Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

Apologies were received from Mr Sandhu.

No declarations of interest were received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held 9 July 2024 were a correct record and that a paper copy be signed by the Chair.

1) Mr Baker said the processing and issuing of Kent Travel Saver passes had gone very well.  The number of students applying for passes was similar to previous years despite the increase in cost to the user. Additional communications had been shared with schools and students on how to prepare for travel and giving details, where available, of alternative bus routes if a student misses their intended bus.  Whilst all passes issued to schools’ operators had been instructed to give a two-week grace period to allow students to travel whilst schools were distributing passes which did not always happen on day one. 

Mr Baker attended a Parliamentary reception on 5 September organised by Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, Jim Dickinson, MP for Dartford, Logistics UK and National Highways to promote the importance to government on making a decision to proceed with the new Lower Thames Crossing. The Secretary of State was due to make a decision on the Development Consent Order on 4 October. National Highways were running a series of public engagement events across Dartford and Gravesham between 20 September and 1 October to update the public on the progress of the scheme.

Mr Baker also attended a site visit at Galley Hill on 11 September, joining the local MPs for Dartford and Gravesham and the Minister of Future roads, Lilian Greenwood. Mr Baker highlighted the need for urgent government support to enable this major road to be reopened. On the day of the visit, Swanscombe High Street was also closed for repairs necessitated by the discovery of voids and a large washout area caused by further Thames Water leaks. Whilst Galley Hill remains closed, the High Street was a key access route for the community so the Minister was able to see for herself the huge impact on residents and road users due to the Galley Hill collapse.

The public consultation on Local Transport Plan 5 (LTP5) continued until 8 October and Members were asked to encourage their constituents, district/borough councils, parish/town councils and other organisations to respond so that their views could be taken into account in the draft document that was to be brought back to full Council for adoption. Public exhibitions in town and village halls, libraries, gateways and shopping centres across the county had taken place and were to continue over the remaining weeks until early October. All Joint Transportation Advisory Boards had been sent a report on the LTP5 consultation, and where requested, officers were attending virtually. Briefings had also been offered to all district and borough councils. It was important to get KCC’s transport priorities right in the statutory plan so that KCC could engage with the new government on how these essential schemes could be funded and delivered, hence the importance of this consultation.   

The Examination of the Development Consent Order (DCO) for Gatwick’s Northern Runway to enable two runway operations, concluded on 27 August. The Examining Authority were to provide a recommendation report to the Secretary of State  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Simon Jones, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment &Transport was in attendance for this item

1) Mr Jones introduced the report and said that it was second performance dashboard of the financial year, 2024-2025. There were 17 key performance indicators (KPIs); eleven were rated green, five were rated amber and one was rated red.

One of the amber indicators was within Highways & Transportation, and four within Environment & Circular Economy. The one KPI RAG rated red is HT14: Member enquiries completed within 20 working days. This indicator covered all enquiries from MPs, councillors and other elected officials as well as enquiries from members of the public directed to Cabinet Members or members of senior management. Enquiries generally related to divisional matters, such as requests for information or feedback on works taking place in an area. Also received were many requests for changes to speed limits and road layouts.

With a significant number of enquiries coming from MPs, performance in June was affected by the pre-general election period (purdah) when it was not possible to correspond with MPs on enquiries they had raised regarding constituency matters. Where it was appropriate and constituent contact details were available, responses were sent directly to them instead.

Other Highways & Transportation indicators were mostly on or above target, despite the volume of work continuing to be above expectations across many areas. However, the number of new enquiries requiring further action was within expectations since the start of the financial year indicating an easing of demand. As for Environment and Circular Economy, although three of the Waste indicators were amber, there had been improved recycling rates at Household Waste Recycling Centres as volumes taken to the sites continued to increase, although they were still 29% below pre-pandemic levels.

2) Further to Members’ questions, it was noted:

• Members were reminded to copy in the VIP email address for enquiries.
• More information was requested on the reuse and recycling of wood.

3) RESOLVED to note the Performance Dashboard.

Simon Jones, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment &Transport, and Andrew Loosemore, Head of Highways, were in attendance for this item

1) Mr Loosemore introduced the report.

2) In response to questions from Members, it was noted that:

·       Any sub-contractor would need to be approved by KCC and it was expected that the contractor would self-deliver the majority of the work and their performance would be monitored at a more local level than previously, using service-based key performance indicators.

·       Parish seminars had been scheduled and one of the matters for discussion would be the Highways Term Maintenance Contract.

·       The Road Asset Renewal Contract was a contract for road surfacing which was subject to a separate procurement process to the Highways Term Maintenance Contract.

3) RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision as outlined in the recommendations in the report.

Simon Jones, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment &Transport; Katie Ireland, Safer Active Journeys Team Leader and Jamie Watson, Traffic Schemes Team Leader were in attendance for this item

1) Ms Ireland introduced the report.

2) Further to questions from Members, it was noted:

·       The Kent Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan would help KCC’s pre-engagement and consultation. There were instances of there being a small number of responses to a consultation on an ad hoc scheme but a strong response once the work had started on implementation of the scheme. The limitations of consultations were discussed.

·       From lessons learned on the Herne Bay scheme, there would be earlier engagement with all relevant groups.

·       It was recognised that there were challenges when retrofitting solutions to allow pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to safely use a route. There were also challenges presented to the success of schemes by enforcement issues.

3) RESOLVED to note the report.

Richard Emmett, Senior Highways Manager was in attendance for this item

1) Mr Baker introduced the report and advised that there would be a meeting in the spring to discuss how the Winter Service Policy had been implemented.

2) Mr Emmett outlined the report.

3) Further to questions from Members, it was noted that:

·       KCC worked with unparished areas and salt was still delivered if there was somewhere to store it safely.

·       In the event of snow or a declared ‘ice emergency’, other routes, known as snow routes, such as villages not on a primary salting route, are also treated.

4) RESOLVED to note the report.

Simon Jones, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment &Transport, and, Pauline Harmer, Senior Highways Manager, were in attendance for this item

1) Mr Baker introduced the report.

2) Ms Harmer outlined the report.

3) Members asked questions, and it was noted that:

·       Site notices for planned works have been updated to show that it is utility companies requiring the road closures.

·       Residents were encouraged to access One Network which showed roadworks and traffic disruptions across the UK: Causeway one.network Map | uk.one.network

·       Legislation meant utility companies had two hours from the start of emergency works to advise KCC.

·       The use of Road Closure Inspectors meant that they were driving performance and ultimately safety. Performance issues, such as roads not being opened in a timely way after works appeared to have been completed, were also brought to the monthly meetings with the utility companies.

·       It was queried whether data could be brought to Members to show whether the number of road closures was increasing over time.

·        Concerns were raised about repeat closures of the same routes. It was clarified that full road closures were put in place for safety reasons.

4) Mr Rayner proposed, Mr Bond seconded the motion as follows:

a) This committee recommends to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport that the permit scheme conditions referred to at paragraphs 2.7 and 2.8 be more stringently enforced in connection with the road closure work for its duration. The enhanced inspector regime should be used to ensure that when street works overrun their permitted duration, the maximum fine be levied to encourage utility companies and their contractors to make full use of the available hours to complete their works with alacrity during the permitted duration.

b) This committee recommends to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport that he and officers look for the powers held by Transport for London, in connection with the degree of control that TfL exercises in connection with timing and duration of utility related road works, especially on major roads or red routes, with a view to KCC acquiring such powers for use in the equivalent major roads and junctions in Kent.

5) Upon being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED.

The work programme was noted.