Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the Minutes of the Joint Transportation Board meeting held on 12 December 2017, copy attached.

Councillor Crow-Brown proposed, Councillor Dawson seconded and Members agreed the minutes to be a correct record of the meeting held on 12 December 2017.

Report to follow

The Chairman advised that orders relating to the following roads had been withdrawn from consideration at the meeting:

The Parade, Minis Bay Birchington;

Cuthbert Road, St Mildred’s Road and Station Road, Westgate-on-Sea;

Canterbury Road and Royal Crescent, Margate.

This was to allow more time to analyse the challenges and explore a range of potential solutions to resolve issues around congestion, lack of turn-over of spaces and pedestrian safety which the proposals had intended to address.

The Board would have a future opportunity to look at these orders subject to the outcome of the review.

The Board was asked to provide advice on the remaining schemes:

Cliff Street, Nelson Crescent, Paragon, Prospect Place, Rose Hill, Sion Hill and Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate;

Buckingham and Gladstone Road, Margate.

Ms Glaiser, Uniformed Services Enforcement Manager, Thanet District Council introduced the report which provided Members with the results of the statutory consultation on schemes at the remaining sites under consideration.

Members speaking under council procedure rule 20.1 made the following comments:

• Removal of the one hour free parking schemes would be damaging to local businesses and the economy.  Small business needed the support of the council.
• Further enforcement of the existing parking schemes would be a more effective way to encourage turn-over of parking spaces.
• Residents should be able to park outside their homes.
• Consultation on the schemes had been inadequate in the Margate Central Ward as the majority of residents did not want any changes to be made and had not been asked their opinion.

Board Members made the following comments:

·  Finding a parking space in Ramsgate was difficult any time of day, a coordinated plan was required which looked at parking across the town as a whole and this should be done in partnership with residents.

·  There were concerns about the lack of financial information accompanying the report on proposed parking schemes.

·  There were strict regulations regarding the use of surplus income from on-street parking schemes. It may not be used to supplement Council budget shortfalls in other areas. In response to Members’ concerns, Mr Howes, Director of Corporate Governance agreed to re-confirm the legality of the proposals and would provide advice to the Cabinet as appropriate.

·  A proper consultation was required, involving a letter drop as well as a discussion and listening exercise should be held.

·  An agenda item for the next meeting could be a report on enforcement officer staffing and the work they carry out.

Councillor Game proposed, Councillor Messenger seconded and the Board agreed to recommend that Cabinet and council take a step back, conduct a complete Thanet wide review, and conduct a proper public consultation.

Mr Valek, District Manager, Kent County Council Highways, Transportation and Waste Service introduced the report which provided an update on schemes approved for construction in 2018/19.

A Member speaking under council procedure rule 20.1 made the following comments:

·  The lighting along the sea front to the Turner Centre had been out of months. More joined up working was required between TDC, KCC and UK Power Networks to resolve the issue.

·  The work at All Saints Avenue had been successful.

·  Vehicle movements along Hall by the Sea Road, Margate were causing problems.

·  There was a wall on Eaton Road, Margate that was bowing alarmingly and needed attention.

During consideration of the item it was noted that:

·  There was a UK Power Networks fault causing a street lighting outage between the Clock Tower and the Turner Centre in Margate that had been difficult to trace.  KCC had provided some temporary lighting.  Mr Valek offered to obtain a further update from UK Power Networks regarding the issue.

·  In additional to the schemes shown in Appendix I – Combined Member Grant, gateways had been installed in the High Street, Garlinge at the entrance to the village.  They had been funded by Councillor Dawson and Councillor Hurst.

·  Mr Valek offered to send Councillor Lewis the plans for work at Star Lane, Margate.

·  Noise caused by lines in the road for the speed camera in Canterbury Road, Westbrook were causing a disturbance to residents.  Mr Valek offered to look into the problem.

·  Members wanted to offer their thanks to Mr Valek and his team for their work within the District.

The report was noted.

Ms Glaiser introduced the item and advised that the council wished to make six disabled parking bays enforceable within the on street parking order.

Councillor Game proposed, Councillor Crow-Brown seconded and the Board agreed to recommend the following:

1. Option 1 - that the parking places for disabled person’s vehicles as listed in annex 1 to the report be exposed for formal public consultation;

2. That the proposals which require statutory consultation are advertised, and that any traffic related objections are reported back to a future meeting of the Board.