Apologies were received from Councillor Amil who was represented by Cllr Excell.

The previous minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record.

Proposed by: Cllr Cowell

Seconded by: Cllr Addis

In favour: All

Patrick Carney distributed Hele AQMA action plan and advised that Community Safety are the lead and have updated the Action Plan.  Chris Widdicombe advised that the level of pollution has been monitored and now stands just below the standard level of 40.  It is planned to continue to monitor the area for another 12 – 18 months and to revoke the AQMA if improvements continue.  Chris Widdicombe advised that a report on the current levels is due to be made to DEFRA at the end of the month.  Cllr Cowell raised concerns over ongoing issues with Heles Angels and that there are still issues regarding HGV’s and coaches continuing to use the route.  Patrick Carney advised that a survey was carried out with the types of vehicles and companies being recorded who have been contacted and advised of the preferred route that they should be using.  Councillor Excell highlighted that there is a petrol station at either end of Hele Road and this causes congestion at both ends.

Cllr Addis queried if the readings are affected by weather conditions and PC confirmed that warmer weather improves the air quality

Chris Foster from Heles Angels advised that he was disappointed not to receive a copy of the Action Plan before the meeting but confirmed that he had been advised that it would be distributed at the meeting.  Chris considered that the current level was still too high as the level of 39  is only an average and he queried why the air quality in Hele should be any different to the rest of the Bay.  Chris advised that 1400 cars an hour use the road and that residents have been requesting a weight restriction on the road and debating on whether the road should be made one way.  Chris requested that the AQMA is kept on the agenda and that the Council work with Heles Angels to improve the air quality further.

Patrick confirmed that there is currently no intention to remove the AQMA for at least 18 months to 2 years whilst it is continued to be monitored.  Patrick advised that a weight limit is not necessarily required at the moment as the air quality level is going in the right direction, however if it goes up then measures will be taken.

Cllr J Thomas queried if it would be possible for the Ministry of Transport to put a check on the road for vehicles that are nor serviced.  PC advised that the Ministry of Transport no longer provide this service as they do not have the required equipment.

Cllr Excell queried if monitoring had also taken place on Sundays and Chris Widdicombe confirmed that it is monitored continuously and that there are differences in the level on a Sunday.

Chris Widdicombe left the meeting.

RH advised that following questions at the last meeting, this report had been amended.  Patrick Carney advised that the diagrams show how the junction operates on site now.  Patrick Carney outlined the options that are being considered within the report and advised that the recommendation was to implement as advertised.  Patrick Carney stated that they understand the concerns of residents but the need to improve traffic flow has to take priority.

Mr Jones suggested that the area should be the subject of an AQMA.  He stated that the residents were assured in July 2010 that no double yellow lines were necessary in the area and that they had no concerns at all with the traffic flow.  He advised that he had been told that sensors had already been installed controlling the traffic and he believed that a decision had already been made to install the parking restrictions.  Mr Jones stated that he does not know how the yellow box can be used as it’s not legal and removing this would reduce the need for parking restrictions.  Mr Jones advised that he had written in with objections to the proposal and that the lights were changed 3 or 4 days after this causing back up of traffic to stop.  Mr Jones highlighted that the pedestrian crossing by Bookers appears to work when there are no pedestrians around which causes issues with traffic backlog.  Mr Jones advised that from various comments he has heard the decision on these restrictions is already a done deal and that the residents have not been listened to.

Mr Daniels advised that after the last meeting he went home and there was a continuous stream of traffic through the junction.  He stated that he sat in the traffic for 30 minutes and that there was no backup at all, however there were small delays caused by roadworks.  Mr Daniels considered that there would be no difference made to the traffic by the restrictions despite the surveys that have been carried out.  Mr Daniels considered there to be no issues changing lanes at the junction.  Mr Daniels raised concerns that the residents would become isolated and have to walk up to half a mile from their cars to their homes.  He queried how the restrictions had been calculated and considered that the surveys carried out were not accurate enough.

Patrick Carney responded to Mr Jones advising that the sensors he mentioned had been installed as part of the scheme and that all traffic lights have these sensors to alter timings to traffic on demand.  Patrick advised that no reports had been received about the pedestrian crossing by Bookers and that he would look into this.  Patrick confirmed that he had spoken to the Police concerning the yellow box and that they had advised that no offence would be committed if vehicles were to sit in the box if they are prevented from exiting by oncoming traffic.  Patrick advised that the capacity of the queue length builds up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 164.

Patrick Carney presented the report and advised that  the scheme had been successful but was only showing an occupancy level between 40% and 50% during the week and 10% at weekends.  It is therefore proposed to reduce the cost of the parking to £1 all day to encourage more people to use the area.

Recommendation

Undertake a promotion of reduced charges for three months to increase usage of the area and report back to Members at the end of this period with further recommendations.  This will be:-

All day = £1 (minimum charge and no 4 hour charge)

Weekly ticket = £5

Proposed by:  Cllr Cowell

Seconded by: Cllr Doggett

In favour: All

Patrick Carney presented the report to relax parking restrictions to make the bay more car friendly.  Patrick outlined that following consultation with the public 25 – 30 requests had been received for the removal of lines and that 12 requests had been received for additional restrictions to be introduced.  These 12 additional requests have not been considered as part of this report with only the removal of restrictions being considered.

