Agenda item

REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING & PROJECTS MANAGER

To seek Members’ agreement on the way forward for the Royston town wide parking review; to summarise the findings from the initial investigations carried out on issues previously raised by Members; and to seek the Committee’s views on schemes listed at Appendix A to the report.

RESOLVED:

(1)     That the schemes listed in Table 1 at Appendix A of the report, be agreed for progressing the Royston town wide parking review;

(2)     That the schemes prioritised in Table 2 at Paragraph 8.9 of the report be agreed;

(3)     That officers contact the relevant Hertfordshire County Council Highway Liaison Officer to discuss with the County Councillors for Royston to give consideration to joint funding of any road safety schemes from their Hertfordshire Locality Budgets that may form part of the schemes listed in Table 1 at Appendix A to the report;

(4)     That the use of the existing funding to provide the necessary expertise until appropriate staff resources are put in place be supported; and

5)      That the Royston and District Committee receives regular updates on progress with the Royston town wide parking review from officers.

REASON FOR DECISION:  To progress the Royston town wide parking review project towards implementation.

The Strategic Planning and Projects Manager advised that the report had resulted from various workshops held with the Town Council and Area Committee Members.  A number of issues in the report were those that had been highlighted over a number of years.

The Strategic Planning and Projects Manager referred to the North Hertfordshire Parking Strategy which had been adopted in 2009 and updated in 2012, which outlined the Council’s approach for undertaking Town wide parking reviews.  Royston was the fourth town in the cycle.  She commented that when officers started undertaking these reviews they had thought they could be completed quickly, but experience had shown that they took longer than anticipated (in many cases up to 2 years from start to finish).

In respect of the Royston Review, the Strategic Planning and Projects Manager explained that the report was the start of the process.  The report outlined the schemes recommended to be taken forward, which it was proposed would be carried out in two phases.  Phase 1 would be looking at the on-street schemes in and around the York Way industrial area and some other parts of the town.  Phase 2 would be dealing with Town Centre parking issues.

The Strategic Planning and Projects Manager drew attention to the Phase 1 schemes set out in Table 1 in the report as detailed in Appendix A to the report.  The main area was York Way industrial area and the Rock Road residential area; Gower Road, Queens Road and Mill Road area Controlled Parking Zone; Princes Mews; Briary lane area; Parking restrictions to be considered in Eastfield Road; and Highway Safety schemes to be considered at Icknield Walk and Layston Park.

The Strategic Planning and Projects Manager advised that her Team was experiencing resource difficulties and was finding it difficult to recruit to the post of Transport Policy Officer.  However, in discussion with the Executive Member responsible for Transport, it had been agreed that the Team made use of consultants to carry out this work.  There was a budget for the work, but this also covered parking schemes for all the District’s towns.  In the event, therefore, that not all the Royston schemes could be funded, the report also suggested a priority order for the schemes, as indicated in Table 2 in the report.

The Strategic Planning and Projects Manager stated that she would report back to the Committee at appropriate intervals on the progress of the Royston schemes.  She added that she was working with Hertfordshire County Council with a view to them assisting in the production of Traffic Regulation Orders.

The Committee was supportive of the Town wide review, and it was noted that some of the Priority 4 and 5 schemes could perhaps be achieved through the use of funding from the Hertfordshire County Councillors’ Locality Budgets.  In respect of a question regarding timescales, the Strategic Planning and Projects Manager explained that consultation on each scheme would need to take place with affected residents and businesses and, dependent on the outcome, a decision would be made on whether or not to proceed with the scheme.  Some of the larger schemes could take up to a year or possibly longer.  If Traffic Regulation Orders could be co-ordinated so that they were advertised at the same time then this would result in a significant cost saving.

RESOLVED:

(1)     That the schemes listed in Table 1 at Appendix A of the report, be agreed for progressing the Royston town wide parking review;

(2)     That the schemes prioritised in Table 2 at Paragraph 8.9 of the report be agreed;

(3)     That officers contact the relevant Hertfordshire County Council Highway Liaison Officer to discuss with the County Councillors for Royston to give consideration to joint funding of any road safety schemes from their Hertfordshire Locality Budgets that may form part of the schemes listed in Table 1 at Appendix A to the report;

(4)     That the use of the existing funding to provide the necessary expertise until appropriate staff resources are put in place be supported; and

5)      That the Royston and District Committee receives regular updates on progress with the Royston town wide parking review from officers.

REASON FOR DECISION:  To progress the Royston town wide parking review project towards implementation.