Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 12 December 2012.

Resolved:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board held on 12 December 2012 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to the resolution at Minute 27 being inserted two paragraphs higher.

Any interests not already registered.

No new declarations were made.

With reference to Action 2, SDC Councillor Mrs Davison reported that she had not been consulted on the draft Bat and Ball report before submission on the agenda.  KCC Councillor Chard confirmed that he had.  The Chairman, on behalf of the KCC Officers, expressed his apologies for this oversight.

The District Manager (Sevenoaks) KCC undertook to investigate when the anti-ram replacement bollards would be installed at Cold Arbor Road (Action 4).

In response to questions, the KCC Strategic Transport and Development Planner for Sevenoaks advised that the traffic signal upgrade had been placed on the 2013/14 programme of works.

A representative from Network Rail will be in attendance and provide an update on London Bridge rebuilding works and affect on local commuters.

Mr. Chris Curtis, Senior Programme Manager, Network Rail Kent gave a short presentation on the improvement works at London Bridge Rail Station.  The Chairman requested that he supply a brief summary of the presentation which is detailed below:

London Bridge

Network Rail is to spend approximately £2bn completely rebuilding London Bridge station, including all the approach tracks, as part of the Thameslink Programme.

Why?

a) to increase the number of trains that are able to run to and through London Bridge and the Thameslink core route at peak times

b) building more through lines and platforms such that all trains routed via London Bridge will call there (currently approx 14% of the morning peak service running through London Bridge does not call)

c) two of these new lines / platforms will be exclusively for Thameslink services, offering new journey opportunities from across South London, Sussex and Kent through the Thameslink route to Blackfriars, Farringdon, St Pancras and destinations north of London - either on a direct train or with one simple change at London Bridge.

d) segregate the service flows such that, for example, trains to the Thameslink route are operated completely independently from the Charing Cross route - this will reduce congestion and knock-on delays

e) considerably increase and improve the passenger facilities at London Bridge, including the construction of what will be the largest passenger concourse in the UK.

How?

The project is well underway, being roughly 20% through a six year programme. To date much of the work has been out of sight, beneath the viaduct that London Bridge sits on, or up on the roof. The most visible part has been the early construction of a new viaduct through Borough Market, a particularly sensitive location.

Going forward, the entire station will be demolished then rebuilt in stages. New bridges and flyovers will be built east and west of the station, and the rail infrastructure (tracks and signalling) on the approaches will be replaced at the same time.

To do this, parts of the station out of use for up to 18 months at a time while it is rebuilt. The work will be done largely without significant alterations to train services; however there will be a handful of occasions at Christmas and Summer holiday periods when larger parts of the station will have to close for a few working days. On these occasions some services will not run to London Bridge, and these will be advertised up to a year in advance so that passengers can plan alternative routes. From the year 2015, there will also be extended periods where certain services will pass through London Bridge without calling, again this will be advertised up to a year before it happens, and alternatives publicised.  

The Challenge:

The London Bridge rebuild is the single largest project ever undertaken on the 'live' railway in this country. It is a huge logistical exercise in a constrained worksite, and it will be done for the most part whilst train  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

The Director of Kent Highways addressed the Board at the Chairman’s request and assured Members that gritting had been carried out.  It had been a Kent wide problem.  The same amount of salt and grit had been used as six weeks previously when there had been no issues, however it had not worked on this occasion due to the cumulative effect of weight of traffic, type of snow, the M2 being closed and the strong winds.  There would be an in depth review.  It was possible that the use of salt needed to be revisited and options such as just gritting or using sand be looked into as it was visible and provided traction.  The Board expressed their appreciation to the Director of Kent Highways and his staff for all their hard work. 

The KCC Traffic Engineer presented the report updating Members on progress.  A more detailed report would be presented to a future meeting.  The Local County Councillor thanked him for all his work and was pleased it was going in a positive direction.  The Chairman advised that given the level of funding potentially available improvements would only be modest.

Resolved:  That the report be noted and the actions taken, endorsed.

An email received from the Clerk to Kemsing Parish Council that had been circulated prior to the meeting, was also tabled for information.  The local County Councillor pressed for a meeting to be held with the campaign group, the two parish councils, Police and Network Rail.  There were two main issues: pedestrian safety on the bridge; and speed limit. 

Resolved:  That

a)        and the KCC Traffic Engineer co-ordinate a meeting as soon as possible; and

b)        the report be noted.

The Strategic Transport and Development Planner for Sevenoaks (KCC) presented the report outlining the improvement proposals.  A local County Member commented that he was pleased to see resurfacing to the east but it also needed to be carried out to the west of the junction.

Action 1:  The KCC Strategic Transport and Development Planner for Sevenoaks to liaise with the Traffic Manager (KCC) about further resurfacing.

The Strategic Transport and Development Planner for Sevenoaks (KCC) confirmed when questioned that the Sainsbury’s s. 106 money did not have a time limit on expenditure, and must be used for improvements to the Bat and Ball junction.   A Member recommended advised caution on allocating the remaining money to other initiatives, advising that it would be a good idea to wait and see whether these improvements cost more than expected or gave light to further possible issues.

It was MOVED by County Cllr. Brazier and was duly seconded by County Cllr. John London that the remaining money be set aside for cycle improvements.  He advised that he would like a commitment shown and Sevenoaks Cycle Forum involved.  Officers advised that a cycle route that stopped short of the junction would require a deed of variation as the s. 106 money applied to the Bat and Ball junction only.  In light of this and the ensuing discussion, County Cllr. Brazier and County Cllr. London agreed to alter the motion, and it was  

Resolved:  That

1)        Officers proceed with the implementation of improvement proposals as described within the report; and

2)        Officers investigate whether the money could be used on implementing Route 6 of the the District Cycle Strategy or cycle improvements; how it could be used; and whether it was a suitable use of the funding.

Members considered the report which set out the proposed updated Joint Transportation Agreement.

Resolved:  That the recommendations within the KCC Cabinet Committee report, be endorsed.

The Director of Kent Highways presented the report which provided details of KCC’s plan for safe and sensible street lighting.  Members were asked to consider: each site selected for the trial switch off of surplus lights and suggest any local information that may help officers to determine how to proceed with each location; to consider the exclusion criteria used for the Partnight Lighting initiative; and suggest any changes and their views sought on the hours of switch off for Part-night Lighting.

Officers assured the Board that every site had been risk assessed and an independent safety audit carried out, and that in some places there may be highway mitigating measures that could be undertaken such as ‘cats eyes’ to ensure the area was no less safe.  Members discussed and made the following points:

·         Otford Road, Sevenoaks north of Sainsburys partnight lighting preferred

·         B258, top of Dartford Road, row of cottages partnight lighting preferred

·         Ash, removal of lighting columns that have never been switched on

·         Button Street approaching Swanley Village be left

·         Polehill / Orpington Bypass concern that pedestrian crossing lights do not work, a suggestion this be left for the moment

Resolved:  That subject to the comments made above the proposals contained within the report, be agreed.

A Member queried why ‘cats eyes’ were not lasting as well as they had done in the past, especially in relation to Ide Hill Road.  Members were advised that there were various types of cats eyes and if they were aware of any not working please could they let Officers know as there were mixed results with the different types.

Action 2:  ‘Cats eyes’ on Ide Hill Road to be investigated.