Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln Lincs LN1 1YL. View directions

Contact: Steve Blagg  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence/Replacement Members

Minutes:

No apologies were received.

2.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

No declarations were made at this stage of the meeting.

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting of the Highways and Transport Committee held on 29 April 2019 pdf icon PDF 252 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 April 2019, be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to the following amendments:-

 

Page 8 – deletion of "bins" in bullet point 5 (minute 75)

Page 8 – deletion of "bins" in resolution (b) (minute 75)

Page 9 – addition of new resolution "(b) That the Committee receive an annual report on progress of the company".

4.

Announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillors and Lead Officers

Minutes:

Members welcomed Councillor B A Adams as the new Chairman of the Committee and thanked his predecessor, Councillor M Brookes, the previous Chairman.

 

Councillor M Brookes thanked both Members and officers for their service and help during his time of office.

5.

Holbeach Transport Strategy

(To receive a report by Teresa James, Senior Project Leader, in connection with the latest situation in connection with the Holbeach Transport Strategy)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report in connection with the Holbeach Transport Strategy which was due to be considered by the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT between 14 and 28 June 2019.

 

Members welcomed the report especially the comprehensive layout of the Strategy which was easy to understand and it was suggested that the template used for this Strategy should be used for other strategies.

 

Members stated that improvements were required to the Market Hill junction; agreed that the bus service was gradually improving after many years of poor service and the proposed community cycle hub was welcomed.

 

A member enquired whether there had been any public consultation about the Strategy and was informed that there had been extensive consultations including with South Holland District Council, use of social media and detailed discussions at the Local Strategy Board.

 

Officers stated that the necessary improvements identified in the Strategy would need to be prioritised when funding became available.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That the comments made by Members be noted.

(b)  That the Committee supports the recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT detailed in the report.

6.

Boston Transport Strategy Update pdf icon PDF 155 KB

(To receive a report by Teresa James, Senior Project Leader, which provides an update on the Boston Transport Strategy from the report of the 10th December 2018 and the developments made in progressing the priorities set out in the Strategy)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report which provided an update on the Boston Transport Strategy and the developments made in progressing the priorities set out in the Strategy. Officers stated that the Boston Strategy Board had agreed to three projects being progressed now and these were described in the report. It was proposed to investigate six further projects following completion of the Boston Traffic Model and, again, these were outlined in the report.

 

Members welcomed the progress being made especially the valuable role by the Boston Strategy Board. It was agreed that the Committee should receive a further report in Spring 2020.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That the progress made to date on the Boston Transport Strategy be noted and welcomed.

(b)  That the continued programme of work by the Boston Transport Strategy Board in delivering the aims of the Strategy, be endorsed.

(c)  That the Committee receive a further report in Spring 2020.

 

 

7.

Review of the Highways and Transport Capital Programme 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

(To receive a report by Michelle Grady, Assistant Director Strategic Finance/ Sam Edwards, Head of Highways Infrastructure, which describes the Council's capital programme financial performance in 2018/19, specifically in respect of Highways and Transport spend)

Minutes:

The Committee received a report in connection with the Council's capital programme financial performance in 2018/19, specifically with regard to Highways and Transport spend. Officers stated that the Council's full capital programme would be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 27 June and then the Executive on the 9 July 2019.

 

Comments by Members included the effects of the recent events caused by the substantial losses incurred by an investment fund on construction companies as it was noticed that the Kier construction company had made substantial losses. There was a need for officers to provide information missing in the report for the Chairman to enable him to respond to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 27 June 2019.

 

The Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT stated that there was a need for the Council to improve its communication with the public and explain to them the reasons why a project was overrunning as this had not always been done in the past.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report and comments made by Members be noted and drawn to the attention of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 27 June 2019.

8.

Highways 2020 pdf icon PDF 134 KB

(To receive a report by Paul Rusted, Infrastructure Commissioner, which provides an update on progress with the Highways 2020 Project which will see the replacement of the existing three Lincolnshire Highway Alliance Contracts)

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on progress of the Highways 2020 Project which would see the replacement of the existing three Lincolnshire Highway Alliance contracts. Officers stated that the tenders were being evaluated and the process was on schedule. Officers stated that with Lot 1 (Highway Works) it was necessary to go down the Negotiation route which required detailed work to ensure that the best outcome was achieved for the Council. Work on Lot 1 was due to commence tomorrow with the final outcome being subject to scrutiny in September 2019 and then approval by the Executive.

