Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Messrs David Butler - Rhule, Jeremy Kite, and Jan Ozog.

The Chairman, Councillor Ann Allen welcomed Councillor Sacha Gosine to his first meeting of the Board.  Councillor Gosine had replaced Councillor Grehan as a Board Member.

The Chairman also welcomed Councillor Currans to the meeting in her capacity as lead Member for Town Centre Regeneration.

To receive declarations of interest from Members including the terms(s) of the Grant of Dispensation (if any).

There were no declarations of Interest received from any Board Member nor from Councillor Currans.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Joint Transportation Board held on 22 September 2020 be confirmed as a correct record of that Meeting.

It was noted that there were no urgent items for the Board to consider.

It was reported that there were no matters referred to the Board for consideration.

The Board received a report on matters which were outstanding from previous meetings.

The following matters were raised:

Parking Issues Ingress Park:  Mr Harman reported that there had been developments on this matter and that he would liaise with the Principal Transport Planner on this matter.

Misuse of Busways by Motorists: It had been reported that a detailed report to the Cabinet on the use of ANPR cameras to enforce restrictions on the bus ways was to be prepared by Mr Hymers, but this had not been presented yet.  The Board therefore asked that the Clerk contact Mr Hymers to remind him of this.

Traffic Congestion arising from the Dartford Crossing: It was noted that a brief report on this had been circulated to Members, and that Mr Whittingham had asked that questions on this be forwarded to him by Email.

Increased Pavement Provision for A225 Dartford Road at Sutton at Hone and Hawley: The Chairman enquired if proposals had ever been passed to the relevant County Councillor.

Drainage Dartford Road:

Chatsworth and Arundel Roads Congestion Issues.  The Chairman asked the Clerk to ascertain if these issues had been resolved and could be removed from the report.

A presentation from the Project Manager, Mr Keith Longley.

The Board received a presentation from Mr Keith Longley the Project Manager for the on- going Town Centre redevelopment scheme.

Mr Longley informed Members of the progress made on the scheme so far, highlighting the near completion of the first phase, Market Street, with high quality paving and street furniture having been installed and with proposed improvements to the street scene as a whole being envisaged.

He reported that designs for phase 1a of the project, the re development of the town Market Place (High Street) and Phase 2 (Instone Road) had been completed, and a tendering exercise for the works was currently under way.

The successful conclusion of the exercise should allow for a commencement of works on these two sections in late January 2021.

Additionally Mr Longley informed the Board of proposals to regenerate the area adjoining and around the Two Brewers Public House, as part of phase 2 including the improvement of a pedestrian corridor and an open space on the corner of Instone Road being suggested.

The Board congratulated Mr Longley on the quality of the work completed so far and raised points regarding the following matters

·         Pedestrian Crossing facilities in Lowfield Street

·         Cleaning regimes for the newly created areas, and gum removal

·         The total exclusion of vehicular traffic from the High Street

·         The provision of bus shelters at West Hill

Arising from these points Mr Longley informed that Board that it was not proposed to install controlled crossings in Lowfield Street as traffic speed and volume should allow pedestrians opportunity to cross the area with the need for these.

With regard to the cleaning of the Town Centre, Mr Longley reported that the inherent nature of the paving installed together with the treatment applied to it would allow for the easy removal of gum and the like from the paved areas.

The whole area would be subject to a special clean before being handed over to Dartford for future maintenance.

It was noted that the current temporary arrangement of bus stops on West Hill did not provide cover for bus users but that this would be addressed when new sites for the bus stops are developed.

In addition to this it is planned to enclose the sub structure of the pedestrian footbridge in Home Gardens to remove the current issues relating to pigeons roosting and nesting in the bridge.

With regard to excluding cars from the High Street, it was reported that the installation of hydraulic bollards, the closure of a number of access points through the provision of alternatives where possible and rigorous enforcement would prevent this.

The Chairman thanked Mr Longley for his presentation and the Board noted that he would report further on the development in due course.

A verbal update from the Principal Transport Planner.

The Principal Transport Planner, Mr Agboola, updated the Board on the progress of the establishment of a steering group which aims to assess and promote measures to lessen the effects of traffic congestion arising from junction 1a of the A282 Dartford Crossing Approach Road.

Mr Agboola informed Members that a Memorandum of Understanding and Terms of Reference had been agreed for the group and that the establishment of the Group had sparked interest from neighbouring Authorities.

Mr Agboola undertook to keep the Board apprised of further developments and initiatives at future Board meetings.

A verbal report by the Principal Transport Planner.

Mr Agboola updated the Board on the progress made to date for the Lower Thames Crossing – the proposed new Thames crossing into Essex, east of Gravesend..

It was noted that consultations had taken place between April and August 2020 and that a number of concerns had been raised, including air quality, traffic noise and the impact of construction traffic on local road networks.

Mr Agboola reported that Highways England had submitted an application for a Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate in October 2020 but due to a number of concerns raised by the Inspectorate these had been withdrawn for development of further information.  It was likely to be re submitted in April 2021.

The Chairman thanked Mr Agboola for his report and asked that the Board be updated on progress at the next meeting in March 2021.

A Verbal Report from the Principal Transport Planner.

The Board was reminded that at the meeting held on 22 September 2020 it had considered proposals for a pilot scheme to prioritise requests for parking restrictions across the Borough, and had commended the scheme to Cabinet who had approved its introduction.

It was reported that a pilot using the Guidance had commenced focussing on parking issues in the St Johns Road area and local Members and the local school had been involved.

It was also noted that further information on the pilot will be presented at future meetings of the Board. 

Members have the opportunity to raise  the following: -

·         Questions in relation to capital and revenue funded works programmes

·         Suggestions for future traffic regulation orders or street management proposals

·         Questions on policies, plans and strategies related to highways, road traffic and public transport.

·         Suggestion of a future agenda item (subject to the Chairman’s approval)

Members raised the following matters:

Councillor Allen asked if parking problems could be investigated at the following sites: Abbey Drive (on the Bexley Park Estate) and Highfield Road and Phoenix Place Dartford.

Councillor Garden reported that he had raised two issues before the meeting, with KCC: (the criteria for the installation of pedestrian crossings and the introduction of weight restrictions on roads) and that he had received responses to both his enquiries.

Councillor Garden also informed the Board that Arriva Click had extended its service into Ebbsfleet giving residents public transport access into Dartford and Gravesend.

Additionally Councillor Lucas Reynolds informed the Board that he had received complaints that Arriva had cut the timetable for its 414 route in response to low usage.  As this was a rural service, the reduction and vehicle size, had resulted in users being unable to board the service with a very long wait for the next service.

Councillor Garden enquired if KCC had been made aware of the reductions to update their Central Timetable posting.  Ms Sutton agreed to raise this with the KCC Public Transport section.

Finally Ms Sutton reminded the Board that Parish councils have the opportunity to register requests for highway schemes through the Parish Highway Improvement Programme.

For Members information the following has been attached for Members information: -

§    Environment, Highways and Waste Cabinet Committee – Minutes

NB: If a Member wishes to discuss any of these items at the meeting, please advise the Member Services Section (01322) 343251 prior to the meeting.

The Board received and noted the Minutes of the Kent County Council, Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee held on 15 September 2020.