To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 11 December 2013 as a correct record

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board held on 11 December 2013 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

No new declarations were made.

Action 1

It was noted no further information had been provided on this action. It would therefore remain on the action sheet.

Action 3

Works had now been completed on the traffic system for A225 High Street and Pembroke Road, Sevenoaks. This matter was considered further under Minute Item 28.

Actions 5 and 6

The Senior Parking and Traffic Engineer advised that proposals for double yellow lines at Bessels Green Road and Park Place and at the George and Dragon, Chipstead High Street were issues that Kent County Council were leading on, and would be going to consultation. It was likely that responses to those consultations would be presented to the Board at its meeting in June or September 2014, but that this needed to be confirmed by KCC.

The other actions were noted.

The Sevenoaks District Council Senior Parking and Traffic Engineer introduced a report which explained that additional parking restrictions had become necessary in Dunton Green following developments in the local area. Development of the West Kent Cold Store site had changed the road layout in the area, there was further housing in the area, there had been improvements to the local train station and services and charges had also been introduced at all railway stations on the Southeastern network. A request had been received to review the parking restrictions to resolve matters of safety, access, commuter parking and parking near to shops.

During the consultation there had been broad support for the proposals, particularly among the local residents of each proposal. The Officer advised that KCC had, since the report had been written, identified funding for their responsibilities under the scheme and therefore Officers no longer recommended the introduction of Pay and Display parking restrictions in Station Approach. This amendment put the proposals further in line with consultation responses.

The Chairman allowed a local resident, who was also a parish councillor, to address the meeting. The Committee noted his comments and agreed the new restrictions should be reviewed closer to six months following implementation than to twelve months.

Resolved: That

(a)     following consideration, the comments and objections received to the statutory consultation on new parking restrictions in Dunton Green and to set aside those objections; and

(b)     to introduce the parking restrictions as proposed (ref R1 – R30), excluding the Pay & Display element of parking on Station Approach (ref R31), funded by contributions from Sevenoaks District Council, Kent County Council and Section 106 Developer contributions.

The Committee considered a letter which the Chairman had received a letter from Sevenoaks Town Council concerning recent flooding. The Council requested clarity on whether there was a single body available to coordinate responses to flooded roads and transport routes in the District.

The SDC Chief Officer Environmental and Operational Services and KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) confirmed that there was no one body responsible, but there had to be a multi-agency approach possibly including, for example,  the Council, the County Council and the Highways and Environment Agencies depending on the nature and location of the problem. All the bodies communicated regularly and had done during the recent floods. KCC could lead but all bodies would have a role. KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) felt the leading role from KCC had worked very well.

The Committee was advised that authority in a declared civil emergency would reside with Strategic (Gold) Command, and  tactical (Silver) command. A Member was concerned that on 17 January 2014 this structure had not been established, despite county-wide problems.

Members agreed that the process worked well and was well established, although it may not always be smooth

Action 1: That Officers write to Sevenoaks Town Council, copied to all parish councils in the District, with a summary of the existing arrangements for coordinating the response to flooded roads, explaining that the Board felt that the processes were effective, though not perfect.

The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) presented the report which updated Members with interim information on the scheme to improve both the Bat & Ball Junction and Bradbourne Vale Road, which would likely take place over the next 18 months.

In Summer 2014 it was expected that there would be combined resurfacing and the strengthening of the parking on the north side of Bradbourne Vale Road. Parking on the south of Bradbourne Road would be removed as part of Phase 2 of the works. Options were being considered to see whether parking on the south would be viable and the proposals would be brought to the June 2014 meeting of the Board, if they required an amendment to the Traffic Regulation Order.

It was proposed that the change of limit from 40mph to 30mph along Bradbourne Vale Road would be moved to a point closer to Bradbourne Road. This review would take place after the resurfacing works and it was hoped it would be brought to the Board in June 2014.

The Officer confirmed the visibility splays outside the Sevenoaks Town Council Offices would not be affected by the works, but would be protected by yellow lines.

