Agenda item

(To receive a report from Sam Edwards, Major Schemes and Design Commissioner, which details what a transport strategy is and highlights the purpose and benefits to LCC.  The report also provides the Committee with an outline of the status of LCC's existing Transport Strategies and recommends a more robust future approach across the whole County)

Consideration was given to a report which detailed the purpose and benefits of a transport strategy to the County Council. The report also outlined the status of the County Council's existing Transport Strategies and recommended a more robust future approach across the whole county.

Members were advised that transport strategies were key to the delivery of improvements to the transport network through the identification of policies and proposals founded on a sound evidence base.  The strategy set out what a local authority intended to achieve in an area and how it would go about it presenting the authorities' proposals for improving the transport network over a period of time.

Members asked questions and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was commented that if this work was not completed then the authority would not have the evidence base to pursue funding opportunities.  It was confirmed that this was correct but there was a cost to this approach of around £500,000 per year.  However, it was emphasised that this was an approximate average cost, and some years could be more or less than this figure.

·         Members supported this approach as it was never known when an opportunity for additional funding might come up.  It was important to be objective and have schemes which were ready to go.

·         It was noted that it was important to have a joined up approach with Highways England and the Dft.

·         In relation to the route based work the strategy was clear that if finance was not in place there could be a mechanism to go back to DfT with evidence to show that work needed to be done.

·         What was the driver to get a scheme off the ground? An example was given of the planning permission given for the Lincoln Western Growth Corridor or waiting until funding was in place.  Members were advised that there had to be a need for the work to be done and work would be carried out with the districts as well and then funding for the scheme would be looked at.

·         It was confirmed that costs of £500,000 for this approach was a revenue cost as it was the cost of drawing up plans, etc. In some cases it was possible to include some of these costs as capital expenditure.  Any work after planning permission had been received could be included as capital costs.

·         It was noted that these costs would vary depending on the volume of work carried out but would be a recurrent cost.  Some of the costs would be staff costs but a lot of work would also be done on understanding the economic situation and traffic modelling.  It was noted that traffic modelling was a very complex process and a lot of this modelling work was carried out for the County Council through WSP.

·         The Chairman advised that officers had the support of the Committee for this approach.

·         It was requested whether the Committee could have an update report annually on how this approach was developing.

RESOLVED

1.    That the comments made in relation to the proposed route and place based transport strategy approach to identifying future highway improvements across the county be noted.

2.    That the programme of creating and updating the various traffic models and place/route based strategies across the County as detailed in Appendix A to the report be endorsed.

3.    That the Committee receive an annual progress report.