Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sacha Gosine, Mrs J Ozog, and from Mr J Ozog.

The Board noted the appointment of Councillor Mote as a substitute for Councillor Mrs J Ozog. 

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 Board Members nor from Councillor Mote.

That the minutes of the meetings of the Joint Transportation Board held on 9 March 2021 be confirmed as a correct record subject to the addition of Yvonne Seymour and Stephanie Thredgle to the list of those present.

The Chairman will announce whether there are any urgent items and their position on the agenda.

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

This report advises Members on the progress of matters arising at previous meetings of the Board and of programmed matters for the Board to consider.

The Board received a report which detailed matters upon which further information had been requested, together with a proposed plan of work for the Board for future meetings.

Arising from this Councillor Garden reported that due to the size of the Agenda for this meeting he proposed to re arrange the running order of some items and to defer consideration of a number of issues until the next Board meeting.

The Clerk to the meeting confirmed that there were no matters referred for the Board to consider.

Mr Shane Hymers will provide a briefing on the latest developments on the Fastrack system.

The Chairman, Councillor Garden, introduced Mr Shane Hymers the KCC Public Transport Manager for the Fastrack scheme.

Mr Hymers explained that as part of the Planning Consent for the new Amazon warehouse at the Bridge Development, it had been conditioned that a bus service be provided to enable staff to travel to work without recourse to private transport.  The new service had now commenced, was running on part of the Fastrack route and was being provided by a private bus contractor.

It was noted that the bus service had commenced on 23 August 2021 but that a number of complaints had been received from residents of Ingress Park relating to the size of buses used, noise and intrusion caused by the service, and possible road safety issues where vehicles accessed Ingress Park.

Mr Hymers reassured the Board that as part of a review of the Service was to be undertaken on 17 September 2021, consideration would be given to the complaints received from Ingress Park including the current service requirement for bus size, the route followed and road safety matters, and the possible introduction of bus stops for the service on Ingress Park. 

Councillor Garden also invited comment from a Member of the public who recounted details of a recent “near miss” with a service vehicle.

Councillor Garden thanked Mr Hymers for the briefing, and asked that local Members and residents of Ingress Park be kept apprised of the review process and any alterations to the service agreed.

A presentation by Jacqui Elliott the KCC Public Transport Manager / Lead for MaaS

The Board received a presentation from Mrs Jacqui Elliott, the KCC Public Transport Manager / Lead for “Mobility as a Service.”  (MaaS)

Mrs Elliott explained that MaaS is a developing programme which will allow the purchase of a single travel ticket to cover the entirety of a journey using a variety of sustainable transport providers.

Mrs Elliott explained the ethos of MaaS – the use of sustainable transport modes in order to minimise the use of private transport, the progress that the development of the programme had achieved so far – both in attracting transport providing partners and developing the necessary computer application to support the programme.

It was noted that Kent County Council intended to retain ownership of MaaS and that currently consideration was being given to the viability of the programme.

Whilst Members welcomed the scheme some concern was expressed that the scheme depended on private companies providing a reliable service, the possible lack of sustainable provision to complete journeys and the need to include TfL services in single tickets.

The Chairman thanked Mrs Elliott for her presentation and invited her to return to the Board in March 2022 to update Members on the progress that had been made.

Mr Thomas Whittingham will update Members on the improvements to the M25 approaches to the Dartford Crossing.

MrWhittingham England Highways route sponsor for the Dartford Crossing, updated Members on improvements to Junctions 1a, 1b and 2 which it was hoped would alleviate congestion problems on local routes caused by vehicles accessing the Dartford Crossing.

He also informed Members that enforcement cameras at Junction 1a were now functioning and that the Police were responsible for the imposition of penalty charges arising from misuse of the junction.  Signs had been positioned to warn road users of the cameras and that any further notification was the responsibility of the Police.

Members thanked Mr Whittingham for the information and welcomed the activation of the enforcement cameras although some concern was expressed that information on this was not made available to Members earlier.  In response Mr Whittingham agreed to provide material which Councillors could use within their social media.

Details of traffic flow and statistics will be provided by a representative of the Crossing Management Company.

The Board received a presentation on the operational process undertaken in the management of the Dartford Crossing from Mr Adam Dunleavy, Operations Manager, Connect Plus.

Mr Dunleavy explained the history of the crossing, its maintenance processes and the management actions available for dealing with crossing closures.

He also reported on the current traffic flows being dealt with by the crossing and some outlined measures undertaken to deal with vehicles which were oversized or carried hazardous loads.

Guidance on the automatic payment scheme currently operated at the Dartford Crossing is attached for Member Information.

The Board received a briefing note which set out details of the variety of pre - payment plans available to local residents using the Dartford Crossing.

A verbal report by Mr Agboola.

This matter was deferred to our next meeting.

A verbal report from Mr Agboola

Mr Agboola gave a very brief update on collaborative work being undertaken relating to the approaches to the Dartford Crossing.

A verbal report by Mr Agboola

It was noted that consideration of this matter was deferred.

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)

There were no issues raised by Members.

In the absence of a representative from the relevant Highways England project team, the latest information newsletter on the junction improvements at the A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet interchange, is attached for Member information.

The Board noted an information leaflet issued by the developer responsible for the current work at the Bean and Ebbsfleet interchange on the A2 trunk road.

For Members information the following has been attached:

§    Environment  and Transport 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 18 March 2021.

The Board expressed considerable concern at the failure to attend the Meeting by the new Dartford Area Manager, Mr Kevin Gore.  Mr Gore had cited instructions from senior management as his reason for non - attendance.

However it was noted that both Mr Hymers and Mrs Elliott had attended the meeting. 

Accordingly it was agreed that

1.    The Chairman should write to Mr David Brazier, KCC Cabinet member for Environment and Transport, explaining the Board’s disappointment at the non -attendance of Mr Gore; and ,

2.    The Chairman arrange to meet with Mr Gore to discuss issues raised by the Board.