Tag Archives: Environment and Highways Board

Agenda for tomorrow’s Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board

The agenda for Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board, Thursday, 9 June 2016, 10.30 am has been published.

To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site

Meeting venue: Ashcombe, County Hall, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2DN

The following items are included in the agenda:

No. Item
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
2 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 21 APRIL 2016
3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
4 QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
5 RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME
6 UPDATES FROM MEMBER REFERENCE GROUPS AND TASK GROUPS
7 ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ON BRIDGE STREET, GUILDFORD
8 REVISED ASSET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORT
9 COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRES – RECYCLING PERFORMANCE
10 REVIEW OF THE SURREY WASTE PLAN: CONSULTATION ON PREFERRED OPTIONS
11 DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 14 JULY 2016

Haslemere County Councillor Update

Here is an update of some of my county councillor activities for Haslemere for the past few weeks. Update also includes some SCC announcements.

HIGHWAYS UPDATE

  • Tanners Lane, met with St Bart’s parents, carers and children to discuss concerns about road safety when crossing near Chestnut Ave car park. Arranged SCC highways team site visit, and agreed to take forward a request for a pedestrian crossing and alterations to Lower Street, Tanners Lane junction to reduce turning traffic speeds.
  • Wey Hill, Tesco lights met with SCC highways to discuss safety following tragic fatality. Further meetings with safety audit team to look at lights and crossing planned. Agreed yellow hatching at Lion Lane/Wey Hill required.
  • Vicarage Lane re-surfacing complete.
  • Damaged railings under Fosters Bridge to be replaced with the work beginning this week.
  • Footpath (604) Map Notice of Modification Order. This Order, made on 4 November 2015, if confirmed, as made, will modify the Definitive Map and Statement for the area by adding a footpath from Lower Street/ Petworth Road beside Lloyds Bank, Haslemere (Grid ref SU 904328) in a south-westerly direction for 52 metres to College Hill (grid ref SU 904327).
  • Old Haslemere Road/Park Road posts to be installed to prevent verge damage
  • WBC/SCC partnership work to resolve bank slippage, drainage and highway damage on Sunbrow Ave has been started.
  • Lower Street: Concerned residents’ request for safer crossing from bus stop to station will be addressed in the station forecourt re-design (see below). A request for a zebra crossing here has been declined as there is no funding available
  • High Street de-clutter completed, posts all painted black, West Street- several obstructive posts with ‘no loading’ signs removed, signs attached to property frontage or existing posts to reduce West Street street clutter.
  • High Street, referred concern to highways team re poor utilities surface with black tar over cobbled surface. Thames Water have been asked by SCC to replace the cobbles.
  • Sandrock, agreed installation of lighting columns- to be installed before year end.
  • West Street, negotiating with SCC to replace existing lights with conservation lighting columns.
  • Weysprings, drainage issues resolved by installation of French drains
  • ‘Gateway’ scheme, Shepherds Hill/Courts Hill Road/Hill Road junction complete- requested traffic speed data to assess impact of traffic calming scheme. Further measures to be pressed for if speed reduction not significant.
  • ‘Pocket park’ at Shepherds Hill/Lower Street junction, plans for ramp access to create accessible green space unfortunately to be dropped as health and safety regs would require railings around the top of the existing small wall so not feasible.
  • Haslemere train station forecourt, meetings with SWT and SCC to discuss improvements, with specific focus on improving pedestrian access to bus stop on north side of station next to The Sewing Room.
  • Waverley Parking Review 2015 now out for consultation. See which roads are covered and have your say.

