Agenda item

(Report by Head of Transport and Development)

(1)       Kent County Council’s (KCC) local transport funding for 2008/09 was determined by the Department for Transport (DfT) in December 2007 as part of its assessment and settlement announcement regarding Kent’s transport strategy, the Local Transport Plan (LTP).  The funding had been provided to support local transport schemes that delivered the LTP, which itself set out the County Council’s approach to achieving a number of key transport objectives:-

·                    Improve access to key services by sustainable modes of transport;

·                    Tackle the occurrence of peak hour congestion, particularly in larger urban areas;

·                    Improve road safety by reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Kent’s roads;

·                    Improve local air quality, particularly in designated Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).

(2)       Kent’s LTP funding for 2008/09 was £12.883M, which consisted of 67% supported borrowing and 33% grant.  An additional sum of £0.5M income from the Dartford Tolls was to be added to the fund for schemes in Kent Thameside, giving a total budget of £13.383M. Of the £13.383M, £2.233M would be used to fund detailed design and supervision of construction of 2008/09 schemes and forward design of 2009/10 schemes, and £1.5M was required to complete the 2007/08 programme.  This resulted in a budget of £9.65M for scheme implementation.

(3)       The report detailed how the funding allocation was proposed to be spent on implementing Kent’s Transportation and Safety Package Programme.  It was an update of a draft list of schemes presented to the Board in September 2007.   A summary of the allocations together with countywide schemes was shown in Appendix 1to the report.  The schemes proposed for 2008/09 were presented in order of District and included the individual PIPKIN score, scheme rank (out of 124 schemes) and cost.

(4)       The proposed Transportation and Safety Package Programme for 2008/09 represented a significant milestone in delivering Kent’s local transport priorities and establishing local investment programmes in that it had been devised using Kent’s Scheme Prioritisation Methodology, PIPKIN.  A report outlining the principles and a proposal to implement PIPKIN was presented to the Board in July 2006, and was approved by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste on the strength of the recommendations of this Board.

(5)       The introduction of PIPKIN had resulted in all scheme proposals being subjected to a formal assessment, then being prioritised in accordance with their likely impact and wider contribution towards Kent’s strategic and local transport objectives.  PIPKIN measured the relevant merit of a scheme in comparison to others submitted in the same financial year, it did not result in schemes being rejected.

(6)       PIPKIN provided the County Council with the ability to assess an infinite number of schemes and between February and May 2007, the County Council formally assessed and prioritised a list of 286 scheme contenders.  The cumulative build cost of the schemes equated to more than £20M.  Revisions to the viability of some schemes and the inclusion of others in the 2007/08 programme had resulted in a final list of 124 schemes to be funded from the 2008/09 budget.

(7)       Kent’s scheme priorities for 2008/09 provided ongoing investment in urban traffic management measures, including UTMC in Maidstone and Canterbury and support for local public transport services, particularly in Quality Bus Partnership (QBP) areas.  The proposed schemes also included a programme of Casualty Reduction Measures (CRMs) and support for continued investment in sustainable transport measures including Smarter Choices initiatives.

(8)       The proposed programme included:-

·        Following the successful launch of the Maidstone Traffic Management Centre funding was allocated for the continued expansion of UTMC across Kent (£250k) and targeted funding would be used to support UTMC in Canterbury (£400K), Dartford (£100k) and Gravesham (£50k);

·        Investment in Quality Bus Partnership (QBP) and public transport initiatives Countywide (over £3.4m) including infrastructure to support Park & Ride in Ashford (£250k) as the first step towards delivering Smartlink, and also in Maidstone (£700k).

·        Improved access to key services by walking and cycling, including improved access to schools through a countywide programme of Safer Routes to Schools and Smarter Choices initiatives (over £3.2M) and improvements to Public Rights of Way countywide (over £400k);

·        Phase 1 funding for improvements to the A2 Slip Roads in Canterbury (£200K);

·        Investment in road safety initiatives through a targeted programme of Countywide Casualty Reduction Measures (CRMs) (£400K).

(9)       All the schemes listed in the report would be reported to the appropriate Joint Transportation Boards and all schemes should be disclosed in local land charge searches.

(10)     The proposed Transportation and Safety Package Programme for 2008/09 represented a balanced programme of investment for Kent.  The schemes demonstrated the strategic nature of the proposed programme.  A key strength of the PIPKIN process and therefore the programmes of investment derived from it, was that whilst PIPKIN recognised the need to tackle strategically important issues it also recognised the genuine need to focus on localised issues.  This feature had enabled KCC to provide ongoing investment to improve access to local services, and promote and support local sustainable travel initiatives including public transport, walking and cycling.  This approach also enabled Kent to prioritise local safety schemes using data relating to personal injury crashes.

(11)     The Board:-

(a)       supported the proposal for recommendation to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste that the proposed Transportation and Safety Package Programme for 2008/09, set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be approved;

(b)       provided ongoing support for the development and application of Kent’s Scheme Prioritisation Model, PIPKIN; and

(c)        agreed that the Joint Transportation Boards receive a report on the approved schemes for their area.