SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. To recommend to Full Council the adoption of the Isle of Wight Local Transport Plan (LTP2) (2006/2011).

BACKGROUND

2. The first LTP for the Island was approved by the Council in 1999 and established the Island’s Transport Policy for the years 2001-2006. The Plan has generated essential funding for the Island and supported the submission of major bids to improve the transport Interchange at Ryde and the reinstatement of Undercliff Drive. So far the first LTP has attracted over £50m worth of transport funding for the Island.

LTP2

3. The next LTP, (LTP2) will when approved run from 2006-2011.

The first LTP was based around transport modes such as travel by car, public transport, walking and cycling. LTP2 is different in that the Government has asked that these latest LTPs be based round the transport element of the “shared priority,” agreed between themselves and the LGA. These are:

· Increasing accessibility.

· Improving safety and health.

· Improving air quality.

· Tackling congestion.

4. Following discussions with GOSE we have taken the opportunity to add a number of locally important areas. These are:

· Promoting economic prosperity and regeneration.

· Effective management – including progress towards our PFI bid.

· Improving the environment (included with air quality, an existing LGA priority)

Timetable

5. The Provisional LTP (PLTP) was submitted to DfT and GOSE as required in July 2005. The final plan (LTP2) must be submitted to Government by the end of March 2006. Copies of the Provisional Plan were distributed to Members at the end of July 2005

Plan Structure

6. The Plan has been set out to reflect government guidance on preparing LTPs. It therefore includes a section, which sets transport in the wider context – showing links to National, Regional and local plans, and policies. A section identifying Local transport issues and opportunities. Text setting out our long-term transport strategy. A detailed five-year strategy – for each LGA shared priority and Performance Indicators on which our performance will be monitored and our future funding may depend. Plus a detailed implementation programme for each Area Investment Framework (AIF) Area.

7. The Plan also includes detailed Finance Forms as required by Government. An explanation of progress on preparing a Transport Asset Management Plan and two Major Bids. One seeking additional money (£10m+) to improve access and safety in Newport and the other seeking money (£10m+) to carry out important maintenance work required to A3054 east of Yarmouth.

8. The Plan also includes in an annex including our Bus Strategy, Rail Strategy, Smarter Choices strategy, Rights of Way Improvement Plan. School Travel Action Plan and Road Safety Plan. The Plan has been developed taking into consideration the environmental consequences of transport and includes a full Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), as required by EU legislation.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

9. The Plan must take account of and accord with a range of national, regional and local plans and policies. The diagram on page 25 of the document illustrates how the LTP fits with relevant plans and policies including the Community Strategy (Island Futures), the Corporate Plan, emerging Local Development Framework (LDF) and other plans and policies.

CONSULTATION.

10. The Provisional Plan was developed during the first half of 2005 and is based on the outcome of a series of structured meetings and workshops, which included a broad range of groups and organisations. These meetings included representatives from motorists groups, transport operators – including freight, ferry, rail, bus and hovercraft, plus cycle, motor cycle, business groups, Town and Parish Councils, IW Youth Council Jobcentre plus, Learning and Skills Council, NHS Primary Care Trust, neighbouring authorities and representatives from Planning, environment (AONB), Local Agenda 21, Education and Tourism. Further details of the consultation process are included on page 15 of the document whilst copies of the workshop notes are included on pages 181-187.

11. The Government is keen to ensure that every Plan is made available for comment. To this end we sent copies to those people and organisations who contributed to its development. We also tried to reach the public at large and copies were sent to the press, placed at all libraries, all schools, the IW College, Council Offices and customer information points. It was also placed it on the Council's Web site at www.iwight.com/transport. Copies were also made available on disc if required. Further details of this element of the consultation process are included on page 1 of the plan.

Comments / objections received to Provisional Plan

11. The Provisional Plan was made widely available for comment during the summer of 2005. There were 59 respondants, submitting 234 responses. Of these, 60 were in support of the Plan, 139 were comments – many of a general or technical nature and 36 were objections.

