Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, - Swale House. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services, 01795 417330 

Items
No. Item

192.

Minutes

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 8 June 2015 (Minute Nos. 45 - 52) as a correct record.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 8 June 2015 (Minute Nos. 45 – 52) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

193.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

 

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

 

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

 

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

 

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Director of Corporate Services as Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

 

Minutes:

No interests were declared.

194.

Public Session

Members of the public have the opportunity to speak at this meeting.  Anyone wishing to present a petition or speak on this item is required to register with the Democratic Services Section by noon on Friday 4 September 2015.  Questions that have not been submitted by this deadline will not be accepted.  Only two people will be allowed to speak on each item and each person is limited to asking two questions.  Each speaker will have a maximum of three minutes to speak.

 

Petitions, questions and statements will only be accepted if they are in relation to an item being considered at this meeting.

Minutes:

The Vice-Chairman in the Chair welcomed Mr Ben Martin, resident and Faversham Town Councillor to the meeting.  Mr Martin spoke in relation to item 10 on the agenda, the A2/A251 junction in Faversham.

 

Mr Martin questioned the viability of having a roundabout at the junction, as recommended by the Swale Joint Transportation Board (JTB) on 9 June 2014.  Mr Martin referred to pictures of various suggested options for the junction, which were tabled for members of the Board.

 

The Vice-Chairman in the Chair agreed to pass the suggested options to the engineers.

 

Mr Lynch presented a petition with 45 signatures to the Board in relation to ongoing parking issues in Fairview Road, Heather Close, Aubretia Walk and Lavender Court in Sittingbourne.   Mr Lynch considered that parking in this area caused health and safety issues, and access for emergency vehicles was difficult.

 

The Vice-Chairman in the Chair advised that a report on this issue would be considered at the next JTB on 7 December 2015.

Part One - Minutes for recommendation to Swale Borough Council's Cabinet

195.

Proposed Waiting Restrictions, The Street, Boughton-under-Blean pdf icon PDF 61 KB

To consider a summary of informal consultation results with residents and statutory consultees on proposed amendments to waiting restrictions in The Street, Boughton-under-Blean.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Engineer introduced the report which provided a summary of informal consultation results with residents and statutory consultees on proposed amendments to waiting restrictions in The Street, Boughton-under-Blean.

 

The Engineer reported that 37 properties had been consulted, 19 responses had been received, seven were in support of the proposal and 12 had objected.

 

A Ward Member thanked officers for the report and considered the proposals would not disadvantage local businesses or residents.

 

Recommended:

 

(1)  That double yellow lines across the Gas Lane entrance, off The Street, Boughton-under-Blean be included in the next Traffic Regulation Order.

(2)  That the proposed double yellow lines between 179 and 191 The Street, Boughton-under-Blean be abandoned.

196.

Formal Objections to Traffic Regulation Order pdf icon PDF 53 KB

To consider a summary of any formal objections received in relation to the recently advertised Traffic Regulation Order Swale Amendment 15, and information on the current timeframes for the reporting of formal objections.

 

Minutes:

The Engineer introduced the report which provided a summary of any formal objections received in relation to the recently advertised Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) Swale Amendment 15, and provided information on the current timeframes for the reporting of formal objections.

 

The Engineer drew Members’ attention to the tabled correspondence in objection to the planned parking restrictions along All Saints Close, Iwade.  In response to a question regarding the lack of information on the location of the proposals in the report, the Engineer agreed to include the relevant TRO on similar reports in the future.

 

Members spoke on the dangers of parking on the corners of roads with the lack of access for emergency vehicles.

 

Kent County Council (KCC) Councillor Mike Baldock proposed that double yellow lines be installed around the corners of the junction of All Saints Close/The Street, Iwade.  This was seconded by KCC Councillor Roger Truelove, and on being put to the vote the proposal was agreed.

 

The Vice-Chairman in the Chair requested that South Road, Faversham be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

 

Recommended:

 

(1)  That double yellow lines be installed around the corners of the junction of All Saints Close/The Street, Iwade. 

(2)  That the report be noted and the Traffic Regulation Order be progressed.

197.

Informal Consultation on Waiting Restrictions pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To consider a summary of informal consultation results with residents and statutory consultees on proposals to install a single yellow line on the east side of Grayshott Close in Sittingbourne.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report provided a summary of informal consultation results with residents and statutory consultees on proposals to install a single yellow line on the east side of Grayshott Close, Sittingbourne.

 

Recommended:

 

(1)  That a single yellow line on the east side of Grayshott Close, Sittingbourne be proceeded, with restrictions between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

(2)  That the existing double yellow lines in Grayshott Close, Sittingbourne near the junction with Highsted Road be extended from five metres to 10 metres in length.

(3)  That double yellow lines around the turning head at the end of Grayshott Close, Sittingbourne be installed.

Part Two - Minutes for recommendation to Kent County Council's Cabinet

198.

Swale Rail Line between Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea pdf icon PDF 90 KB

To consider a report on the activities of the Kent Community Rail Partnership, in relation to the “Swale Rail” line between Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Principal Transport Planner introduced the report which provided an update on the activities of the Kent Community Rail Partnership (KCRP), in relation to the ‘Swale Rail’ line between Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea.  She provided a background to the KCRP, and outlined activities that the organisation undertook to promote the use of rail, and the financial contributions that had been made.

