Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

County Councillor Holden was not present at the meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in items on the agenda. For any advice on declarations of interest, please contact the Monitoring Officer before the meeting.

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests or other significant interests declared in the meeting.

To note any members of the Council wishing to speak, of which due notice has been given in accordance with Council Meeting Procedure Rule 18, and which items they wish to speak on.

The following people had registered to speak on Agenda Item 5:

Sally Atkinson, Jim Key, Pippa Collard, Adrian Berendt,

Councillors Osborne, Rutland and Brice.

To approve the minutes of a previous meeting as a correct record. The only issue relating to the minutes that can be discussed is their accuracy.

Members reviewed the minutes.  The following amendment was proposed:

Councillor Atkins requested a spelling error be corrected and that further clarification be given to his minute notation in Agenda item 8.

The amendment to read:

Councillor Atkins requested that the minutes note he does not support the design layout proposed for the Badsell Road junction.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting dated 2 October 2023 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment.

Presentation by Registered Speaker, Sally Atkinson.  

Points included: 

-        It was noted that despite the purpose of PR2 striving for a greener and more prosperous Borough, neither of these aims were felt to be achieved.  

-        It was felt there were higher levels of traffic resulting in higher levels of pollution from cars and buses.  

-        It was noted that residents in Calverley, Newton and Crescent Roadwere unhappy with the increase in congestion and air pollution.  

-        2-3 loops needing to be completed to secure a parking space for residents in Dudley and York Road due to inability to pass through PR2.  

-        It was voiced that PR1 and 2 did not provide a traffic restricted area. 

-        It was noted that local businesses had suffered due to decrease in including the local charity shops experiencing a decline in donations.  

-        It was noted the issue of pedestrian safety had been but not addressed. 

-        It was noted that there had been no public consultation before, during or after the implementation of PR2, which residents felt negatively about.  

-        It was noted that there had been little notice of the planned works for PR2, including no prior information on local media or signage on affected roads. 

-        It was raised that no baseline air quality data was being collected for the PR2 area.  

-        It was raised that current road signage was felt to be unclear and therefore placed drivers at a disadvantage if they were new to or visiting the area.  

-        It was raised that to date, 57,559 fines had been issued and 9% of those had been successfully appealed. It was therefore felt that due to the high amount of PCN’s issued to drivers, this should have triggered an urgent review of the signage. 

-        It was felt that the £1.5 million that had been collected to date in fines should have been refunded to drivers.  

-        It was summaris by the speaker that further clarity and justification for PR2 needed to be provided as well as reasonings it may not be revoked.  

Speaker Jim Key:  

        It was raised from a resident perspective the struggles residents were faced with on a daily basis due to PR2 restrictions, including lengthy detours to secure parking spaces outside their homes.  

-        It was felt that the Dudley and York Road residents were most affected with an increase in time and money spent due to the detours as well as a rise in traffic congestion and pollution. 

-        It was raised that whitelisting for taxi’s was however this was not the case for the 350 houses on Dudley and York Road combined. 

-        It was noted that the lack of exemptions for residents had begun to affect mental wellbeing as well as put strain on daily life. 

Speaker Adrian Berendt:  

-        It was noted that the Town Forum representatives were disappointed upon seeing final designs of the PR2 plans  ...  view the full minutes text for item TB27/22

Hilary Smith presented the report as per the agenda.

-        The report was noted to be for information only.

-        Both projects on the report were being taken forward and funded jointly by TWBC and KCC.

-        Further engagement was encouraged from local communities and representatives.

-        A final report on this would be shared at the next JTB meeting in April 2024.

There were no further questions raised by members.

Presented by Julian Cook KCC Highways Manager.

Member questions and Officer clarification included:

-        Works on Badsell Road were progressing and an update would be sought from John Farmer within the Major Projects Team at KCC, particularly regarding comments about cyclists and alternative access arrangements for them.

-        Upon receiving results from the traffic survey for Birkin Road, further action would be taken regarding implementation of a pedestrian crossing.

-        A  public consultation would take place, if required, on the schemes proposed. Advice would be sought regarding the specific proposal for a new junction at Owls Nest, Pembury Road.

To agree any topics for future meetings, of which prior notice must be sent to the Chairman and Democratic Services Officer no later than 4pm on the working day before the meeting. There can not be any substantive debate/discussion or any decision on any topics raised, except to agree whether the topic may come forward in future.

The Items noted for the next JTB Meeting were:

-        Highway Works Update

-        Concrete Roads Update to be presented by Julian Cook

-        Active Travel Update

-        Highways Improvement Plans

-        Follow up for PR2 Discussion

To note that the next scheduled meeting will be held on Monday 8 April 2024 at 6.00pm.

The next meeting was scheduled for 8 April 2024 at 6pm.