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 Binks and Lewis.

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 31 KB

To approve the Minutes of the Joint Transportation Board meeting held on 14 December 2021, copy attached.

Minutes:

Councillor Crow-Brown proposed, Councillor Scobie seconded and Members agreed that the minutes be approved as a correct record of the meeting held on 14 December 2021.

 

4.

Highways Forward Works Programme: 2021/22 and 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 290 KB

Minutes:

The following questions were received in relation to the report; the relevant Kent County Council Officer would respond following the meeting.

 

Councillor Crow-Brown asked the following question on behalf of Councillor Binks who could not be present at the meeting:

Did Thanet District Council (TDC) clean public rights of way? Could Councillor Binks have a list of public rights of way that were not cleaned by TDC?

 

Councillor Yates asked if there were plans to change the traffic flow following the reconstruction work to the footway at New Cross Street.

 

Members noted the report.

5.

Traffic Management Act Update pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Minutes:

Ms Button, Director of Neighbourhoods, TDC, provided the Board with a brief summary of the changes to the Traffic Management Act that would come into force on 31 May 2022.  During the update it was noted that:

  • The Off Street Traffic Order will be consolidated under the new act
  • The guidance indicated that not every sign would be enforced; it was intended that the Act be used to target problem areas. 
  • TDC would highlight problem areas to KCC and KCC would decide where to take action.  If Members knew of any problem areas they could advise Ms Button in the first instance.
  • The consolidation of the traffic orders should make things more simple for TDC going forward.

 

6.

TDC strategy around the size and enforcement of disability parking bays pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Minutes:

Mr Wraight, a resident with a disabled parking bay, advised the Board of the problems that he had been facing.   He had experienced vehicles, which did not have a blue badge, parking partly in the bay and this stopped him from being able to use it.  His interactions with TDC had been unsuccessful in resolving the issue and the information he had been given by Officers appeared contradictory and inconsistent.  He had also found it difficult to report incidents, particularly during out of hours periods.

 

Councillor Whitehead spoke under Council procedure 20.1.  She reiterated the problems faced by Mr Wraight, and noted that she felt that TDC was failing in its public sector equality duty.  She wished for the issues to be addressed and for Council to receive an update on progress towards personalised disabled bays.

 

Ms Young, Parking Policy Officer, TDC introduced the report that summarised the process and detailed what actions were within TDC’s power.  During the presentation the following points were noted:

  • The application process explained clearly that the bays could be used by anyone with a valid blue badge. 
  • There were some historic bays that were smaller than the recommended size in current guidance.  An audit was underway to identify these bays and some extensions had already been made.
  • Enforcement was conducted by TDC’s Enforcement Officers, they patrolled an area during their shift, and certain areas were prioritised.
  • Reports of illegal parking could be made outside of standard working hours and problem areas could be incorporated into patrols. 
  • In order to issue a ticket, the Enforcement Officer must witness the offence first hand.

 

The following points were noted during the consideration of the report by the Board:

  • Ms Button offered to look at the out of hours contact to see if any improvements could be made, however she noted that TDC did not and could not offer an out of hours enforcement service where officers would attend immediately following the report of an incident.
  • Ms Button would investigate the suggestion that a vehicle needed to be illegally parked with at least 50% of the vehicle in the bay in order to receive a ticket.
  • Photographic evidence was not sufficient to enable TDC to issue a ticket; legislation required the Enforcement Officer to see the offence and place the ticket on the vehicle.
  • There was no limit on the number of disabled bays within the District.
  • Residents could email car.parking@thanet.gov.uk to record an incident.
  • Mr Wraight would meet with Officers to discuss his concerns.

 

Members noted the report.

 

 

7.

Proposed Waiting Restrictions - Various Roads Thanet pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

Ms Young introduced the report that detailed requests to install ‘No Waiting’ restrictions in various locations across Thanet.

 

Councillor Fellows proposed, Councillor Crow-Brown seconded and Members agreed that:

 

“The recommendations shown in appendix 1 are approved and 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.”

 

8.

Proposed Disabled Persons Parking Places - Various Roads Thanet pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Minutes:

Ms Young introduced the report that detailed the locations of 19 interim bays.  A small consultation had taken place with the direct neighbours for each of the bays and TDC now looked to begin the next step of the process, formal public consultation, with the intention of eventually making the bays enforceable.

 

Councillor Shonk proposed, Councillor Yates seconded and Members agreed:

 

“To recommend option 1 - that the parking places for disabled person’s vehicles as listed in annex 1 would be exposed for formal public consultation.

 

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.”

 

9.

Verbal update on Public Consultations

Minutes:

Ms Young offered the Board an update on the proposed restrictions that had previously come before the Board and had then gone to public consultation.  During the update it was noted that:

·  Off-street parking for caravans and motor-caravans:

o  Following a recommendation from the Board, consultation took place regarding off-street parking for caravans and motor caravans. 

o  One comment was received, and it was in favour of the proposals.

o  The costs were agreed by Full Council in the Fees and Charges 2022-23 report, and it was anticipated that it would go live on 1 April 2022.

o  The locations for caravan and motor-caravan parking would be:

§  Five bays in Minnis Bay, Birchington

§  Four bays in St Mildreds Bay, Westgate

§  Five bays in Barnes Car Park, Margate

§  Three bays in Joss Bay, Broadstairs

§  Four bays in Marina Esplanade, Ramsgate

o  There would be a £10 charge for 24 hours of parking.

o  Users could pay via RingGo or the pay and display machines, depending on the location.

·  The on-street consolidation order:

o  This related to the installation of a number of double yellow lines within the District, and a ‘No Loading’ ban in Herbert Place, Margate.

o  There were multiple responses from businesses raising concern about the Herbert Place proposal.  Therefore the proposal would be amended to allow space for a goods vehicle loading bay.  The amended proposal would now be consulted upon.

o  There were multiple objections to the proposal to extend the existing double yellow lines in Edgar Road, Cliftonville.  In response to this concern, the double yellow lines would remain unchanged.

o  All the other double yellow line proposals within the order would go ahead as proposed.

o  Ms Young offered to look into cases of parking on the double yellow lines on Grange Road, Ramsgate.