Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks. View directions

Contact: Vanessa Etheridge - Democratic Services Officer  01732 227199 Email: vanessa.etheridge@sevenoaks.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

23.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 50 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2011.

Minutes:

Referring to page 2 of the minutes, the Chairman reported Chevening  Parish Council had provided reasons for opposing the proposals for Witches Lane and therefore the comment that “no reasons had been given” would be deleted from the minutes.           

 

Resolved: That, subject to the amendment outlined above, the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2011 be approved and signed as a correct record.

24.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

25.

Matters Arising/Update (Including Actions from Previous Meetings) pdf icon PDF 19 KB

Minutes:

            Resolved: that the actions from previous meetings be noted.

26.

Waiting Restrictions Consultation Response - Shoreham pdf icon PDF 26 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Transportation Board considered a report outlining the comments and objections to waiting restrictions recently advertised by public notice.  A public notice confirming no waiting at any time restrictions (double yellow lines) were proposed at the following locations: i) the junction of High Street with Mill Lane, ii) the junction of High Street and Crown Road and iii) the bends on Church Street (near the George Inn).  The objective of Kent County Council was to deter drivers from parking at locations that would prevent a fire engine or a bus on a scheduled service from driving along a road or pose a serious road safety hazard.  The extent of the problems in Shoreham means that resolving them has a high priority when it comes to introducing yellow-line waiting restrictions.

 

The Joint Transportation Board noted that a supplementary report had been circulated to Members during the day.  The report provided further detail surrounding the support and objections to the proposed waiting restrictions.   The Chairman noted that Kent Police were in support of the proposals.

 

The County Council Member for Darent Valley provided a brief history of the proposals that were before the Board and noted that the current Parish Council had taken a different view from its predecessor in opposing the proposals.  The Member noted that extensive consultation had been carried out and suggested that it appeared to be prudent not to proceed with the major proposal until further discussions had been held with local residents.

 

A representative from Shoreham Parish Council addressed the Joint Transportation Board and outlined the concerns of the Parish Council who opposed the three proposals outlined in the report.

 

Resolved: that:

 

1)     waiting restrictions at the junction of High Street and Crown Road to help drivers entering the High Street from Crown Road see approaching traffic be approved;

2)     waiting restrictions at the junction of High Street with Mill Lane to ensure that buses terminating on route 431/432 have sufficient space to turn be rejected; and

3)     waiting restrictions at the bends on Church Street outside the Church to enable traffic to pass safely and to improve inter-visibility between drivers and pedestrians be rejected.

27.

S278 Works Associated with the West Kent Cold Store Redevelopment

(Station Road, Dunton Green – Petition)

Minutes:

The Board considered a report setting out details of a petition that had been received requesting that the whole matter or S278 works in Station Road be reassessed with the views of the people affected by the development being taken into account.

 

The Board heard that the Developer had complied with the requirements set out in the planning permission.  The site would not be adopted by Kent County Council for at least eighteen months  and would remain the responsibility of Berkley Homes.  The effectiveness of the traffic calming measures could not be measured until the estate was fully operational.

 

A Member of the Board noted that parked cars were contributing to the problems associated with the traffic calming as cars were parking in the passing bays.

 

Another Member of the Board stressed that the traffic calming measures that had been introduced were a result of concerns that had been raised when the Berkley Homes development had been approved.  The impact of the measures that had been approved could not be judged until the development was fully operational and this would take time.

 

The Lead Petitioner addressed the Board and reported that local residents felt that there were less intrusive and more cost effective ways of addressing the concerns that had been raised during the planning application process.  The signage that had been installed was large and intrusive and was not in-keeping with the area.

 

The Senior Engineer, SDC stated that Officers were working with the KCC agreements team to review the possibility of installing additional waiting restrictions near the roundabout at the junction of London Road & Station Road, and that they could also look at the situation in Station Road itself to see if any amendments could be made to the existing waiting restrictions.  An update would be provided to a future meeting of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board.

           

Resolved: that the report be noted.

