Environment and Transport Select Committee 8 April 2005 minutes

51. MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2005 were confirmed.

52. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Mr A J Mundy declared a personal interest in any matter relating to environmental issues as his son was an Environmental Engineer.

53. FORWARD PLAN

The Head of Select Committee and Review Team reported that the Executive had yet to consider matters relating to 2005/06 Parking Order and the St Mary’s Road, Cowes car park and no date had been indicated as to when these will be taken.

54. TRANSPORT REVIEW UPDATE REPORT

The Chairman advised the Select Committee that a great deal of progress had been made on the development of a vision for Transport on the Island. This was a long term vision and the delivery of outcomes from any recommendations arising from the review when completed would greatly be dependent upon both public and private funding.

The Principal Review Officer outlined the work undertaken to date. The review comprised of a shared vision and a practical review of existing public transport. A wide range of relevant stakeholders had been involved in discussions and this process would continue. This would also assist in the development of the revised Local Transport Plan, which had to be submitted to the Government later in 2005, the Local Development Framework and the Tourism Development Plan.

Members considered that travel to school was a major element in such a review. This topic however highlighted the discrepancies in Government policies whereby it was discouraging car usage but enabling greater parental choice for schools. The importance of School Travel Plans was however emphasised.

Work on the review would continue and it was anticipated that the transport vision would be submitted to the Executive in the near future. Three members of the Select Committee, together with the Portfolio Holder had been involved in a Task Group to oversee the review. It was suggested that following the elections this should be reformed to continue its work.

ACTION REQUIRED BY THE HEAD OF SELECT COMMITTEE AND REVIEW TEAM

(a) The progress on the Transport Review be noted and the vision for Transport be submitted to the Executive.

(b) The member Task Group be re-instated following the elections to steer the Review to completion.

55. RYDE INTERCHANGE

The Select Committee received a presentation from Mr Ian Schaff the Project Development Manager for the Ryde Interchange scheme. He indicated that the scheme had been allocated a specific grant of £5m and would form a facility linking nine modes of transport. The building would form an important gateway to the Island and also present some retail opportunities which would extend beyond the immediate vicinity of the interchange.

An outline was given of the objectives of the scheme and the constraints. It was estimated that there was approximately 2.65m passenger movements per year involving pedestrians buses, taxis, rail, ferries and hovercraft.

Members were informed that following a design competition Marks Barfield had been appointed as the architects for the Interchange. The competition attracted 31 expressions of interest from which 5 firms were shortlisted. The design of the new interchange would feature transparent facades and have a distinctive roof clad in glass and metal. The initial layout concept was explained. The preliminary design programme showed that it was hoped that a planning application would be submitted by August 2005. The design would enable works to be undertaken without the need to stop rail traffic. The construction works could take up to 12 months from the summer of 2006 although an attempt would be made to link in with the new rail franchise due in February 2007.

The scheme would enable any further long term development of the rail track and also gave better access to and from Ryde Pier. It was hoped that the new Interchange would act as the catalyst for adjacent property owners to enhance their own buildings and facilities.

The development of the park and ride scheme at Ryde St Johns was also outlined. This would provide 97 marked parking bays which would be free for those using rail users. The area would be re-surfaced and covered by CCTV.

A public exhibition was to be held in Ryde, as part of the Ryde Public Realm Strategy, the following week at which the outline proposals would be displayed. The local member, Mr R A Adams, had been kept fully appraised of the scheme and welcomed the potential offered by the Interchange.

The Select Committee thanked Mr Schaff for his presentation.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

Members be kept advised of progress with the Ryde Interchange scheme.

56. MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME

A number of members raised concerns as to the lack of information supplied to them on the temporary traffic arrangements affecting Newport during the redevelopment of Newport Bus Station. The Policy and Strategy Manager for Engineering Services indicated that he would raise this matter with the Traffic Section.

Mrs L J Peacey-Wilcox asked the Chairman if he was aware of a petition by residents of Whitepit Lane, Newport raising concerns about traffic in the area. The Chairman indicated that he had spoken to those involved and the local member was aware of the situation.

The Chairman sought members comments on whether any members had experienced delays in obtaining a response to letters, or telephone calls, to Engineering Services. He asked that if there were any particular difficulty members should draw this to his attention.

Mr R C Richards questioned the phasing of traffic lights on Medina Way following the recent works along Fairlee Road. The Policy and Strategy Manager indicated that he would ask the Traffic Section to respond to this query.

CHAIRMAN