The Kent County Councillor Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, Swale Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Director of Regeneration, the Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager and Huber Car Park Systems have been invited to attend for this item.

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Director of Regeneration, the Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager, Huw Evans and Richard Blackwell from Spirit of Sittingbourne (SoS) and Philip Chater and Dominik Webster from Huber, the multi-storey car park contractors, to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration introduced the report and highlighted the progress that had been made since his last attendance at the Scrutiny Committee meeting in June 2018.  He praised Huber for their work and progress on the multi-storey car park, and thanked Kent County Council (KCC) for their assistance.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration advised that since the Agenda had been published, there had been further progress.

Multi-storey Car Park

Philip Chater (Huber), said that the multi-storey car park was progressing well and further progress was expected, to meet the deadlines.  He explained that progress would not be so visible in the coming months as work would be more localised within the inside of the car park.  He advised that there were no health and safety issues and thanked KCC for their help and support.

Members asked the following questions:

·         When would the multi-storey car park be complete?;

·         what were the fire evacuation plans during the build and on completion?;

·         how was the snag list addressed?; and

·         how many lifts were planned?.

In response, Philip Chater (Huber) advised that the forecast was that the major structure would be complete by the end of the year, and the car park should be complete by the end of February 2019, weather dependent.  He advised there were three emergency exits, explained the process of dealing with the snag list which was factored into the deadline date, and confirmed there would be 2 lifts in the completed car park.  The Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager said that some stages of the multi-storey car park scheme had been moved to allow for contingency for later in the project.  He added that the wall adjacent to The Forum was a fire boundary wall, emergency routes were via a ramp and there was always free access from The Forum.

The Chairman gave praise and thanked Huber for their attendance.

Kent Council Council

The Chairman welcomed the KCC Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, the Director of Highways, Transport and Waste and the Development Agreements Manager to the meeting.

The KCC Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste thanked the Scrutiny Committee for their invitation to attend and praised the successful relationship between KCC and Swale Borough Council (SBC).

The Chairman referred to the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee held on 7 June 2018, when Members had raised issues around the role of KCC in the scheme and its delayed start.

Huw Evans (SoS) explained that KCC had considered the Traffic Management Plan and raised issues which needed to be addressed.  He said that the work on the amended Traffic Management Plan had caused an initial delay but was of benefit as traffic delays in the area once the scheme commenced were significantly less than originally expected because of KCC’s suggestions.   He thanked KCC.

The Director of Highways, Transport and Waste added that KCC were regularly on site checking that the environment was safe and to minimise congestion.

A discussion ensued and a Member asked why some of the issues weren’t anticipated and why KCC were not involved in the project earlier in the process?  In response, Huw Evans (SoS) explained the lengthy stages of re-modelling the Traffic Management Plan.  The Director of Highways, Transport and Waste added that KCC were involved early on but additional requests took time to address, and the project was complex. He stressed the importance of safety.

Huw Evans (SoS) said that whilst lessons had been learned, the delays could have been a lot worse without KCC’s assistance and generally, the project was going well.

A Member drew attention to the issues of signage and gave an example of Heavy Goods Vehicle’s (HGV) directed round a narrow road as part of the diversion.  Richard Blackwell (SoS) advised that contractors were regularly monitoring signs but they had sometimes been moved or knocked down in between inspections. 

In the discussion that followed, several Members agreed that signage had improved since the scheme had  started and the number of HGV’s driving on unsuitable routes had fallen.  The KCC Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste asked Members to report incorrect signage.  He said that individual driving behaviours and the use of Sat Nav’s routing HGV’s down country lanes could not be mitigated against.    He advised Members that there had been liaison with the major transport depots to inform of diversions for HGV’s.

The Chairman thanked the KCC Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, the Director of Highways, Transport and Waste and the Development Agreements Manager for their attendance.

Swale Borough Council and Spirit of Sittingbourne

The Chairman referred to the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee Meeting held on 7 June 2018 and the actions arising.  He said that the Risk Register and Project Plan had been received by Members.  The Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager confirmed that information on contamination had been circulated and he agreed to confirm the costs.

In response to the Chairman’s question on whether the step-free access for the disabled toilets in The Forum Car Park had been looked at, the Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager advised that the design team were still looking at this.

In response to the request for a Facebook Page for the scheme, the Director of Regeneration advised that Kevin McKeever (Lowick Communications) had advised that the constant monitoring of a Facebook page could not be resourced.  She added that the website was updated and contained correct information and that SBC’s Facebook page was used to update the public.

A Member said that he had received many complaints about late buses, different drop-off points and bus passes being unable to be used on earlier buses in order to arrive at destinations on time.  In response, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration advised that the inital issues around re-routed buses had been resolved and he would check on the use of bus passes.  He added that there was communication with the bus companies through the Quality Bus Partnership meetings.  He agreed to consider how improvements could be made via SBC’s ‘Delivering for You’ service.

Other issues raised by Members included:

·         A249 still being used as a diversion when the M2 was shut;

·         were there ongoing discussions with businesses affected by diversions or road closures and what was SBC doing to help? and

·         communication with public and Members was still an issue.

Richard Blackwell (SoS) said drivers would use their own preferred route when being diverted but Highways England had advised that the A249 was not the suggested route.

The Director of Regeneration said that there was regular visiting and updating of High Street traders and SBC would assist in promotion when roads were re-opened.  The Chief Financial Officer added that a reduction in Business Rates was a rating valuation issue, and there was no discretion by SBC.  The Director of Regeneration agreed to discuss with SoS improvements in communication.

A Member asked what had caused the delay in the opening of St. Michael’s Road/Dover Street, Sittingbourne which had been set in time for local schools opening at the beginning of September 2018?  Richard Blackwell (SoS) advised that several issues including the removal of a hidden concrete slab in Milton Road and removal of a wall in Dover Street, works to the underpass leading from The Forum and the extension of a diverted water main to avoid maintenance in the future, had caused delays.

In the discussion that followed, Members suggested that exact completion dates should not be given to allow for any unexpected delays, and delays to the project should be better communicated to Members so that they could advise residents.

A Member suggested that signage, informing of expected completion dates should be displayed and updated regularly if delays occurred.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration agreed that Members should have been updated about the delay earlier and agreed to look at the issues raised around communication, signage and buses.

Finally, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration advised that The Light Cinema had not withdrawn from the project.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Director of Regeneration, the Sittingbourne Town Centre Scheme Manager, Huw Evans and Richard Blackwell (SoS) for their attendance.