12. The bulk of the objections (22) were in response to one particular element of an outline bid to Government to secure additional funding to improve traffic circulation and access in Newport. These objections were related specifically to the inclusion of a new junction at St Georges Way improving access from Pan Estate via Furrlongs directly into the town. (See paragraph Q.2.7 page 164) The second largest number of objections were to the Draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which was included as an Annex. Details of comments received are included within Annex A to this report. A number of comments were also received in respect of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, which was carried out as part of the development of the Plan.

Feedback from Government Office for the South East (GOSE)

13. The Plan was submitted to Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and Department for Transport (DfT) for consideration. A copy was also supplied to Officers from Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA who particularly looked at the Strategic Environmental Assessment carried out as part of the development of the Plan, the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and the broader environmental content of the document.

14. The formal Decision Letter, received from GOSE in December 2005 considered the plan to be “promising” and a “good solid foundation for your final Plan.” It was acknowledged as being “firmly anchored in the Island’s vision for the future.” They liked the way in which the Plan was being developed in parallel with the LDF “Island Plan” and considered it worthy of 100% funding. The final Plan has been amended to take account of these comments and details of the resulting changes are included in Annex B of this report.

Producing the final Plan.

15. The final plan has been prepared taking into consideration the comments received. New sections have also been added to take account of the recent accessibility work carried out (see below) and the independent Strategic Environmental assessment (SEA) produced on the Provisional Plan. Those comments specifically relating to the major bid will be considered as part of the more detailed development of this particular element.

Other issues to be included in the final Plan

16. The Government has made it clear that maintaining and improving accessibility should be seen as a key priority and they have allowed LAs additional time between the submission of the Provisional Plan in July 2005 and the final Plan in March 2006, so that they can consider accessibility issues in their area. These investigations should in particular identify how easy it is for those without a car, or from deprived and rural areas to access facilities such as healthcare, education, shopping, employment and recreation.

17. The final Plan will reflect this work and the outcome of structured discussions and meetings, which has taken place with transport users and providers during the winter months.

18. The Plan has also been assessed as part of a Strategic Environmental Assessment and the results of this appraisal process, plus the comments received from GOSE and elsewhere will be taken into consideration as part of the development of the final plan.

19. These issues are considered further under Evaluation/Risk Management in paragraph 20 of this report.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

20. The Local Transport Plan is currently the primary mechanism for generating the funding to support transport improvements on the Island. The first LTP, which runs from 2001-06, has so far brought over £50m to the Island.

21. The Government has recently revised the way in which the amount of funding each authority gets to spend on transport is calculated. The new method of calculation now takes into consideration local issues such as size of population, accessibility issues, road safety, congestion and pollution. Under these proposals the Island stands to lose almost 50% of the integrated transport block allocation (the money made available by Government to spend on improvements to road safety, public transport, walking and cycling.) This will result in a drop of funding from the current £2.9m per annum to £1.7m pa. The Council has raised strong concerns regarding the potential impact this could have on local transport provision.

22. The amount of money we get to spend on transport is to a large extent based upon the content of this Provisional document and our subsequent success at delivering against the targets it contains. The final Plan will be submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) and Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and it is these two bodies that judge the plan and our PFI bid and award our future transport funding. The Plan is therefore in effect the "showcase" for transport on the Island, it has also been used to set the scene for our PFI bid and the £165m required to bring our roads up to a reasonable standard.

23. The Government have made it clear that a "poor" plan will achieve 75% of the funding available; a "good" plan will attract 100% and an "excellent" plan achieve 125%. Bearing in mind the above and the need to ensure that the Island is successful in attracting the money it needs to improve our local transport infrastructure, every effort has been made to make this as good as possible. Funding for the production of the document has come from existing budgets

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

24. The document has been prepared taking into consideration the requirements of the Guidance on Preparing Local Transport Plans, Transport Act 2000, Road Traffic Reduction Act and Transport White Paper – the future of Transport: a network for 2030 (July 2004). When approved it will become the statutory transport plan for the Island.

