To receive verbal updates from the relevant Cabinet Members
Minutes:
1. The Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Services, Mrs Hohler, gave a verbal update on the following issues:
(a) The Kent Resilience Forum annual exercise had taken place, based on a flooding scenario, and KCC had been heavily involved. An exercise of this scale was a challenge to organise, and all staff involved were congratulated for making it a success. The aim had been to validate key elements of Kent Resilience Forum plans, processes and training.
(b) On 10 November, the annual Kent and Medway Community Safety Conference had been held in Ashford. It had been a huge success with very well balanced programme, primarily focussed on drug addiction. It was well attended with excellent speakers. The changing and complex environment of drug use and supply had prompted the first Joint Drug and Alcohol Strategy for Kent, which it was hoped would enhance already excellent and proactive partnership working. The Police and Crime Commissioner had also been in attendance to address the conference fully supported the approach.
2. Mr Balfour, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport gave the following update:
(a) The previous Monday, KCC had been invited to give oral evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the future of public parks. He had highlighted the good work that KCC’s Country Parks Team had done over the years; maintaining high quality and increasing income. 74% of the public parks budget had been generated from the parks themselves. KCC were bucking a national trend, as the Select Committee had heard from other authorities whose parks were under a real threat. He reported that a tweet from BBC Millbank falsely attributing comments to him had been corrected by BBC Kent and the Tweet deleted. To ensure progress was continued, the Country Parks service was developing a new strategy for 2017. This Committee would be given ample opportunity to feed into development of the strategy.
He had attended a round table discussion with the Minister for Transport on freight issues. It had been a useful meeting and he had invited the Minister to attend the Inaugural Strategic Freight Group meeting on 2 December, the purpose of which was to bring together relevant parties to take a strategic view of freight issues affecting the county, and to develop solutions for managing freight. He hoped to show the Minister the key areas in the county where residents were experiencing problems.
(b) He had also attended a meeting of the Dartford Crossing Focus Group involving Dartford District Council, Highways England and Kent Police, among others. He was hopeful that positive outcomes would come out of the discussions to reduce congestion in the area.
(c) On other highway matters, there were three major schemes currently underway: Radfall Road, Gravesend; M20 junction for overbridge widening; and the Maidstone Bridges scheme, the Gyratory. The LEP programme continued to be delivered, and it was expected to be supplemented in the autumn statement on 23 November when the result of the current round of bids to the Local Growth Fund was announced. An announcement on the Bid to the Large Local Majors Scheme was also awaited for the A2/M2 Brenley Corner Improvement.
(d) Urgent repairs on the Thanet Way had begun at the request of Kent Police to ensure the safety of motorists. Work started on 14 November with a view to completing in March.
(e) Following the fire at North Farm Waste facility on 22 October, buildings were now structurally secure, following urgent remedial works and the site had reopened on 15 November. Permanent repairs would be undertaken in due course. He extended his thanks to Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge and Malling District Council’s for their support in providing alternative disposal arrangements, while the facility was closed.
(f) He reminded the Committee that there would be an all Members’ briefing on 30 November on the council’s preparations for the winter weather.
3. Mr Pearman, Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport gave the following verbal updates:
(a) He had represented KCC at a seminar entitled ‘Making road travel as safe as rail and air’, organised by Highways England and the Road Safety Foundation, sponsored by Ageas UK and supported by the Department for Transport. Kent had been acknowledged for improvements seen at the A227 between Tonbridge High Street and Borough Green, where 10 fatal/serious injury accidents had taken place between 2009 and 2011 but had been reduced to 2 between 2012 and 2014. This represented an 80% reduction, against the national norm of 5%. On Monday there had been notification that KCC had won a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award., There would be a formal announcement by Prince Michael on 13 December, and 10 representatives from KCC would be invited to attend a ceremony to receive the award. He asked for the contribution of officers to be acknowledged.
4. Mr Balfour, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport responded to comments and questions by Members, and made points including the following:
(a) That the ongoing problems at the Dartford Crossing approach were now a matter of enforcement for the police as officers had done all they could in terms of technical improvements. Highways England had been asked to redesign the methodology to ensure lorries could move to the right hand lane without causing congestion. This matter would be considered at the Strategic group on 2 December.
(b) 40mph Zone on A20 - No agreement had yet been found about the amount of signage that Highways England wanted to put in to advertise a 40mph zone. Highways England had suggested 83 signs on one side of the A20, running through an important landscape, and the Kent Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Office and Natural England had suggested this is disproportionate and would diminish the landscape. It was in the hands of Highways England and a solution continued to be sought by all parties.
5. Mr Wilkin, Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste then added the following:
That the Thanet Way works had been funded largely through the identification of unspent contingency funds built in to the large number of capital schemes that had been undertaken in Highways. Further funding had been taken from a fund earmarked for highways projects and the balance had been accessed via the existing Capital Programme.
6. Mr Balfour then made the following further points in response to questions from Members.
(a) The Police Crime Commissioner was not responsible for operational issues, and it was Police Officers that dealt with issues regarding speed checks on the A229.
(b) Representations had been made to the National Infrastructure Commission regarding rail freight issues.
7. Mr Pearman also made the following additional point in response to a Member’s question:
(a) The group on Monday was seeking to develop a pathfinder portfolio of projects, by April 2017, where willing local authorities would look at business planning cases to address England’s persistent high risk roads. They were able to provide specialist support to apply business planning tools and the funding that would go toward the preparatory work.
8. RESOLVED that the information in the verbal updates and the responses to questions by Members be noted.