Agenda item - FEASIBILITY STUDY RE LINK ROAD OFF STOTFOLD ROAD UPDATE

To receive a verbal update from County Councillors Judi Billing and Derrick Ashley regarding the feasibility study regarding a link road off Stotfold Road.

County Councillors Derrick Ashley and Judi Billing thanked the Vice-Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding their work surrounding a feasibility study regarding a link road off Stotfold Road.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the Committee and Member Services Officer be requested to circulate the Feasibility Study into the creation of a link road from Stotfold Road to the employment area in Hitchin;

(2) That the Hitchin Committee supports the principal of a link road between Stotfold Road and the employment area in Hitchin, as detailed in the feasibility study;

(3) That the Development and Conservation Manager be requested to provide a report to this Committee regarding the proposed Highover Farm development, prior to any planning application being considered, to enable this Committee to consider the infrastructure implications of that development.

(4) That the Committee and Member Services Officer be requested to forward a copy of this Minute to the Development and Conservation Manager

REASON FOR DECISION: To inform Members of the Hitchin Committee about the detail included in the feasibility study into the creation of a link road from Stotfold Road to the employment area of Hitchin.

County Councillors Derrick Ashley and Judi Billing thanked the Vice-Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding their work surrounding a feasibility study regarding a link road off Stotfold Road.

County Councillor Ashley informed Members that for many years there had been recognition that access to the employment area of Hitchin was not ideal.

The Hitchin Urban District Transport Plan was developed approximately 5 years ago included an additional access to this area was one of the long term objectives.

County Councillors Billing and Ashley spent £10,000 each out of their discretionary budget to fund a feasibility study, which had recently been published.

This study had concluded that it was feasible to put in a link from the Stotfold Road into the employment area, utilising the land beneath the railway viaduct.

The County Council recognised that due to the expected growth of the town, as identified in the emerging Local Plan and to alleviate associated traffic issues, some work would need to be carried out in this area. The estimated cost of these works was approximately £5 million.

Should any scenarios arise through the planning process that identifies that the road should be built, there was now a feasibility study in place to show that it was possible.

Councillor Ashley stated that they would appreciate the support of Hitchin Committee to pursue the implementation of this scheme.

County Councillor Judi Billing advised that she had witnessed the residential blight along Grove Road and surrounding areas in terms of safety, air quality and family life caused by the traffic in the area.

They had used some imagination in using Locality Highway Budget funding for a strategic project rather than laying road surfaces.

Councillor Billing asked Members to support the proposed scheme that would benefit the people of Hitchin.

Members asked whether the feasibility study considered any traffic calming or other measure to prevent lorries transiting through the town from the M1 and whether it considered the traffic issues on the Stotfold Road towards Willian.

County Councillor Ashley advised that the feasibility study was the first stage and that should the project come to fruition, it would provide another access to the employment area which would alleviate the congestion on the Stotfold Road and would dilute the current problems in the Grove Road area all for a relative small amount of money.

In respect of the Stotfold Road towards Willian, Councillor Ashley advised that the feasibility study was a discreet element that would not necessarily affect anything else, however this could become part of a wider strategic jigsaw.

A Member referred to the temporary haul road that had been installed to carry heavy vehicles during the construction of the railway curve and the concerns raised at that time regarding the dangers associated with heavy vehicles climbing the hill, He suggested that some possible objections to this scheme could be overcome by making it clear that heavy vehicles would be directed on to the A505. It was important to ensure that there were as few barriers as possible to getting agreement both Letchworth and Hitchin to the scheme going forward.

Members referred to the proposed development at Highover Farm and commented that the access to this development should be considered carefully and that this Committee had expressed a desire to see the brief for the site before the planning stage was reached.

County Councillor Ashley advised that there were 22 strategic housing sites in the County, all of which had issues regarding traffic and access. He informed Members that in order to progress any proposal regarding traffic solutions it had to be backed by a policy document, and in this case, the Hitchin Transport Plan had identified this solution as a long term objective.

Members queried whether any other access route had been considered

County Councillor Ashley advised that the study had only looked at the feasibility of an additional access into the employment area an improvement of circulation around the employment area.