NOTE: The council now has a new online reporting system for any rights of way problems, which SCC is encouraging everybody to use.  This way both the reporter and the receiver can keep track of the issue(s) they have logged.  I have attached a link to it for you if you would like to use it in the future. https://rightsofway.surreycc.gov.uk/

COMMUNITY VISITS

  • Shottermill Junior School visit with head to see the work of the school.
  • St Bartholomew’s Primary School, talked to year 6 about democracy and the political system.
  • Attended the town’s memorial service and laid a wreath on behalf of SCC.
Remembrance Service November 2015 Haslemere

Remembrance Service November 2015 Haslemere

HASLEMERE STATION TRAVEL PLAN: PARTNERSHIP SCC, SWT and HASLEMERE VISION

Tender process under way for station travel plan.  The aim: to research how and why people travel to station using different transport modes. The goal: to improve station access and identify practical ways to increase pedestrian, cycle and public transport use.

SCC MEETINGS

Submission by: Cllr Nikki Barton 

  • At a recent meeting of the Waverley Local Committee it was reported that there are some highway improvement schemes that have been sitting in pricing with Kier since June 2015, some of which have been carried over from last year. It was reported that this was widespread across the county. I would like to ask the board for some more information regarding this issue. In particular I would like to understand what is causing this log jam within Kier, and the steps that are being taken to resolve these issues. I understand that Kier’s pricing schedules are highly complex and that the costing is high relative to other counties. I would like to request a full explanation of Kier’s pricing rates for highways schemes, and how these compare/benchmark with other county councils. Furthermore I understand that Kier, unable to deliver the schemes with their own workforce is subcontracting work out, with significant cost implications for the county. I would also like to request a full breakdown of both how much work Kier is contracting out annually (in terms of manpower and costs) and the marginal increase in costs added to any highways scheme as a result of this subcontracting.

 Response: 

  • In response to this question, attached is a report detailing performance and progress of this years ITS programme. This provides an overview of works to date of the £4m 15/16 ITS programme, and confirms good progress with over 54% of schemes already constructed. However, it also identifies areas for improvement including how schemes are commissioned and delivered and improving efficiency within the Transport Infrastructure team.
  • The report also provides details of Kier’s resources and pricing. In summary all of the ITS programme is delivered via a range of ten specialist sub-contractors and there are currently no issues with resource availability. Sub-contracting is the normal practice for ITS works, as it requires a degree of specialism and the resource requirement varies from month to month.  To ensure value for money, the majority of schemes are priced using a fixed “Price List” The price list was tendered on the open market and Kier proved to be best value when compared to their national competitors. The fixed “price list” must be used by all of Kier’s specialist supply chain and can only be adjusted each year by inflation, with no additional cost permitted. We are currently undertaking a detailed value for money exercise of the Kier contract, which will be reported to the December EPEH Board, however, if you have any concerns about scheme costs please share with the Area Highway Manager and we will include this cost data with our own value for money exercises. 
  • We recognise that the delivery of ITS schemes remains an area of concern with members, and would be keen to work with the Local Committee Chairs to see how these can be delivered more effectively in the future.

Haslemere and Western Villages Task Group, November 13th, Highways budget forecast and discussion of prioritisation of ITS (Integrated Transport Schemes) for next financial year. Speed reduction and road safety improvements will be our priorities for Haslemere going forward although significant highways budget cuts are expected 2016/17 that will have a negative impact.

SWT stakeholder conference: Basingstoke campus, October 13, 2015 

Discussions on challenges facing the network, ridership increasing, train overcrowding, old track infrastructure is a significant limiting factor.  The points outside Woking present a pinch point in the system, limiting the number of trains per hour that can run to Haslemere, a future multimillion £ investment will be needed to overcome this issue. South west trains franchise is up for renewal 2017.

SOME SCC NEWS UPDATES

Plastics Recycling Campaign                                                    

A county-wide campaign launched on Monday (2 November) to encourage Surrey residents to recycle more plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays. Everyone in Surrey can recycle plastics from each room in the house. That  includes yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, fruit or vegetable trays and every type of plastic bottle. Once recycled they could be reborn as new items like furniture, children’s toys, a football shirt or even another bottle.

Recycling of plastics is important for the Surrey Waste Partnership as only 27% of household plastics are currently recycled in the county.

