Maidstone Joint Transportation Board				17 October 2018
Maidstone Integrated Transport Package (MITP)
Decision Making Authority		Kent County Council/Maidstone Borough Council
Lead Director		Simon Jones
Lead Head of Service		Tim Read
Lead Officer and Report Author		Russell Boorman/Jay Judge
Wards and County Divisions affected		Wards: Shepway South/Parkwood County Divisions: Maidstone South East
Which Member(s) requested this report?		Councillors Chittenden, Bird and Clark
This report makes the following recommendations:   1)   That the contents of the Maidstone Integrated Transport Package (MITP) be noted.   2)   That the recommendations to proceed with the junction improvements contained within the Maidstone Integrated Transport Package be supported.
Timetable
Meeting			Date
Maidstone Joint Transportation Board			17 October 2018

Maidstone Integrated Transport Package (MITP)

1.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1       This report provides an update and recommendation in respect of the          proposed junction improvements contained within the Maidstone     Integrated Transport Package (MITP).

   

1.2                  In 2015, Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council jointly          identified ten locations that were assessed as requiring intervention to         reduce traffic congestion and improve journey time reliability.  These      locations were subsequently agreed by the Joint Transportation Board, JTB, in October 2015 and were put forward for part funding through the      LGF MITP. (Note, the original bid to the South East Local Enterprise      Partnership, SELEP, for the MITP was for a Maidstone Park and Ride   scheme. This was subsequently given approval by the SELEP to be        changed to congestion relieving schemes at the ten identified locations).      Table 1 gives details of the ten locations, their amalgamation into five        discreet projects and latest budget estimates. A map showing these      locations is included in Appendix 1.

 

Project	Location	District	Budget Estimate
1	A274 Sutton Road junction with Willington Street (1)	Maidstone	£4.0m
2	a)   M20 Junction 5 (currently no improvement identified)	Tonbridge & Malling	Nil
	b)   A20 Coldharbour Roundabout		£3.5m
	c)   A20 London Road at the junction with Hermitage Lane (completed)		£0.4m*
3	a)   B2246 Hermitage Lane at its junction with Heath Road/St Andrews Road	Maidstone	£1.5m
	b)   A26 Tonbridge Road at its junction with Fountain Lane
4	a)   A229 Loose Road junction with Cripple Street/Boughton Lane	Maidstone	£1.0m
	b)   A229 Loose Road junction with Armstrong Road/Park Way		£0.75m
	c)   A229 Loose Road junction with A274 Sutton Road (Wheatsheaf)		£2.0m
5	A20 Ashford Road junction with Willington Street (2)	Maidstone	£1.5m
* Funding to be refunded via S106 agreements		Total (excluding Project 2c)	£14.25m

 

Table 1: Ten Congestion ‘Hotspots’ identified by KCC and MBC in 2015

 

1.3                  The funding package for the MITP is made up of £8.9m LGF, secured by      Kent County Council via the SELEP, to be spent by March 2021, and     £7.67m of developer contributions giving a total available budget of           £16.57m. The available funding breakdown and associated constraints is          given in Table 2.

 

 

Table 2: Breakdown of available MITP funding

 

1.4  Given the nature and proximity of the schemes and the potential to exacerbate already congested locations during the construction stages, a phased delivery programme, shown in Figure 1, was produced. The existing project constraints, such as planning permission or land assembly requirements offers limited scope to accelerate the individual schemes within the programme.

 

 

Figure 1: MITP Delivery Programme

 

2.           Project 2: Coldharbour Roundabout:

 

2.1    An initial feasibility design has been completed which proposes to enlarge      the existing signalised Coldharbour roundabout. The proposal also removes     the existing traffic signals, increasing the free flow of traffic.

 

2.2    This scheme requires the acquisition of third party land to accommodate the roundabout enlargement. Early discussions have been undertaken with the     land owner (RBLI) who are responsive to the purchase of the required land.        However, the relatively small area of land required forms part of a much       larger plot that is subject to a quite onerous overage held by the NHS; this         poses a significant risk to the project and assistance has been sought from       KCC Property to resolve.

 

2.3    A commission has been issued to develop the feasibility design through to outline design and will be completed in November 2018. This will allow the detailed design to be completed by May 2019 with a summer/autumn 2019 construction commencement, subject to land acquisition.

 

2.4    An indicative scheme design can be seen in Appendix 2.

 

3.       Project 3: B2246 Hermitage Lane:

 

3.1     A feasibility design has been completed which addresses congestion at this location. Due to the constrained urban environment, the proposal requires the use of a parcel of the adjacent heathland and the removal of mature trees.

