Hampshire County Council Transport and Environment Select Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor’s Curnow-Ford, Dunning, Ford and Parker-Jones. Councillor Huggins attended as a deputy for the meeting.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed

There were no deputations for the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor’s Stephen Philpott and Jonathan Glen to the meeting as observers. It was also confirmed that an extraordinary meeting had been arranged for the 4 November.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Strategic Transport Manager regarding the TfSE consultation (item 6 in the minute book), which was due to go to the Decision Day of the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy on 3 October 2022.

Members were taken through the draft Strategic Investment Plan along with initial feedback drafted on behalf of the County Council and the following questions were answered:

·         Funding would be achieved through existing investment schemes as well as some opportunities for borrowing;

·         It had been made clear that Hampshire played an important role geographically, but the A34 upgrade was only anticipated to bring up to motorway standard and there had been no requests for it to be a SMART motorway. The priority was to make it a safer for drivers, primarily at junctions;

·         The County Council would work alongside the Chamber of Commerce to promote the jobs that would become available;

·         Coastal movements would include links to the east and west of the County, and Portsmouth to London rail links would be a separate focus;

During debate, Members agreed that more detail was needed around the areas outside of the cities and access to the Navigator’s Quarter. More reference could also be made to freight and where the County had more stations that could be utilised.

RESOLVED

a)    The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy in paragraph 2 of the attached report.

b)    The Select Committee proposed that the following areas of focus and reference be put forward to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy for consideration and inclusion in the consultation feedback:

• The potential greater role for Rail freight
• Freeport access; and
• The need to recognise the importance and needs of suburban and surrounding rural areas when focusing on and assessing core urban transport improvement and needs

Councillor Rupert Kyrle declared an interest as Cabinet Member for the Environment at Eastleigh Borough Council

Councillor Lulu Bowerman declared an interest as Vice Chairman of Project Integra and Cabinet Lead for Environmental Services at Havant Borough Council

Councillor Tim Groves declared an interest as Cabinet Member for Transport at Eastleigh Borough Council

Councillor Martin Tod declared an interest as Leader and Cabinet Member for Asset Management at Winchester City Council

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report from the Strategic Manager for Waste and Resources regarding the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Eastleigh (item 7 in the minute book), which was due to go to the Decision Day of the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy on 3 October 2022.

Following a presentation on the main report, it was noted that the delivery timescales had been put back to 2025.
The following questions from Members were answered:

·         “Twin stream” was felt to be the most achievable, with glass and fibre separated. Full kerbside sorting was not viable in terms of cost or logistics;

·         Previous infrastructure didn’t have the capacity to allow pots, tubs and trays and upgrading would have been too expensive, due to there not being enough of a market demand for the materials;

·         The Alton site was being looked at for future development but was owned by Veolia;

·         Whilst the need for solar panels was accepted with the proposals around the Chickenhall Lane MRF, the proximity to the airport made them unfeasible;

·         Decisions around processing food waste were still awaited, but did not have an operational impact on the proposals;

·         Officers were confident with the financial planning that had been undertaken to minimise risk, and the new building was large enough to allow flexibility with the infrastructure installed.

Members were aware than many elements around the proposal were planning matters that would be determined by the Regulatory Committee, and if costs did exceed those anticipated then further decision making would be required by the Executive Member.

RESOLVED

The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy in paragraphs 2.-4. of the attached report.

The Select Committee considered the Work Programme attached (item 8 in the minute book).

It was agreed that the parking arrangements should go to a wider Member Briefing ahead of implementation in April.

RESOLVED

Following discussions at the meeting, the attached work programme was approved.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Assistant Director regarding the Highways Service Contract extension (item 9 in the minute book), which was due to go to the Decision Day of the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy on 3 October 2022.

The Select Committee was given a summary of the history of the contract along with the proposals going to the Executive Member. The following questions were answered:

·         The Parish Lengthsman scheme was subject to separate decision at a future decision day;

·         Officers were confident that the best price and value for money could be achieved through the arrangement;

·         Work was being completed faster, which in turn increased capacity

Councillor Nick Adams-King, the Executive Member for Highways Operations highlighted the importance of Members being aware of issues in their local areas and reporting these, and was open for discussions with Members if required.

RESOLVED

The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy in paragraphs 2.-5 of the attached report.

The attached exempt appendices were not discussed or directly referenced, and therefore it was not necessary to exclude the press and public from the meeting.