OPTIONS

25. There is a requirement that each local Authority produce a Local Transport Plan. It is proposed therefore that the Plan be recommended to Full Council for final adoption.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

26. The Government has required the development and submission of a Provisional LTP as the method by which they can evaluate each Local Authority’s local transport strategy, their targets for improvement and the method by which transport in their area will be improved. Further time has been allowed for Local Authorities to investigate issues of accessibility and include in the final Plan (to be submitted in March 06) Action Plans that will help identify how access to areas that currently have poor accessibility will be improved in the future.

27. The Plan also includes two Major Bids (for funding in excess of £5m), one particular element of which, a new road link connecting Furrlongs into Pan Estate has attracted 22 objections. This bid will require further detailed development, which will include discussions with GOSE and the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) who now hold the responsibility of sanctioning such bids through the Regional Transport Board. The scheme must be the subject of full local consultation and the development of a bid involving the NATA (New Approach to Appraisal) process, which, as well as the engineering and traffic consequences will rigorously assess the financial, environmental and social consequences of any planned work.

28. The final Plan, to be submitted in March 2006, has also taken into consideration the work underway preparing the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF – Island Plan), Aim High, the Local Area Agreement and any decisions on the longer term development of the Island, plus proposals for regeneration and land use allocations. It has also included those revisions necessary to update the long-term strategy, finalise the draft Annexes and consider amendments to the plan which will take account of the objections plus numerous general and often helpful technical comments received. (Details of the proposed amendments are included in Annex B to this report)

RECOMMENDATIONS

29. That the Cabinet Member recommend the adoption of the Local Transport Plan to Full Council.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

30. Provisional Local Transport Plan

Local Transport Plan 2001-2006

Annual Progress Report 2005

APPENDICES

31. Annex A – Details of comments from the public consultation.

Annex B – Amendments made post consultation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

a. Guidance on preparing Local Transport Plans can be found at: www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_localtrans/documents/page/dft_localtrans_029110.hcsp

b. Provisional Local Transport Plan, LTP and annual Progress Reports are available at www.iwight.com/transport

Contact Point: Chris Wells, Team Leader Transport Policy ( 823777 [email protected]

STEPHEN MATTHEWS

Head of Engineering Services

COUNCILLOR IAN WARD

Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Planning

ANNEX A

This annex illustrates the responses received to the Provisional Local Transport Plan. Over 350 copies of the Plan were distributed. There were 59 respondents, submitting 234 responses, of these 60 supporting, 139 comments and 35 objections. Folders containing full copies of the comments received have also been made available for inspection in the Members Support Office.