A representative of the Sevenoaks Cycle Forum confirmed that he had a meeting with Officers and had been advised that additional measures to improve cycling may be possible if there were money left over from the Section 106 planning obligation at the end of the works.

The Road Safety Profile report was presented to the meeting following a request from the Board in December 2013. It described the casualty reduction progress to date and highlighted where further improvements could be made to benefit road safety.

The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) highlighted that 50% of fatal collisions and 35% of all serious collisions on A and B roads in the District occurred on roads under the responsibility of the Highways Agency. 36% of all collisions on A and B roads in the District occurred on the 3 motorways.

The Vice Chairman asked that the Highways Agency be contacted regarding the new road  layout between junctions 5 and 7 of the M25, which would be all lanes running. He requested confirmation that there would be no spike in serious accidents and casualties once all 4 lanes were in use, and confirmation of the arrangements for emergency vehicular access.

Action 2: The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) to contact the Highways Agency to confirm the safety arrangements for the all lanes running layout for junctions 5 to 7 of the M25. The response is to be circulated to the Committee by email.

The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) confirmed that each serious accident was investigated to see whether there was anything wrong with the road. The Officer was not aware of evidence of cluster points as the number of serious accidents involved was quite low. The Officer offered to provide a breakdown of the causes upon request.

The Committee thanked officers for the report.

The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) presented the report which provided information on the actions taken by KCC Highways and Transportation to repair road damage caused by the severe weather and flooding. KCC had found an additional £2.5million for the Find and Fix project, of which just over £250,000 had been allocated for the Sevenoaks District. Officers intended to focus this money of the major roads which had suffered damage. The improvements in the weather had allowed Officers finally to make progress on the repairs.

The KCC Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment added that the Government had just announced £140million for repairs to damage caused by the weather to roads and it was expected that £6million of this would be allocated to Kent based upon the percentage of roads damaged. A claim had also been made for £6million under the Bellwin Scheme of emergency financial support. However he felt sufficient money had been identified for the current programme of Find and Fix and the intention was to complete the programme by the end of May 2014.

Officers were thanked for the speed of fixing potholes.

In response to a question, the KCC Cabinet Member confirmed he had requested an additional £10million for drainage infrastructure. He had concerns about run-off from agricultural land and KCC had brought farmers’ attention to their statutory duties. Members were concerned at the clearing of gullies and believed there were some which had not been cleared recently. The Officer replied that there was a programme of clearance in place, usually every other year, with some additional reactive works.

Action 3: The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) to provide a list of the programmed works to Members of the Board.

The report advised Members of the progress of programmed highway improvements.

The Board discussed the works at the junction of Sevenoaks High Street with Pembroke Road and Suffolk Way. Members had received complaints about the waiting times for vehicles at the lights. The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) reported that manual cameras would soon be installed to monitor traffic in side roads. This measure should be allowed to embed before any changes were made. An option to reduce waiting was for the pedestrian crossings only to be activated every other cycle of the lights. Members agreed Officers should investigate this option.

Action 4: Officers to investigate the options for reducing waiting times at the junction, including pedestrians crossing only every other cycle of the lights.

A Member also passed to the meeting concerns at the condition of road in Ide Hill between the school and the Village Hall.

Members noted the report on the Member Highway Fund programme update but County Members felt it was highly historic and not a full reflection of all the schemes. The Officer indicated that the report would not include all minor works, such as salt bins, individually, projects would not be included if feasibility studies were still being carried out, and the report was up-to-date as 12 February 2014. The Board was reminded that the Member Highway Fund and Community Grant schemes would be combined as of 1 May 2014. Some Members felt the reports would be more useful as yearly summaries, whereas others felt it was important they were produced at least every six months. It was agreed that the frequency of the reports could be considered further at future meetings.

Action 5: A full and detailed Member Highway Fund programme update to be produced for the meeting of the Board in June 2014.

The Committee considered a report which set out the identified schemes approved for construction in 2014. The KCC District Manager (Sevenoaks) explained that there was still a closure on the A25 Westerham Road, Chevening because of a drainage deck issue. He would discuss the matter with the Highways Agency and it was hoped to reopen the road once the works had been completed.

The report was noted.