Patrick highlighted those roads within the report that were not considered suitable for removal of restrictions.  Cllr Brooksbank advised that people are still parking in Polsham Park and that removal of lines would cause issues during the summer.  Patrick advised that he would speak to Parking Services and arrange for the faded lines to be repainted.  It was recommended that the proposed changes to restrictions in Polsham Park should be withdrawn.

Recommendation

To advertise and implement, should no objections be forthcoming, the proposed implementation of the Traffic Regulation Order, as detailed in Appendix 2, with the exception of Polsham Park which is withdrawn.

Any objections will be referred to the Executive Lead.

Proposed by:  Cllr Excell

Seconded by:  Cllr Pountney

In favour: All

Sally Farley gave a verbal update on the LSTF.  Sally advised that a 5 year contract has been signed with Brixham Express Limited for the new fast ferry service to commence in December 2014. 

Sally confirmed that procurement has been completed on the RTI package and a contract is due to be awarded. 

Sally stated that they are due to place a bid for the second LSTF of £665,000 for 2015/16, which will be for revenue only and it is planned to use this for travel planning, smart ticketing and a walk to school scheme. 

Cllr Addis expressed thanks from the Board to Sally for her team’s work.

Patrick Carney advised that Councils must have asset management plans and that the highway is it’s most valuable asset.  Patrick highlighted that some funding levels are linked to the plan and that the plan was currently in a draft stage.

Cllr Pountney queried if any roads are to be declassified as in Devon and Patrick advised that these are only declassified where the roads are only used by farmers.

Cllr Addis queried the number for reporting potholes as he had not yet seen it in the paper.  Patrick advised that a press release is due to be issued.  Cllr Cowell asked how long a road takes to deteriorate and Patrick advised that this depends on the weather, but in normal weather it is usually a year.

Patrick advised that it is planned to invest as much as possible in residential roads together with those with a large number of potholes.

It was requested that the Members of the TWP read the Transport Asset Management Plan and respond to Patrick Carney by email with their comments/approval within the next two weeks.

Patrick presented the reports and advised that this was a request made by the local post office for the implementation of a loading bay fronting 18 Roundhill Road.  It was highlighted that the maximum length of stay in the bay would be 20 minutes. 

Patrick stated that both one letter of objection and one letter in support had been received.  As these had not been attached to the Agenda, Patrick read them to the meeting.

Recommendation

To implement the proposed Traffic Regulation Order as advertised, of an 11m loading bay, operational only between the hours of 8am and 6pm, with a maximum stay of 20mins

Proposed by: Cllr Pountney

Seconded by: Cllr Addis

In favour: All

Patrick presented the reported and advised that this was in response to a request made by Torbay Local Link, the operator of the local bus service, due to delays which are affecting their service due to parked vehicles reducing the width of the available carriageway.  It was confirmed that this would be funded from Capital budget.  Cllr Excell stated that he had been on site and noted that vehicles struggle to negotiate the gap and that it would be impossible for the Emergency Services to get through.

Recommendation

To advertise and implement, should no objections be forthcoming, the proposed Traffic Regulation Order to:

• Remove the existing 3 car parking bay (fronting the school) on Hayes Road and replace with ‘No waiting at any time’ restrictions
• Cut back the existing ‘No waiting at any time’ restrictions (opposite the school) by 4m and to extend the existing parking bay by 4m
• Cut back the existing bus bay (fronting property nos 24 – 26) from 19m to 13m and extend the existing parking bay by 6m. The public transport officer will have to consult with the local residents with regard to the resiting of the bust stop flag and pole. 

Any objections will be referred to a future meeting of the Transport Working Party.

Proposed by: Cllr Brooksbank

Seconded by: Cllr Excell

In favour: All

·         Parking Policy - Patrick Carney advised that as the TWP is now only meeting twice a year the Parking Policy requires changing to reflect this.  It was confirmed that local consultations are to be carried out first, followed by consultation with the Executive Leads unless the request is from the Emergency Services.  A copy of adverts is to be forwarded to all Ward Members and it was agreed that they would be made aware of any objections that are received.  Time will be made to allow them to comment if they wish to.  A final decision is to be made by the Director.  The process is to be similar for CPZ’s.

Members noted this and no objections were received.

·         Parking Summer Charges -  Cllr Excell advised that it was proposed to extend the £2 parking promotion until May and to change to the Summer parking rates.  It is then proposed to decide next winter on future charges.  Cllr Excell highlighted that the cost of changing ticket machines to prevent the sharing of tickets was £180k and that they are currently losing too much money through the sharing of tickets.  Members are to discuss future winter charges with traders.

Cllr Cowell welcomed the extension of the parking promotion as it should have finished at the end of February, although no feedback had been received on the impact of the promotion.  Sue Cheriton confirmed that feedback had been collated and passed to Cllr Excell and that losses were £44k due to the scheme.  It was confirmed that feedback had been received from traders who have confirmed that the promotion was positive for traders and was of economic benefit.  It was also considered to have improved the image of the Council.  Cllr Cowell queried why the charges were also the same for leisure car parks when they are not used all day.  Cllr Excell advised that this was a pilot scheme and will be calibrated next time.

Cllr Addis queried Torbay Council commercial vehicles being parked all day in the Town Hall Car Park. Sue advised that these were no longer being parked there and that she regularly checks as the only vehicles authorised to park there is the library vehicle overnight and liveried vehicles for a maximum of two hours in the back Town Hall parking bays.

10^th July 2014, 4.00pm, Meadfoot Room, Town Hall.

10^th July 2014, 4.00pm.