 

Members welcomed the progress being made and a report in Autumn 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted and that the Committee receive a further report in Autumn 2019.

9.

Performance Report, Quarter 4 (Jan 2019–Mar 2019) pdf icon PDF 250 KB

(To receive a report by Paul Rusted, Infrastructure Commissioner, which sets out the performance of the highways service including the Major Highway Schemes Update, Lincolnshire Highways Alliance Performance, and the Customer Satisfaction information )

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on the performance of the highways service for Quarter 4 (January 2019 to March 2019).

 

Officers stated that the overall performance was good in all areas. They stated that the construction industry was encountering some problems associated with the economy. With regard to the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, Hawk, the earthworks sub-contractor, had gone in to liquidation and had been replaced by Amery Construction Ltd. Officers stated that steady progress was being made on Phase 2 of the Grantham Southern Relief Road and with regard to the Highways Alliance the performance had improved with the maintenance of traffic lights being very good.

 

Members' noted the increase in customer complaints even though improvements had been made to the highways; the need to use another heading in the report to describe those roads using the same access and egress; the use of CCTV to maintain lane discipline with the arrangements on Canwick Hill cited as an example; enquired whether there had there been any increase in the number of vehicles damaged due to potholes and the need to inform Parish and Town Councils of proposed highway works affecting their area to enable them to publish the information on their notice boards and media outlets.

 

Officers stated that roads having one access/egress were already covered in the statistics and that it would cause confusion if too much information was included. With regard to the reporting of compliments it was dependent on the Council receiving these from the public.

 

The Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT agreed to respond to a member's enquiry about the latest statistics on the number of vehicles damaged due to potholes. He was concerned that there seemed to be a time lag between when complaints were received and the public noticing that improvements had been made. He stated that the complaints he received, albeit small in number, were about what the Council was not doing. He stated that highways had the highest public profile of all of the Council's services.

 

Members welcomed the improvements made in the service and many gave examples of the good work being undertaken in their areas.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report, comments, and actions identified, be noted.

10.

Passenger Transport Update pdf icon PDF 292 KB

(To receive a report by Anita Ruffle, Group Manager, Transport Service, which provides an update on Passenger Transport Matters since the previous report considered by this Committee on 11 June 2018)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report and presentation which provided an update on Passenger Transport matters since the previous report considered by this Committee on 11 June 2018. Officers agreed to circulate the presentation to members so that they could forward it to their Parish/Town Councils.

 

Officers asked members to let them know if they did not receive information in connection with changes to public bus service changes as it was the Council's wish that they received this information before it was provided to the public to enable them to be able to respond to any enquiries raised by the public.

 

Comments by members included the issues faced by rural communities in accessing public transport; welcoming the concessionary bus fares scheme which enabled elderly people to access the countryside and coast; welcoming the recovery of the Voluntary Car Scheme following the conditions imposed by the Government a few years ago; the need for "closed" bus shelters for the elderly in the Birchwood area of Lincoln; the need to improve access issues for cyclists coming to Lincoln from the north of the city; an enquiry about the procedure for the leasing of electronic ticketing machines; the need for the cycling and bus strategies to be considered by the various Local Transport Strategy Boards and problems caused by a changes to a Skegness bus service which affected services in the village of Friskney.

 

Officers stated that the provision of bus shelters was a District Council responsibility. The County Council was able to offer a grant although this was dependent on the amount of work required.

 

Officers stated that they had received similar enquiries from cycling groups about access issues to the city of Lincoln from the north of Lincoln and were examining producing a feasibility study to construct a bridge over Nettleham Road.

 

Officers explained the procedure to be followed for the issuing of electronic ticketing machines. This new system would provide benefits to both the Council and bus operators. Officers agreed to provide details of the cost of the system to members.

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)  That the report, comments by members and actions identified be noted.

(b)  That the power point presentation be sent to all members of the Council and that they be requested to forward it to the Parish/Town Councils in their areas.

11.

Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 264 KB

(To receive a report by Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Committee to review, consider and comment on its Work Programme)

Minutes:

The Committee received a report in connection with its Work Programme.

 

A member requested an update of the effects on his Division of the highway infrastructure needed for the Western Growth Corridor in Lincoln arising from the construction of 3,200 houses. Officers stated that this information could be provided as the County Council was a statutory consultee on the proposals and would have comments to make on the proposals.

 

In response to an enquiry about the study in to the use CCTV outside of schools, officers stated that a report on this matter would be submitted to this Committee in Autumn 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Work Programme be noted and updated accordingly.

 

 
 
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