MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
MAIDSTONE JOINT TRANSPORTATION BOARD
Minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2012
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Present: |
Councillor Cooke (Chairman), and Councillors Ash, Beerling, Bird, Mrs Blackmore, Carter, Chittenden, Cuming, Daley, English, Hotson, Moriarty, B Mortimer, Moss, Mrs Stockell and J.A. Wilson |
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Also Present: |
Councillors Mrs Gooch |
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24. Apologies for Absence
An apology for absence was received from County Councillor Mrs Whittle.
25. Notification of Substitute Members
There were no Substitute Members.
26. Notification of Visiting Members
Councillor Mrs Gooch indicated her wish to speak on Agenda Item 10 – Draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy.
27. Disclosures by Members and Officers
There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.
28. Disclosures of lobbying
29. Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 July 2012
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 July 2012 be approve as a correct record and signed.
30. Petitions (if any)
There were no petitions.
31. Questions/Statements by members of the public
Mr Ward addressed the Board regarding Agenda Item 10 – Draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy in respect of the proposed alterations to St Andrews Road.
Mr Menart addressed the Board regarding Agenda Item 10 – Draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy in respect of the proposed alterations to St Andrews Road.
32. Additional Surfacing Sites for Maidstone
The Board considered the report of the KCC Head of Programme Work regarding proposed additional surfacing sites for Maidstone in 2012/13.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
33. Draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy
The Board considered the report of the KCC Head of Transportation regarding the Draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy.
The Chairman informed the Board that the document was a draft and had not been approved by either Kent County Council (“KCC”) or Maidstone Borough Council (“MBC”). It had been published for public consultation, which has now finished. The Chairman had circulated copies of this Board’s minutes from the meeting on 5 October 2011which set out the recommendations made. The Chairman informed the Board that most of the recommendations made at that time had not been incorporated within the draft Strategy.
The Board were informed that there was a discrepancy between MBC’s target of 10,000 jobs and KCC’s findings of 5,200. Also, that even without any increase in houses or employment, the traffic congestion problems will still increase. Reasonable steps need to be taken to mitigate the increase in congestion.
Members of the Board raised concerns about affordability, the proposals for St Andrews Road/Tonbridge Road, the intimated increase in congestion, the lack of Park & Ride for the south of the Town, the proposed bus lane on the A229, the level of social housing expected for new developments and the lack of air quality proposals.
Officers informed the Board that the draft ITS reflected the difficult balancing act that all planning and highway authorities had to strike between planning positively for the housing and employment growth proposed by the Core Strategy and the limited funding available for the compensatory transport infrastructure improvements.
Members were told by officers that the draft ITS was a direct response to the development proposed by the Core Strategy and that this is the first time the council has had a transport strategy for which to seek highway contributions for. Officers have not been able to ask for contributions towards highway improvements in the past because these requests cannot be supported by an agreed set of highways policies. It was stressed that over 4,200 residential units have already been built and permission has been granted for over 1,900. This is out of a total of 10,080 houses, the Core Strategy housing target, for which none have had secured a significant financial contribution to highway improvements in Maidstone. The council needs to be more decisive.
The Board was also informed that the estimated cost of the bus lane on the A229 could be revised to approximately £5m and that further ways to reduce that cost are being investigated.
The Board acknowledged the amount of work undertaken by KCC and MBC Officers.
RESOLVED: That the respective KCC and MBC Cabinet Members be recommended not to approve the draft Joint Integrated Transport Strategy as it is not fit for purpose and to ask Officers to reconsider the proposals.
34. Update on Petitions Submitted to Kent Highway Services
The Board considered the report of the Head of Transportation regarding the update on Petitions submitted to Kent County Council.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
35. Update on 20mph Zones in Maidstone
This was an information only item.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
36. Freight Action Plan Report Update
This was an information only item.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
37. Member Highway Fund Programme Update for Maidstone Borough
This was an information only item.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
38. Gas Works - Maidstone Town Centre
This was an information only item.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
39. Highway Improvement Schemes
This was an information only item.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
40. Duration of Meeting
5.00 p.m. to 6.56 p.m.