Section	Topic	Issue	Support	Comment	Objection	Totals
Introduction			-	-	-	-
Transport and the Wider Context Support: 0 Comment: 4 Objection: 0	Issues	Land Use	-	1	-	1
	Issues	Transport Interchanges	-	1	-	1
	General	Information	-	2	-	2
Transport Issues and Opportunities Support: 5 Comment: 7 Objection: 2	Access	Bus Network	-	1	-	1
	Issues	Competition Buses	-	-	2	2
		Bus Timetables	-	1	-	1
		Taxis	1	2	-	3
		Cross Solent Travel	-	1	-	1
	General	Information	-	1	-	1
	Opportunities	Work Place Travel Plans	3	-	-	3
		Demand Responsive Services	-	1		1
		Powered Two Wheelers	1	-	-	1
Long Term Strategy Support: 0 Comment: 7 Objection: 0	Issues	Buses	-	1	-	1
		Migration of population	-	1	-	1
		Through ticketing	-	1	-	1
		Fares	-	1	-	1
		Coaches	-	1	-	1
		Achievability	-	1	-	1
		Other	-	1	-	1
Five Year Strategy Support: 12 Comment: 17 Objection: 0	Accessibility	Buses	1	1	-	2
		Powered Two Wheelers	-	1	-	1
		Targets	1	1	-	2
		Pedestrians	-	1	-	1
	Economic Prosperity		-	-	-	-
	Road Safety	Powered Two Wheelers	-	1	-	1
	Road Safety	General	1	-	-	1
	Air Quality & Environment	Powered Two Wheelers	-	1	-	1
		Climate Change	-	1	-	1
		Statutory duty	-	1	-	1
		Targets	1	-	-	1
		Other	2	1	-	3
	Congestion	Work Place Travel Plans	2	-	-	2
		Alterations to the Road Network	1	1	-	2
		Car Parking	-	1	-	1
		Park and Ride	2	-	-	2
		General	1	1	-	2
		Pedestrian Facilities	-	1	-	1
		Targets	-	1	-	1
		Buses	-	2	-	2
	Effective Management		-	-	-	-
	General	Targets	-	1	-	1
Performance Indicators Support: 0 Comment: 1 Objection: 0	Targets	Specific	-	1	-	1
Implementation Programme Support: 1 Comment: 11 Objection: 3	Areas	Integrated Transport Schemes	1	2	2	5
		Maintenance	-	-	1	1
		Detail of Schemes	-	2	-	2
		Cost of Implementation Schemes	-	1	-	1
		Other	-	2	-	2
	Priority Ranking	Scoring	-	4	-	4
	LTP Forms		-	-	-	-
	Transport Asset Management Plan		-	-	-	-
Major Bids Support: 1 Comment: 0 Objection: 23	Newport	Pan Link Road, Buses and Cars	1		22	23
	Yarmouth		-	-	-	-
	Ventnor	Realignment of A3055 St Lawrence	-	-	1	1
Annexes
Bus Strategy Support: 16 Comment: 23 Objection: 2	Services / timetabling	More Services	1	-	-	1
		Punctuality	-	3	-	3
		Integrate Key Services	-	2	-	2
		Limited Stop Routes	2	-	-	2
		Integration With Ferries	-	1	-	1
	Fares	£1 Flat Fare	-	3	-	3
		Return Tickets	1	2	-	3
		Rover Tickets	3	-	-	3
		Pre Paid Tickets	1	-	-	1
		Youth Mover	-	1	-	1
		All Island ticket	1	-	-	1
	Infrastructure	Stops & Shelters	1	3	-	4
		Park and Ride	1	1	-	2
		Bus Priority & Bus Lanes	-	4	-	4
	Other	Quality Bus Partnership	1	1	-	2
		Ryde Interchange	3	2	2	7
		Optio Services	1	-	-	1
Bus Information Strategy Support: 3 Comment: 3 Objection: 0	Timetables	Maps	-	1	-	1
	Infrastructure	Real Time Information	3	-	-	3
	Other	Mobility Impaired	-	2	-	2
Rail Strategy Support: 1 Comment: 26 Objection: 0	Infrastructure	Rolling Stock	-	2	-	2
		Brading Loop	1	2	-	3
		Rails and Power Supply	-	2	-	2
		Extend Network	-	1	-	1
		Stations	-	1	-	1
	Franchise	General	-	4	-	4
	Ticketing	Barriers Needed	-	1	-	1
		Through Ticketing	-	3	-	3
		Fares	-	1	-	1
		Rover Tickets	-	1	-	1
	Publicity	Required More	-	1	-	1
	Light Rail	Disadvantages	-	4	-	4
	Other	New Routes	-	1	-	1
	Other	Targets	-	1	-	1
	Integration	Ferries	-	1	-	1
Active Transport Support: 2 Comment: 0 Objection: 0	Policy	Objectives	2	-	-	1
Rights of Way Improvement Plan Support: 5 Comment: 6 Objection: 5	Other	Other	5	6	5	16
School Travel Plan Support: 1 Comment: 2 Objection: 0	Policy	Physical works	-	1	-	1
	Other	Specific	1	1	-	1
Road Safety Plan Support: 4 Comment: 2 Objection: 0	Policy	Physical works	4	2	-	6
Strategic Environmental Assessment Support: 1 Comment: 0 Objection: 0	Other	Non Specific	1	-	-	1
SEA Scoping report Support: 1 Comment: 5 Objection: 0	General	Technical Issues	1	5	-	6
General Information
General Support: 7 Comment: 25 Objection: 0	General	Non Specific	2	1	-	3
	General	Specific	-	6	-	6
	Ferries	New Services	-	1	-	1
		Usage	-	2	-	2
		Provision at Ports	-	1	-	1
	Car Parks	Charges	-	2	-	2
	Car Parks	Resident's Parking	-	2	-	2
	Planning Agreements	106 Agreements	-	1	-	1
	Production	Cost & Quality	1	3	-	4
		Language	-	1	-	1
		Readability	4	3	-	7
		Grammatical & Typographical Errors	-	2	-	2
Totals			60	139	35	234

The following issues received five or more objections.

