Minutes

RESOLVED

          That Councillor R G Davies be elected as Chairman of the Lincolnshire       Strategic Transport Board.

RESOLVED

          That Councillor C J Davie be elected as Vice-Chairman of the            Lincolnshire Strategic Transport Board.

An apology for absence was received from Network Rail.

The Executive Director for Communities provided the Board with background information in relation to the reasons for the establishment of Local Transport Boards, and what their role was likely to be. 

The Board was advised that its role would be to decide which schemes should be prioritised within the funding allocations to be provided by central government; to review and approve individual business cases as schemes progressed and also to ensure effective delivery of the agreed programme.  In terms of Local Transport Boards, it was noted that Lincolnshire was in a unique position as they would be partnerships between Local Transport Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and possibility other organisations as well.  However, as funding was to be devolved down based on the Local Enterprise Partnership geography, Lincolnshire would be forming a single authority Local Transport Board based on the County Council boundary. 

It was reported that each Local Transport Board would be required to prepare an Assurance Framework which would set out the arrangements and processes it would follow.  These Frameworks were required to be submitted to DfT for approval.

RESOLVED

            That the information presented be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Executive Director for Communities which provided members of the Board with an opportunity to comment on the proposed Assurance Framework, which would set out the principals and rules under which the Board would operate.

It was reported that the proposed Assurance Framework for the Lincolnshire Strategic Transport Board was submitted to DfT at the end of February 2013.  Part 1 of the Framework – Purpose, Structure and Operating Principles has been signed off by the DfT, but discussions were still on-going in terms of Part 2 – Prioritisation.  There had been an indication from DfT that they would liaise with the authority in terms of Part 3 – Programme Management and Investment Decisions "over the coming weeks and months".

The members of the Board discussed the Governance Assurance Framework, and it was proposed that it was accepted as it was, but that it was acknowledged that they could be changed in order to satisfy the Secretary of State that they were robust enough.

It was noted that the list of priorities for the Lincolnshire Strategic Transport Board would need to be published by the end of July 2013, which would again need to be signed off by the DfT.

RESOLVED

            That the Governance Assurance Framework be adopted, and further          advice from DfT be awaited.

The Board received a report presented by the Assistant Director Highways and Transportation which set out the proposed schemes to be subject to an EAST (Early Assessment and Sifting Tool) Assessment.  It was reported that the County Council, as a local transport authority, had been considering which schemes it would wish to put forward to the Transport Board for prioritisation.  Schemes were considered against various key criteria, and as a result 4 schemes were identified to forward to the next stage of prioritisation which were as follows:

·         Spalding Western Relief Road Phase 1

·         Grantham Southern Relief Road – Southern Quadrant Link only

·         Grantham Southern Relief Road – A1 to A52 Full Link

·         Skegness Western Relief Road

Members of the Board were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         The biggest single issue when structuring the list was whether the projects were deliverable within the time frame;

·         Smaller projects could be considered but it was hoped that they would be funded in different ways;

·         The indicative allocation was likely to be £11.9m, and it was planned to use this towards bigger schemes;

·         Authorities would be able to bid, through a competitive process, for the 30% of funding which was not allocated;

·         There was already work going on with the first 2 schemes in the list.  They were in the programme but would not necessarily be delivered without further funding;

·         This funding could be used to fund schemes which could then unlock further schemes;

·         There were concerns that this money could disappear if it was used to fund a lot of small schemes, it was thought preferable to use it for a large scheme that would have an impact in the county;

·         The EAST assessment would inform the process;

·         It was important to take into account other possible benefits of a scheme such as social and economic development, not just value for money;

RESOLVED

1.    That the proposal by the County Council to take forward the schemes list be agreed;

2.    That the Board confirm to DfT that the final prioritised list of schemes would be drawn from that list.

Dates for the next meeting in September would be circulated, a preference for the meeting to take place on a Tuesday afternoon was expressed.