Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 February 2017 be received and signed by the Chairman.

There were no announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillors or Chief Operating Officers.

(To receive a report and presentation from Senior Officers which provides the Committee with an introduction to the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee and the services which are included in the Council's Commissioning Strategies for sustaining and developing prosperity through infrastructure)

The Committee received a presentation from the Chief Operating officer and the Infrastructure Commissioner which provided an introduction to the commissioning strategies for Highways and Transport.  Detailed information was provided on the following areas:

·         Organisational Structure

·         Commissioning Strategies

·         Scrutiny Input

·         GLLEP

·         The Midlands Engine/Midlands Connect

·         Grantham Southern Relief Road

·         King 31 Link Road

·         Lincoln East West Link

·         Lincoln Integrated Transport Strategy

·         Lincoln Eastern Bypass

·         Peppermint Junction: Holbeach

·         Western Growth Corridor Sustainable Urban Extensions

·         Highways Future Operating Model Objectives, Milestones and Outcomes,

·         Street Lighting

·         LCC integrated service approach to Flood Risk & Highways Development Management

·         Statutory Consultees in the Planning Process

·         Statutory Role

·         What we consider as a consultee – as Highway Authority

·         What we consider as a consultee – as lead local flood authority

·         Transport Services – Issues

·         Speed Management Policy – Work of Scrutiny Committee - A Case Study

·         Performance Reporting

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

·         In relation to the Western Growth Corridor it was queried when work would start as the contractor had pulled out, however, members were advised that these types of schemes were heavily dependent on the market as they were driven by private development.

·         Concerns were raised regarding access and egress for the 3200 houses which were planned as part of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan as there was already a lot of traffic.  It was confirmed that measures to address this were still in the plan.  However, Mark Welsh, Flood Risk and Development Manager, would be the most appropriate person to give an update on this.

·         Clarification regarding roles of officers in relation to highways and transport and growth was provided.

·         Concerns about safety were expressed regarding swales, particularly one on Tritton Road, as they could become attractive natural areas with wildlife, and it was queried how much consideration was given to these safety issues.  It was reported that there were currently complication with maintenance of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) and the debate was ongoing regarding those which were outside of the highway and who was responsible for them.  Any maintenance plan put in place would have to take safety into consideration.  There was a need for a delicate balance, as there were a lot of amenity areas which could have risk attached. It was noted that one option could be to fence the swales, however, members were advised that further information in relation to SUDS would come to this Committee in the future.

·         In relation to the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, it was noted that the previous Environmental Scrutiny Committee had received a very interesting presentation regarding the archaeology of the site, and it was queried whether this committee would be able to receive a similar update.  Members were advised that the presentation that was given at the previous committee could be circulated to this Committee for information.

·         It was queried whether updates would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

(To receive a report from Paul Rusted, Infrastructure Commissioner, which describes the actions that will be required to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to provide service delivery continuity when the three contracts that form part of the Lincolnshire Highways Alliance reach their full term by 31 March 2020)

It was reported that the three contracts which formed the Lincolnshire Highways Alliance (LHA) began on 1 April 2010 and were due to reach full term on 31 March 2020 following the award of the final extension.  The three contracts were the Highways Works Term Contract, the Traffic Signals Term Contract and the Professional Services Contract.

Members were guided through the content of the report, and 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 included the following:

·         It was queried why these arrangements had suited Lincolnshire better as other authorities who had entered into these arrangements had not been as successful.  Members were advised that the LHA had regularly been a part of the scrutiny process which had brought issues out into the open and had also brought senior officers from each of the contractors into the Committee.  It was also reported that the authority had been very active at making sure that standards were maintained.  It was also noted that the authority had been very lucky to be able to retain its Highways Laboratory.  Members were informed that trips would be offered to the lab as part of the process of determining a replacement for the Highways alliance contract.

·         In order for contracts such as the Highways Alliance to be a success, there was a need to constantly strive to improve.

