Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent. View directions

Contact: James Clapson 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Cornford, Farrance, Game, Hart, Lewis and Yates.

 

 

2.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To receive any declarations of interest.  Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda.  If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 141 KB

To approve the Minutes of the Joint Transportation Board meeting held on 16.9.2021, copy attached.

Minutes:

Councillor Fellows proposed, Councillor Crow-Brown  seconded and Members agreed the minutes to be a correct record of the meeting held on 16 September 2021.

 

 

4.

Highways Forward Works Programme: 2021/22 and 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the report.

5.

Local Winter Service Plan pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the report.

 

6.

Active Travel Plan A28 Canterbury Road pdf icon PDF 13 MB

Minutes:

Parish Councillor Blankley spoke on behalf of Birchington Parish Council.  During his address the following points were noted:

·  The Parish Council recognised the many benefits of cycling, however the proposals were not well thought through and could result in a risk to health and the environment.

·  No evidence had been provided to explain the rationale for the route.

·  The resulting impact on traffic congestion from reducing the number of lanes was unknown.  The proposals for new housing developments in the area had been agreed with the assumption that the road would remain a two lane highway.

·  The design put cyclists and pedestrians in conflict at certain points, and users would still need to cross the road to reach the schools.

 

Members of the Board then offered the following comments about the Plan:

·  Cyclists could use the Esplanade which was nearby.

·  The A28 was a major road into Thanet and should not be reduced in size.

·  The closure of Epple Road was a major concern.

·  There was no demand for a cycle route.

·  There should have been engagement with Birchington Parish Council and Westgate-on-Sea Town Council.

 

Councillor Fellows proposed, Councillor Binks seconded and the Board agreed that they did not support the proposals in the Active Travel Plan - A28 Canterbury Road.

7.

Future High Street Funds - Ramsgate Highways Improvement Scheme pdf icon PDF 471 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Burton, Asset Development Manager, TDC, introduced the report.  He outlined the key points and gave a summary of the consultation responses received.  During the introduction the following points were noted:

  • The Scheme would use funding from the Future High Street Fund to implement highway improvements that encouraged people to  migrate from the harbour area into the town.
  • There had been 182 responses to the consultation, 75% of respondents felt that the proposals would meet the objectives.
  • A lot of very useful comments had been received, although they were often about issues that fell outside of the scope of this scheme.  Where possible, these comments would be incorporated into projects from other funding streams. 
  • The next steps would be to review the consultation responses and meet with the design team.
  • It was hoped that work could commence in Autumn 2022, this would avoid disruption during the tourist season.

 

The Board made the following comments about the Scheme:

  • There needed to be a sign to advise drivers that Harbour Parade was a cul-de-sac, or the road should be re-opened to allow traffic to flow through.  Currently vehicles drove down there and then had to turn around.
  • The town needed the market to return on a Friday, to have clean streets, and to have policemen visible on the beat.
  • There needed to be a plan to bring the empty shops back into use, the town centre was too large and should be condensed.  There needed to be something in the town centre to draw people from the harbour area.
  • Parking in front of the restaurants in Harbour Parade should not be allowed, and vehicles should not be allowed to drive down Military Road during opening hours. This would benefit the cafés and restaurants.
  • 20mph zones would need to be enforced in order to be truly effective.
  • Leopold Street Car Park was nasty.  Parking could be encouraged along Western Undercliff Beach. 

 

Mr Burton thanked Members for their suggestions and advised that funding was available through the High Streets Heritage Action Zone and the Levelling Up Fund  that could be used to tackle a number of the issues that fell outside the scope of the Highways Scheme.

 

Councillor Crow-Brown proposed, Councillor Shonk seconded and the Board agreed to endorse the proposed scheme with the additional improvements suggested by the Board.