Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Mr K Gowland (KALC).

To note appointments of Substitute Members.

It was noted that there were no substitute members.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the latter case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

It was noted that there were no declarations of interest.

To note the Dover Joint Transportation Board's Terms of Reference (attached).

RESOLVED:    That the Board's Terms of Reference be noted.

To confirm the attached Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 April 2013.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Transportation Board held on 11 April 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To note the appointment of County Councillor Leyland Ridings as Chairman and District Councillor Nigel Collor as Vice-Chairman respectively for the 2013/14 Council year.

It was noted that Councillors S C Manion and N J Collor had been appointed as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of the Dover Joint Transportation Board by their authorities.

To note the attached Minutes of the EHWCC meeting held on 23 April 2013.

To note the attached reports that went to the meeting of the EHWCC held on 23 April 2013:

·           Future Highways Programme

·           Highways and Transportation Winter Service Review for 2012/13

The Board received the minutes and reports of the Environment, Highways and Waste Cabinet Committee (EHWCC) meeting held on 23 April 2013.

In respect of Minute No 25(9), some Members remarked that it would be helpful to have further information on how much additional government grant funding was likely to be allocated to Kent and, in particular, how it could be used in the district for highway works.  Interest was also expressed in whether Dover District Council (DDC) intended to use any of the New Homes Bonus for infrastructure works, and how the Council was progressing with its Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule which was currently out for consultation. 

RESOLVED:    (a)        That a progress report be brought to the next meeting on Kent County Council's consultation with DDC in relation to its highways infrastructure needs and their inclusion in DDC's Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule.

                         (b)        That the minutes and reports be noted.

To receive a verbal update.

Mr Rivers reported on plans to introduce real-time bus information in east Kent.  Stagecoach had reviewed options for the roll out of real-time passenger information to electronic bus-stop displays across its entire network.  Progress was being made and it was anticipated that Stagecoach East Kent would be the first of its operating companies to go live during the latter part of 2013.  As well as providing additional electronic signs through Quality Bus Partnerships, work was progressing on developing a smart-phone application which was proving to be an increasingly popular method of accessing bus information.  Councillor B W Bano welcomed the update, but requested that specific information be provided on how much would be invested in the Dover district.

RESOLVED:    That the report be noted.

To consider the attached report of the Commercial Manager, Kent County Council.

Mr Rivers introduced the report which outlined key outcomes from the 2012 customer satisfaction survey. Members noted that the level of residents' dissatisfaction with the condition of the roads outweighed their satisfaction level for the first time since 2005.

RESOLVED:    That the report be noted.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Highways, Kent County Council.

Mr Rivers presented the report which updated Members on works that had been approved for construction in 2013/14.

In respect of Appendix A, the Board was advised that Spinney Lane, Aylesham was due to be planed and fully re-surfaced in the autumn.  On Appendix C, Mr Rivers advised that comments received regarding the proposed street-lighting trial switch-off were being reviewed.  Locations at Venson and Eythorne on the A256 would remain lit following representations received.  The trial switch-off would probably commence in July, starting in Dover.  The part-night lighting scheme was still at an early stage, but Amey had been commissioned to identify appropriate areas.  Consultation was imminent and sites would be considered against comments received during the consultation. 

Councillor T A Bond raised concerns about the condition of the footway in Allenby Avenue.  The Board was advised that there were three options for road treatment.  The first involved using 12mm micro asphalt.  The second involved surface dressing which provided skid resistance and sealed the surface.  This method was often used for roads that had previously been extensively patched and could, if used appropriately, extend the life of roads by 10 years.  Another option was machine resurfacing, where the existing surface was ground off and replaced with new.  There was a programme for resurfacing the worst roads, but the programme budget had already been spent and, in any case, Allenby Avenue was not included in the programme.  However, there was a small budget for tackling other roads and it was recognised that Allenby Avenue was badly in need of repair.  Mr Rivers undertook to provide further information on the bicycle path at Sholden for Councillor Bond.

Councillor Eddy remarked that it would be helpful to receive clarity on how priorities were determined as it seemed that some less deserving roads and footpaths had been repaired in Deal.  Mr Rivers advised that priorities were based on the need to restore skid resistance, level of disruption, usage levels of the road and relative cost, amongst others.   In future, footway improvements would be carried out on a county-wide basis and prioritised in the same way as carriageway works, with a structured scoring system.  The priority list was a rolling one, with work not done in the current financial year being rolled over to the next.  Save for the roads in poorest condition, it was not possible to advise when roads were likely to be resurfaced.  In respect of Old Dover Road, Capel-le-Ferne, Councillor F J W Scales was advised that the road was unlikely to be resurfaced completely, but would be comprehensively patched towards the end of the summer. 

In respect of Appendix D1 and the A256 Barville Roundabout, Mr Rivers advised that the proposed crash remedial measures focused on the southbound approach.  Speed may have been a contributory factor to two of the three crashes at this junction, and the measures sought to address this.  Kent Police and Kent County Council (KCC) were of the view that a reduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

The recommendation is attached.

The procedure for determining applications for on-street disabled persons’ parking bays is attached.

MATTER WHICH THE MANAGEMENT TEAM SUGGESTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN PRIVATE AS THE REPORT CONTAINS EXEMPT INFORMATION AS DEFINED WITHIN PART 1 OF SCHEDULE 12A OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AS INDICATED AND IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE PROPER OFFICER CONSIDERS THAT THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN MAINTAINING THE EXEMPTION OUTWEIGHS THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSING THE INFORMATION

RESOLVED:    That, under Section 100(A)4 of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the remainder of the business on the grounds that the item to be considered involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Environment and Corporate Assets.

Members discussed recent changes to the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and questioned whether the criteria against which applications were being assessed were still applicable.  The Corporate Estate and Coastal Engineer advised that clarification on this point was awaited from KCC.  Members agreed that a letter should be sent to KCC on behalf of the Committee seeking clarification on new assessment criteria.  However, it was agreed that the applications before Committee had been accepted and processed before changes to the DLA came into force and they could therefore be considered under the existing procedures. 

The Corporate Estate and Coastal Engineer advised that Applications A, B and C had received no letters of objection following informal consultation with neighbours.  Since the applicants met all the criteria, it was recommended that the applications be progressed to formal advertisement. 

Application D had received no letters of objection following informal consultation.  However, the applicant owned an off-street garage situated approximately 200 metres from the property.  Officers had considered this and the applicant's ill-health and, given that the applicant met the remaining criteria, it was recommended that the application be approved.

Item E of the report dealt with the removal of two disabled parking bays which were no longer needed by the original applicants.  It was therefore recommended that these bays be formally advertised with the intention of removing them. 

RESOLVED:    (a)        That a letter be sent on behalf of the Board to Kent County Council requesting that it issue urgent guidance clarifying the criteria to be applied when assessing disabled parking bay applications in the light of recent changes to the Disability Living Allowance.

                         (b)        That it be recommended that Applications A, B, C and D be formally advertised and, in the event that no objections are received, be recommended for sealing by Kent County Council (with any objections being referred back to a future meeting of the Dover Joint Transportation Board for further consideration).

                         (c)        That it be recommended that the two disabled parking bays detailed in Item E of the report be formally advertised with the intention of removing them and, in the event that no objections are received, be recommended for sealing by Kent County Council (with any objections being referred back to a future meeting of the Dover Joint Transportation Board for further consideration).