 

3.2     A traffic regulation order, TRO, will also be required to remove ‘on street’ parking, enabling the free flow of traffic along Fountain Lane. Residential properties have existing ‘off street’ parking, however, due to multiple car households, opposition to the TRO poses a risk to the scheme.

 

3.3     The scheme proposes the linking of the traffic signals at the junction with A26 Tonbridge Road and B2246 Hermitage Lane by fibre connection allowing them to work together.

 

3.4     A commission has been raised to develop the concept design to outline design. Design work has commenced and is due to be completed in December 2018.

 

4.       Project 4: A229 Loose Road Maidstone (including the Wheatsheaf):

 

4.1        A commission has been raised for outline design on the A229 Loose Road    corridor. This includes the proposal for the ‘Wheatsheaf’ junction. The   commission is due to be completed in December 2018.

 

4.2                  The proposal includes the potential purchase of the Wheatsheaf Public House to accommodate a roundabout junction; Gen2 have been engaged to assist with this process. However, a roundabout at this location will also require the purchase of third party land and may require the closure of Cranborne Avenue; this presents a high risk to the project.

 

4.3                  Due to the confined urban environment, the proposals for the rest of the A229 Loose Road corridor may also require the acquisition of third party land.  This has the potential to attract opposition and presents a high risk to the project.

 

4.4                  A significant delay has been incurred due to the ‘sinkhole’ on the A26 which has affected the capture of up to date traffic data.  A revised programme date of October 2018 has been scheduled for this essential data collection.

 

4.5                  The design continues to be progressed with an anticipated completion of early 2019.  Engagement will commence during the design phase with specific events for the residents and businesses being arranged.    

 

5.       Project 5: A20 Ashford Road:

 

5.1        A feasibility design was completed to address congestion, which included a dedicated ‘left turn lane’ into Willington Street. This required the use of existing highway land (verge area) to accommodate.

 

5.2        Local Member briefings were carried out and although the scheme itself was accepted, it was felt that it did not address the entire congestion issue and a re-design was requested. Local members were advised that this would require the acquisition of Mote Park land and repositioning of the flint wall, which is listed. There was a general acceptance that this approach would be beneficial and KCC were to proceed accordingly.

 

5.3        A commission has been raised for a feasibility design to be undertaken that satisfies the requirements of local members to address the congestion on all approaches. This commission will be completed by October 2018.

 

5.4        The proposal may require the relocation of the existing electricity substation on Willington Street, which will would increase the cost estimate significantly, potentially making the scheme unviable. Furthermore, the rebuilding of the listed flint wall will require a planning application, which may be subject to objections. Both issues present significant risk to the project.

 

5.5        An indicative proposal can be seen in Appendix 3.

  

6.       Mitigation of Risks to the Delivery of the MITP

 

6.1        Given the significant risks associated with several of the projects, there is a very significant risk and a high probability that the full MITP, in its current form, will not be delivered, resulting in a significant underspend of the LGF funding; this must be spent by March 2021 and most of it is still subject to a SELEP approved Business Case.

 

6.2        To mitigate this potential underspend, additional projects have been investigated to replace those projects that are at risk of non-delivery.

 

6.3        Only one suitable scheme has been identified that demonstrates good value for money and achieves capacity benefits. It is located at the junction of the A20/Hall Road/Mills Road in Tonbridge & Malling. The proposal removes an existing signalised junction and replaces it with a non-signalised roundabout.   It is recommended that this scheme is added to the MITP.

 

6.4        There are S106 contributions being negotiated which will contribute to the delivery of this project and the proposal has received support from the both the Borough Council and County members.

 

6.5                  A concept design has been produced and modelling work carried out. A commission has been issued for the outline design to be progressed. It is anticipated that if funding becomes available, the construction will commence in 2020.

 

7.       Conclusion

 

7.1        Kent County Council presents this report to Members for information and comment. They must recognise the risks associated with the delivery of this package of works and understand the timing constraint of 2021 for construction. 

 

7.2        KCC will keep Members and the board updated at key milestones throughout the next stages.   

 

7.3                  KCC also recognises the emotive nature of the acquisition of third party land and will engage with the Local Members and affected parties accordingly. The improvements are aimed to address the current congestion and future growth and benefit all highway users.

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coldharbour Roundabout Indicative Scheme Design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Royal British Legion Institute (RBLI) Land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A20 Ashford Road Indicative Scheme Design