Winchester City Borough Council North Whiteley Development Forum Meeting

Apologies were noted as above.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chairperson welcomed everyone and thanked Tim Clarke, Headteacher, Cornerstone Primary School for hosting the meeting.

The Chairperson advised the forum that a decision as to whether future meetings would be held online or in person would be taken by Winchester City Council's cabinet in the new municipal year.

Tim Clarke, Headteacher of Cornerstone Primary School, addressed the meeting regarding the issue of safer routes to school. Specifically, he wanted to ask about the progress of the construction of a pathway to the south of the school's boundary. He explained that several families who lived around three hundred metres away from the school had to walk almost a mile to get to school, and some had to use unsafe routes.

In response, Jeff Davis from Tetra Tech stated that the construction of the pathway had taken longer than expected. However, the intention was to complete it by Summer 2023, after the necessary legal agreements, planning permissions, and construction were completed. Mr Clarke expressed his hope that the pathway would be ready for the new school year in September 2023, which would benefit local families.

The Chairperson informed the forum of a question received from a resident who was unable to attend the meeting. Mr Fletcher had written to express concern about parking problems on the estate, with people ignoring off-road parking and double yellow lines. He believed that there was a lack of enforcement action, and he also wished to raise the issue of parking on pavements due to poor planning for off-road parking. Mr Fletcher was concerned that if the situation did not improve, the estate would become an eyesore with cars parked on verges and footpaths. He also mentioned that during the Christmas holidays, vehicles had been parked in a way that could obstruct emergency vehicles.

In response, Mr Alborough from Hampshire County Council stated that currently, the roads were regarded as private, and so the developers were responsible for resolving issues with them. Double yellow lines had been provided at the northern end of the site, but they were not supported by a traffic regulation order. The County Council would only issue a traffic regulation order when the roads were adopted, which would happen gradually as several road adoption agreements still needed to be entered into. Adding additional yellow lines before the traffic regulation order was advertised could prejudice the decision, so any existing yellow lines may have to be removed before the public consultation stage. Mr Alborough also addressed concerns about the effectiveness of parking restrictions and the associated issues of managing their enforcement.

During the meeting, further questions were asked by members of the public observing the meeting regarding the cycle path network and mobile phone coverage. These points were responded to by the officers’ present

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 November 2022 be approved and adopted.

Patrick Bingham from Hampshire County Council provided an update on the ongoing works at Junction 9 and R1 roundabout. He advised that only a few activities were left to complete and that some work was on hold pending agreement from National Highways. Regarding Whiteley Way South, he advised that some vehicle restraint barrier works remained on the Northbound approach to the Parkway roundabout. A lane closure was in place over the next few weeks to finish that work, and in general, the works continued across the site for the next few weeks until the scheme was finally complete.

Members raised concerns and questions, which included the following:

1. Unclear lane markings on the roundabout and only one lane available for vehicles travelling eastbound onto the M27.
2. Whether a further safety audit was required and a review of the lane markings.
3. Issues with coming out of Rookery Avenue onto R1, with only one lane available for most people going towards the motorway.
4. An update regarding Whiteley Way/Botley Way road traffic lights.

In response, Patrick Bingham stated that a third safety audit would take place in the coming months to review the operation and consider its safety standing. In addition, he advised that the lane markings were correct as designed; however, he would request that the design team review the markings at Junction 9 to ensure they genuinely reflected the capacity and requirements needed.

Regarding Whiteley Way/Botley Way, Mr Alborough advised that a review of the operation of the junction had been undertaken and that the developer had been tasked with making several improvements within the next 4 weeks. These improvements would be further monitored.

Hilary Oliver, Winchester City Council, informed the forum that a community governance review had been conducted to decide on the area's governance structure. The recommendations from the review were discussed at the council's Licensing and Regulation committee meeting on 7 December 2022, where they were accepted, and a further consultation for comments was agreed. The Full Council meeting on 18 January 2023 reviewed and accepted the recommendations, resulting in an adjustment to the boundary so that all of the North Whiteley development fell under Whiteley Town Council. The changes are to take effect on April 1, 2023, with elections for Whiteley Town Council taking place with the adjusted boundary in May 2023. The forum discussed the representation on Curdridge Parish Council and Whiteley Town Council and thanked those involved in the governance review for their efforts.

Jeff Davis (Tetra Tech) provided the forum with a presentation which had been made available on the council's website. The presentation covered a range of issues, which included the following:

1. An overview of Highways works.
2. Phase 1 - Bluebell Way, including bus services, and Southern Local Centre.
3. Strategic Cycleway: Footpath 9, including details on design and construction.
4. Phase 2 - Off-site Whiteley Way, including legal agreements, the letting of works, and target start and completion dates.
5. Phase 3 - Station Hill -Whiteley Way / Curbridge Way to Whiteley Way, including works underway and target completion dates.
6. Housing delivery, including permissions granted, houses started, and occupations.
7. Open Space Delivery, including an update on allotment 1, Locally Equipped Area for Play (LEAP) 2 and LEAP 3 completion, and an update on the delays experienced due to contract failure.
8. Bus Service, including service 28/28A, bus stops, and shelters.
9. Parking Issues.

Hilary Oliver, Implementation Officer, Winchester City Council, addressed the forum and referred members to the report, ref NWDF20, available on the council's website.

Members had asked several questions and made comments regarding the following:

1. Were the issues of parking temporary or because of under-provision
2.  of spaces or a design issue?
3. That builders and delivery people parking temporarily in front of houses had also contributed to the problem.
4. It had been a long-term issue that could get worse as more people moved into the area, and there needed to be a review to look at how much provision was needed for parking.
5. That encouraging residents to park in allocated parking spots and not on the streets would make the site look better and be safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
6. Enforcing car parking was possible and necessary to address the issue.
7. That low-level kerbs had encouraged drivers to park on pavements.
8. That the consortium needed to act regarding parking issues, for example, enforcement action where it was necessary.
9. Issues of parking on the road at weekends along Whiteley Way near the Tesco store.
10. That bus usage had seemed low, and patronage data had been available.
11. When there would be a more regular bus service to Botley Station.
12. The date that Whiteley Way would be fully opened.
13. The progress and triggers regarding the development of the secondary school.
14. Issues with builder’s rubbish across the development.

Jeff Davis and officers responded to the individual points raised. Regarding the numerous points raised concerning parking, they explained the difficulties with undertaking enforcement and the difficulty of changing resident behaviour. They also advised that many residents had signed a covenant not to park on the pavements. Developers had written to residents, and the consortium would be discussing further measures to address the issue.

Members put forward the following for future agenda items:

1.    Buses: a detailed report on the current situation regarding services, usage, and funding.

2.    Education: updates on second primary school and secondary school progress.

3.    Parking: discussion on the current parking situation.