 

KCC Councillor Mike Baldock proposed that Swale be encouraged to consider funding KCRP £4,000 per year towards promoting events in Swale, and that they are asked to consider extending their remit to Swale’s lesser used stations, including Teynham, Newington and Selling.  KCC Councillor Roger Truelove supported the proposal which was agreed by Members.

 

Mr Guy Schofield, KCRP, provided an overview of the partnership.  He acknowledged the  community involvement with the project, and the progress that had been made.  Mr Schofield welcomed the proposal for the provision of further funding.

 

The Leader suggested that the Principal Transport Planner and Mr Schofield be asked to contribute information to the report for SBC’s Cabinet to consider.

 

Recommended:

 

(1)  That Swale be encouraged to consider funding the Kent Community Rail Partnership £4,000 per year towards promoting events in Swale.

(2)  That the Kent Community Rail Partnership consider extending their remit to Swale’s lesser used stations, including Teynham, Newington and Selling.

Part Three - Minutes for Information

199.

Street Lighting LED Project Update Report pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Members are asked to note the report which provides an update of the LED conversion project, trial switch-off sites review and consultation on street lighting.     

Minutes:

The District Manager for Swale introduced the report which provided an update of the LED conversion project, trial switch-off sites review and consultation on street lighting.  He reported that the consultation dates in the report had been amended to be from 21 September to 29 November 2015.

 

Members considered the report and made the following comments:  there was an assumption that the LED conversion would mean all lights back on; an openly explicit consultation was needed so that people were aware of the process taking place, and to complete the consultation so that the public got what they really wanted; it was thought that each light could be looked at individually, but have since been advised this was not possible; further option choices needed to be added to the consultation, e.g. half lights on, half off; all off; opt-out basis; lights next to alleyways should not be switched off; previous consultation was a disaster; needed to get consultation right; parish councils should be consulted; the electricity cost should be looked into as there was a surplus of electricity during night hours; and Scrapsgate Road, Minster was a good example of LED lighting.

 

The District Manager explained that during the 1980s, every third column and junction lights had been left on.  This was difficult and expensive to maintain.  He confirmed that the County’s electricity was purchased in bulk, which gave a reduction in price.  The District Manager reported that he would feed the comments made by the Board back to the LED Project Manager.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)  That the report be noted.

200.

Swale Highway Works Programme Report - September 2015 pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Members are asked to note the report on the identified schemes approved for construction in 2015/16.

Minutes:

The Board considered the report which provided an update on the identified schemes approved for consultation in 2015/16.

 

The District Manager advised, that since the report was written, there were a few updates to be made as some works in the report had been delayed due to bad weather conditions.  He suggested the updates be included with the minutes when they were published.

 

Members went through the report and the following comments and responses were made:

 

Page 43

 

Salters Lane/Ashford Road, Faversham junction needed to be added to the micro-surfacing schedule, to commence 23 September 2015.

 

Lower Road, Minster-on-Sea – it was confirmed that pre-patching was carried out initially, then there was often a six-month gap for the material to settle;  and micro-surfacing was due to commence on 9 September 2015 at this location

 

A Member considered care needed to be taken to avoid micro-surfacing being flushed down drains.

 

Would like to see areas included in the report that had been pre-patched, and awaiting micro surfacing, so that there was a complete record of the programme of work.

 

Page 48

 

An update was requested on the roads in the Brents, Faversham where gullies blocked with mud needed to be cleared, action was needed so that any future flood water could drain away.  The District Manager agreed to follow this up.

 

Page 49

 

Highsted Road, Sittingbourne issue should not be ‘dropped’, the footpath was needed.  A Member advised that he was meeting officers on 8 September 2015 to discuss this further.

 

A Member requested to see the plans of the part time 20mph zone at Bobbing Village School.

 

A2/A251 – the Vice-Chairman in the Chair re-confirmed that the tabled suggested options for this junction were passed to officers.  In response to a question, the District Manager confirmed that the Fire Brigade had been consulted on the earlier options.  He confirmed that he would report back to KCC with the design of the scheme and clarify the consultation process that had taken place with the Fire Brigade.

 

Page 50

 

The Ward Member requested information on the Brents area.

 

A2500/Lower Road – the 50mph speed limit was still in place.

 

Page 51

 

Barton Hill Drive, Minster-on-Sea – disappointed that the agreement was out of time.

 

Page 52

 

Seager Road, Sheerness – the District Manager agreed to update the schedule, and report status as ‘pending’.

 

Page 54

 

Petition, Tonge Road, Murston should be included within the developer contribution section.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)  That the report be noted.

201.

Progress Update Report pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To consider the Progress Update which outlines progress made following recommendations and agreed action at previous meetings.

Minutes:

Members considered the report that gave an update on the progress made regarding various schemes in the Borough.

 

Page 55

 

590/03/12 – update should read …..awaiting electrical connections.

 

Page 56

 

70/06/14 – the Engineer was meeting with bus operators on 29 September 2015, a further update would be provided at the next meeting of the Board.

 

A Member suggested that a trial Christmas market took place.

 

Page 57

 

Lower Road/Barton Hill, Minster-on-Sea junction – this need to be a top priority for KCC.

 

A Member suggested the JTB contributed to the Kent Environment Strategy consultation.

 

Resolved:

 

(1)  That the report be noted.