If every adult in Surrey recycled one more plastic bottle a week it would taxpayers more than £218,000 a year. To find out more, visit the Recycle Surrey

SCC recycling

NHS Health Checks Campaign Continues

Over 17,000 people in Surrey have now had their free NHS Health Check so we’re  looking to build on that success with further communications activity throughout November. Residents aged 40-74 with no history of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke or kidney disease will be reminded that they are eligible for a free NHS Health Check.

Check at a nearby GP surgery or pharmacy. As people get older, their risk of developing these problems increases, but an NHS Health Check will pick up early signs. This allows them to take action to improve their health.

Please encourage residents in your area to visit the Healthy Surrey website to find out how to book an NHS Health Check.

Healthcheck

Surrey Alliance Homeless News: Surrey Alliance Oct 15 news

Latest News from Stagecoach: see link here

Crossrail: Crossrail public consultation

Letters from Police and Crime Commissioner’s office 

Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board Meeting today

Today I’m attending the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board meeting. Here is the agenda:

Agenda

Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board Wednesday, 21 October 2015 10.30 am

Venue: Ashcombe, County Hall, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2DN

Contact: Huma Younis or Dominic Mackie, Room 122, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames

No. Item
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
2. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 9 SEPTEMBER 2015 PDF 269 KB

To agree the previous minutes as a true record of the meeting.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

Notes:

·         In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest.

·         Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

·         Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register.

·         Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

4. QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

To receive any questions or petitions.

Notes:

·         The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (Thursday 15 October 2015)

·         The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (Wednesday 14 October 2015).

·         The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 51 KB

The board is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings and to review its forward work programme.

Additional documents:

6. UPDATES FROM MEMBER REFERENCE GROUPS AND TASK GROUPS

To receive a verbal update from the boards task groups and member reference groups.

7. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL AND SURREY WILDLIFE TRUST TO MANAGE THE COUNTRYSIDE ESTATE PDF 98 KB

Purpose of the Report: Scrutiny of Services and Performance Management/ Policy Development

This report updates the Board on the review of the Agreement between Surrey County Council and Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) to manage the County Council’s Countryside Estate.  A decision will be going to the County Council’s Cabinet in November 2015, an outline draft of which is attached.  This will set out the variations to the current Agreement and the monitoring process put in place to ensure the service is delivered to the agreed standards. The Board is asked to provide feedback on the proposed changes to the Agreement.

Additional documents:

8. SHAPING SURREY’S COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRES PDF 242 KB

Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services/ Policy Development

To enable scrutiny of proposals to change the service offered at the Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) to reduce costs and meet savings targets.

These proposals are due to be presented to Cabinet in November.

9. INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT ON THE REVIEW OF WASTE MANAGEMENT AND MINIMISATION PDF 83 KB

Purpose of the report:  Scrutiny of Services

To review the summary of audit findings and Management Action Plan produced as a result of an internal audit review of the Waste Management and Minimisation 2014/15.

Additional documents:

10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 10 DECEMBER 2015

The next meeting of the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways board will be held on 10 December at 10.30am in the Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames.

This Week’s Meetings

Yesterday (8th June) I attended a Brighter Futures session at Haslewey. This course was run with finding from my member’s allocation. Brighter Futures offers a series of informative and inspirational workshops to help you make changes to how you work and live.

Brighter Futures Session at Haslewey

Brighter Futures Session at Haslewey

This evening (9th June), I attended a Waverley Cycle Forum meeting. The Waverley Cycle Forum brings people together with the aim of improving cycle facilities throughout the borough of Waverley in Surrey.

Tomorrow (10th June), I’ll be attending the following meetings:

  • Waverley Youth Task Group – The Burys, Godalming
  • Orchard Club AGM – Haslewey
  • Haslemere Conservation Area Appraisal – HTC

On Thursday (11th June) I’ll attend the:

On Friday, I’m at the following events/meetings:

  • Playing in Action for AT charity tennis tournament
  • Attending a SCC/HTC discussion on Saturday dust cart service
  • Attending the Waverley Local Area Committee – private meeting in Godalming