 

 

28.

Petition - London Road, Westerham pdf icon PDF 23 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report outlining a petition received by Westerham Parish Council.  The petition requested traffic calming to be put in place on London Road due to difficulties with the existing zebra crossing.

 

A representative of the Parents of Churchill School and Westerham Parish Council addressed the Board and outlined why petitioners had called for a pelican crossing to replace the existing zebra crossing.  The petitions felt that the introduction of a pelican crossing would increase safety along London Road.

 

The Vice-Chairman noted that the policy of Kent County Council was to only undertake works of this kind following injury crashes.  Until such time as there was an injury crash along the road the County Council would not consider the installation of a pelican crossing.

 

Kent County Council’s Traffic and Schemes Team Leader reported that statistically pelican crossings were no safer than zebra crossings.  Moreover, pedestrians had greater control when crossing at a zebra crossing as they waited for traffic to stop whereas at a pelican crossing there was no guarantee that cars would stop when pedestrians were crossing.  In response, the  Parish Council representative stressed that one of the major issues was that cars were not stopping at the zebra crossing.

 

            Resolved: That:

           

i)                          The highway authority does not pursue any engineering measures specific to reducing traffic speed;

ii)                        The only action taken in respect of this petition based on Police advise is to install a zebra crossing warning triangle accompanied by a “SLOW” marking in the road; and

iii)                      The lead petitioner is informed of the Board’s decision.

29.

Review of Parking Restrictions near Knockholt Station, Halstead pdf icon PDF 34 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report reviewing the operation of the parking measures implemented in the vicinity of Knockholt station, Halstead, with recommendations to address issues that have arisen. Following approval by the Sevenoaks Joint Transport Board in June 2011, a scheme to introduce parking measures in the vicinity of Knockholt station were implemented in October 2011.

 

The Sevenoaks District Council Senior Parking and Traffic Engineer reported that since the measures had been put in place there had been a significant improvement in parking patterns around the station.

 

Councillor Grint attended the meeting and addressed the Joint Transportation Board emphasising the need for a further review of the parking restrictions and the pay and display element in particular.  A representative of Shoreham Parish Council supported the view that the pay and display scheme was not working well and urged the Board to suspend this element of the parking restrictions.

 

The Chairman of Halsted Parish Council addressed the Board and reiterated the supporting position of the Parish  Council s set out by the Parish Clerk and appended to the report, but also sought assurances that there would be a further review into the parking restrictions.

 

A representative from the Badgers Mount Resident’s Association asked the Board to dismiss all proposals for parking restrictions and make it free to park in order to support commuters.

 

A representative from the London Borough of Bromley addressed the Board and urged Members to consider a reduction in the pay and display charge.  The Chairman highlighted that the charging policies of the Council did not fall within the remit of the Joint Transportation Board.

 

A Member reminded the Board that the parking restrictions had been implemented as a result of congestion and the danger posed by the congestion.  Shoreham Parish Council had reported that in their opinion levels of danger had been reduced as a result of the restrictions.

 

Following discussion and a vote it was:

 

            Resolved: that the proposals outlined in the report (save for a minor alteration of the parking restrictions to the west of Badgers Rise) be approved for public consultation with a further review being under taken in approximately one year.

 

30.

A224 Polhill and London Road: Speed Limits and Road Safety pdf icon PDF 41 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sevenoaks Joint Transport Board considered responses to a public consultation on a proposed reduction in speed limit in Polhill and London Road, Sevenoaks between Calcutta Club Restaurant and Star Hill roundabout.

 

A Member questioned the significance of reducing the speed limit to 50mph, arguing that the traffic islands that had been installed were very good.

 

The recommendation was put to the vote and there voted –

8 votes in favour of the recommendation

6 votes against the recommendation.

The Chairman declared the motion to be CARRIED.

 

 

            Resolved: That:

 

1)     The speed limit on A224 London Road and Polhill Sevenoaks be reduced to 50mph between Calcutta Club Restaurant and Star Hill roundabout as illustrated in Appendix A of the report.