·         It was commented that there would be a need for members to have knowledge of the contracting process, as it would be important to show that there was an understanding of what was being scrutinised.  Members were advised that there was an expectation that this would be a regular paper to the scrutiny committee which would help members to increase their knowledge of the issues.

·         The importance of in-house knowledge was emphasised, as if design work was outsourced, whilst a design would be technically correct, when looked at with local knowledge there could be an opportunity to do things slightly differently and save money.

·         It was queried whether there was any succession planning taking place to ensure that in house knowledge was retained.  Members were advised that there were a number of highly skilled people who would be retiring in a couple of years.  However, apprenticeship schemes with career grades had been introduced to try and mitigate this.

·         Members were advised that there was a plan in place, but it was acknowledged that there was a difficulty in attracting experienced professionals to Lincolnshire.  There was support from the university and HND programmes.  It was commented that sometimes it was better to 'grow your own' in terms of skilled staff.

·         It was clarified that the working group which it was proposed to set up would be separate to the scrutiny panels and only 3-4 members would be involved and the working group would bring regular reported back to this Committee to ensure that it was kept up to date on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(To receive a report from Justin Brown, Enterprise Commissioner, which describes the work of the Midlands Engine partnership and considers how Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) should engage with the partnership)

It was reported that the Midlands Engine was a partnership which was seeking to promote growth across the whole of the East and West Midlands.  It was supported by government and was likely that significant resources for growth would be routed through the partnership.  The report presented to the Committee described the work of the Midlands Engine Partnership and considered how Lincolnshire County Council should engage with the partnership.

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

·         A lot of work had been done in relation to transport priorities which were contained in a document called 'Midlands Connect'

·         There was a challenge to ensure that the people who made decisions knew that Lincolnshire was an important area and that there were schemes which were ready to be implemented when funding became available.

·         It was highlighted that the improvements to the Newark bypass would not be a scheme in Lincolnshire, but it would be of benefit to the county as it was one of the main gateways to Lincolnshire.

·         A lot of work had been done to make sure that the rail connections which ran east to west were improved.  It was reported that the increase in fast trains on the East Coast Mainline was welcome because it would improve connections with London, but that the increase would make it more difficult for East/West trains to cross the East Coast Mainline.

·         The challenge was not just about showing why Lincolnshire needed funding for certain schemes, but also to demonstrate why what would be proposed would also be important for the Midlands area.

·         The Midlands engine needed to understand the importance of Lincolnshire as well as trusting the authorities to deliver the projects if funding was awarded.

·         It was queried whether there were any plans to improve the A17 as the condition of the road could be a barrier to people travelling through Lincolnshire, and it was suggested whether this could be included as a priority.

·         Caution was advised to stop this from becoming a 'shopping list' of improvements that councillors would like to see.  However, it was noted that the A17 was one of those roads which was important to freight transport.  It was queried whether this would be more of a national project in terms of moving freight from Lowestoft to the North West.

·         It was also noted that some roads to Skegness were in a poor condition and it was queried if there were plans to improve them up to the M180.  Members were advised that making a case for Skegness to the Midlands Engine should be fairly easy because of the traditional relationship between the east coast resorts and the industrial midlands cities, but Midlands Engine funding would only be available of a clear case could be made for how investment would have an impact on the growth of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

(To receive a report from Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider its own work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity is focused where it can be of greatest benefit)

A report was received which enabled the Committee to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity was focused where it could be of greatest benefit.  The work programme would be reviewed at each meeting of the Committee to ensure its contents are still relevant and would add value to the work of the Council and partners.

Members were advised that it was proposed to change the dates of the scrutiny committee starting with the meeting in September 2017, and it was also reported that the day of the meeting would be changing from a Friday to a Monday.  It was reported that new electronic appointments would be circulated to members.

Members were reminded that there was a Network Rail engagement session planned for November and it was commented that previously this had been a very good session and the previous committee had found it useful for building positive relationships with Network Rail.

RESOLVED

1.    That the work programme as set out in Appendix A to the report be noted.

2.    That the meeting dates be amended as discussed.