During the public session, members of the public may make a statement, submit a petition, or ask the Chair any question on any matters falling within the remit of the Local Engagement Forum.
Minutes:
844 PUBLIC SESSION
The Chairman read a response to a question received from Mr Forsyth regarding the decision taken on the best traffic flow option for Faversham town centre and the public obtaining £12,000 from Tesco by way of a Section 106 Agreement. Mr Forsyth had asked when Swale would provide the remaining budget to complete the scheme.
The response from the Planning Monitoring (S106) and Enforcement Officer (SBC) was as follows:
'Obligation - Reverse Traffic Flow - £12,000 towards the cost of traffic reversal on Preston Street is to be paid by Tesco on or prior to the service of the Implementation Notice which is notice in writing to be served upon the Council by the developer notifying us of their proposed implementation of the permission.
As far as I am aware, the notice has not been served.'
The Head of Environment and Amenities (SBC) explained that Tesco were required to hand over the £12,000 when the developers commenced work. No date had been received and it was subject to commercial aspects. He added that the traffic flow issue would be discussed later in the meeting.
The Chairman read a response to a question received from the Mayor of Faversham regarding potholes in Faversham, following the recent bad weather. The Mayor had added that whilst many had been patched, many roads were in a poor state of repair and needed major work. He asked what the Borough plans were for this.
The response from the Community Delivery Team Leader - Swale (KCC) was as follows:
'It depends where the pothole is.
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AÂ risk assessment is carried out by our inspector which will include speed of road, volume of traffic, position of hole, depth of hole, size of hole, structure of road.
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So unfortunately I can not give a dimension.'
The Community Delivery Team Leader explained that there was more money in the budget this year to carry out repairs to road surfaces and two extra gangs had been employed, since February 2009, to fill in potholes caused by icy conditions on the roads. He reported that most of the main roads would be surveyed this year, and minor roads would be surveyed every other year. In response to a question, the Community Delivery Team Leader explained that time constraints determined the quality of the repair and whether a repair was carried out with a temporary finish or a more permanent one.
Mr Macdonald, a local resident, raised concern that concrete slabs were being replaced by tarmac when repairs were being carried out to footpaths and questioned whether this was a temporary measure.
The Community Delivery Team Leader explained that in areas where there were trees, tarmac was added where repairs were needed as this resulted in a safer surface than paving slabs which could become uneven. He added that tarmac was also added where corner protection was needed for reinforcement. The Community Delivery Team Leader confirmed that tarmac was often added as a temporary measure and suggested that Mr Macdonald contacted him with more specific details of the area of footpath that he was concerned with.
Parish Councillor Duncan highlighted the problem of passing areas used by heavy vehicles in rural areas. The Community Delivery Team Leader was unaware of the problem but advised that KHS priority was safety, especially as vehicles could be driving over mud.
Mr Forsyth, a local resident thanked the Police for their contribution to reducing anti-social behaviour in Faversham town centre over the last few months.