2)     Making Polhill a single lane in each direction (with corresponding cycle lanes) will be investigated only if funding is allocated either to its maintenance or other improvement.

31.

Sevenoaks Cycle Strategy pdf icon PDF 40 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the final version of the Sevenoaks District Cycling Strategy.  District cycling strategies are vital to the delivery of a well planned local cycle network and are useful tools when seeking to secure funding.

 

The Kent County Council Development Planner tabled the following addition to the recommendation:

 

“Members views are sought in terms of the appropriate status of the document.

 

The Board were informed that implementation of the Sevenoaks District Cycling Strategy was dependent on securing funding for the projects.  A Member stressed the need to ensure that the projects were implemented quickly.

 

A visiting Member expressed concern surrounding conflict between pedestrians and cyclists along Brittains Lave as the lane was very narrow.  The Board were told that there were national guidelines regarding the width of paths that were utilised and these guidelines would be adhered to.

 

Another visiting Member corrected an error on page 66 of the Strategy and reported that the land was owned by Sevenoaks District Council and not Edenbridge Town Council as stated in the report.

 

The Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board expressed their thanks and appreciation to the Vice-Chairman for the extensive work he had undertaken on developing the Strategy.

 

A Member of the public submitted the following three questions:

 

1) The final draft of the Strategy only "aims to enable more people to cycle more safely" rather than aiming to "increase the number of people choosing to cycle" as originally proposed....

 

Response: The aim in the final draft is to "enable more people to cycle more safely so as to encourage a shift towards more sustainable transport choices and healthy leisure activities". The wording of the aim was changed to reflect the broader aims of the strategy and to more clearly state the end objective.

 

2) proposal made for the provision for cyclists through Sevenoaks Town Centre noted as "Identified need".  Please will the JTB identify what long term solutions they would propose to fulfil this 'identified need' ........

 

Response: Unfortunately, at this moment in time there is no obvious practical solution which integrates cyclists with other road users in the town centre.  However, while a solution is not currently available, it does not mean that we cannot review the situation in future revisions of the document.  As stated in the strategy KCC and SDC will seek to review the document in five years and this review will include "exploring opportunities to meet the identified needs".

 

3) what is the likelihood of a coherent and comprehensive network

 

Response: It is recognised that the route suggestions are not exhaustive but represent a first phase.  While ideally it would be possible to say when a comprehensive network would be created, in reality this is dependent on various factors including for example the LDF coming forward.  The adoption of a phased approach with reviews is intended to account for this. 

 

A representative from the Sevenoaks Cycle Forum addressed the Board and highlighted that proper enforcement of speed would be the single biggest benefit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

A21 Tonbridge - Pembury Dualling pdf icon PDF 27 KB

Minutes:

The Sevenoaks Joint Transport Board considered a report which provided an update on the efforts being made to secure Government approval to progress the A21 Tonbridge-Pembury scheme. 

 

The Chairman stressed that the dualling scheme was of critical importance to the Dirstict and Officers provided assurances that Kent County Council would continue to highlight the benefits and, more importantly, the economic benefits of dualling.

 

            Resolved: that the report be noted.

33.

Highway Improvement and Members' Highway Fund pdf icon PDF 41 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board considered a report outlining the progress to date and anticipated progress over the next three months of all programmed highway improvements and those schemes which were expected to be included in Kent County Council’s 2011-12 Capital Programme.

 

In response to the query raised at the previous meeting regarding why the ‘Station Road, Edenbridge – Request for a Pedestrian Crossing’ was not covered by the building costs of the Community Centre, the Board was informed that as it had not been possible to demonstrate that the crossing was necessary from a Highway’s point of view no funding had been provide within the costs for the Community Centre, Councillor Lake had therefore intervened and provided the necessary funding.

 

Another Member raised the issue of funding from section 106 agreements and it was agreed that a response would be circulate via email to all Board Members.

 

            Resolved: that the progress of the programmed highway improvements be noted.

 

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