better to have Newington on the main line service, rather than a stopping service, to avoid a long gap; there should be no diminution of rural services, including Newington, Teynham and Selling; there should be a direct link from Sheerness to Victoria, or Sheerness to Maidstone; the high speed train service had resulted in the traditional services suffering; investment needed to be made in the key congestion points which would give rural services a link to the mainline; an integrated bus and train service was needed; and it was necessary to know the proposals of the new franchise.

highway works programme 2012/13

The District Manager introduced the report that provided an update on the identified schemes for construction in 2012/13.

He explained that re-surfacing work on Whitstable Road/Love Lane, Faversham would commence in two weeks time and surface dressing on Monkshill Road, Waterham had been re-scheduled to commence in July 2012.

Members of the Board made comments on the work set out within the appendices.

The District Manager reported that signage on the Rushenden Relief Road and Northern Relief Road would be in place by the end of July 2012. He confirmed that he would forward a schedule when the work on the Northern Relief Road signage commenced, to Councillor Wright. In response to a query, he explained that the condition of Boughton Hill, Boughton was being monitored by Officers and that he would report back to Officers regarding the adoption of some roads in Faversham.

information item - environment, highways and waste policy, overview and scrutiny committee - 14 march 2012 (kcc)

highways and transportation professional consultancy services

The District Manager advised that the current Consultancy Services Contract had been extended to 31 March 2013, and that discussions were ongoing with prospective tenderers for a future contract which would commence in April 2013.

highway tracker survey 2011

The District Manager introduced the report that provided information on the key results of the 2011 Resident, County Member and Parish/Town Council Highway Tracker Survey.

In response to a query, the District Manager confirmed that the results were for Kent as a whole and he noted the comments that it would be more beneficial to have results pertinent to Swale.

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.

105/06/10 - Great Easthall Bus Lane, Sittingbourne

It was agreed that an update on this would be forwarded to Councillor Bowles and a report submitted to the next JTB meeting.

67/06/11 - Zig-Zags outside Tunstall School

The Chairman confirmed that there was no planning application (re additional land available for parking) in place at the current time. Funding had been signed-off for consultation on options of parking restrictions outside the school to take place.

exclusion of the press and public

part a minutes for confirmation to cabinet

disabled bay installations and removals