Section	Topic	Detail	Objections
Major Bids	Newport	Pan Link Road, Buses and Cars	22
Rights of Way Improvement Plan	Other	Content and detail	5

ANNEX B

LTP2 –Amendments made

This annex should be read with Annex A (above), which gives details of the comments received.

SECTION	TITLE	PROPOSED AMENDMENT
A	Access to information	None
A	Executive summary	Change to reflect recent revisions to document. (See below)
1	Introduction	No amendments required
2	Transport and the wider context	Section supported by GOSE, but revise to update recent developments in Local Area Agreement (LAA) and other developments.
3	Transport Issues and opportunities	Section supported by GOSE, but should more fully refer to the Council’s regeneration agenda and desire to improve the economic viability.
4	Long Term Strategy	Supported by GOSE but include more on development of emerging “Island Plan” (Local Development Framework) options and opportunities. LAA and work of LSP.
5	Five year strategy
	· Accessibility	Welcomed by GOSE but update and expand to include further work in this area. Final Plan must include Accessibility Action Plans and timetable for delivering these plans.
	· Economic Prosperity	GOSE support section but suggest text revised to move current introduction to the issues and opportunities section. (Section 3)
	· Road safety and health	Revise to strengthen links to health.
	· Air Quality and the environment	Supported but should emphasise links to environment (GOSE, DEFRA and English Nature comment)
	· Tackling congestion	Slight revisions necessary.
	· Effective management	Update with latest information on PFI.
6	Performance Indicators	Consider in light of potential reduction in funding and necessary revisions to implementation programme (7 below)
7	Implementation	· Reconsider planned schemes in light of potential reduction of funding. Revise to show links to shared priorities and regeneration agenda. · Revise LTP finance forms to take account of reduction in Government funding. · Update progress with regard to Transport Asset Management Plan (Also required for PFI bid)
8	Major bids	Revise following comments and objections received (See Comments matrix - Annex B to this report) To be discussed with GOSE and SEERA (Regional Transport board, responsible for major scheme funding allocations) If discussions successful, full appraisal to be carried out and detailed bid to be submitted. Section to be revised to reflect this necessary work.
9	Additional information	· Revise LTP assessment to take account of changes to plan. · Workshop notes – add notes from recent workshops and discussions.
10	Annexes
	· Bus Strategy	Revise following comments received and discussions with operator.
	· Bus Info Strategy	Revise following comments received and discussions with operator.
	· Rail Strategy	Revise following comments received and discussions with operator.
	· Active travel	Revise following comments received.
	· Rights of Way Improvement Plan	First draft supported by DEFRA and GOSE but revise to take account of comments from English Nature, AONB Team and Ramblers Association.
	· School Travel	Only minor amendments required
	· Road safety	Only minor amendments required
	· Strategic Environmental Assessment	Full appraisal of Provisional Plan has been carried out as required. Final Plan must take account of this appraisal and suggestions contained.

Other issues and amendments

TOPIC	Proposed amendment and alterations
Equality issues	Plan should more clearly reflect equality issues and work already undertaken by Council and partners in this area.
Regeneration	GOSE suggest that regeneration issues run more strongly through the Plan.

Jargon buster

AONB – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Team)

DEFRA – Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

GOSE – Government Office for the South East. (score and monitor plan and award funding for transport)

LAA – Local Area Agreement. (Agreement between local and central government to help raise standards and reward improved delivery)

SEERA – South East of England Regional Assembly (Includes a major schemes approvals board, Newport and Yarmouth schemes)

Decision: ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Signed: .............................................................................................................................

Name of Cabinet Member

Date: .................................................................................................................................