Minutes of the Roads Committee Meeting

MINUTES OF THE ROADS COMMITTEE MEETING – A AGENDAHELD IN THE FIRST FLOOR COMMITTEE ROOM AT THE TOWN HALL ON
WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2014 AT 9.30AM
PRESENT: / Constable S Crowcroft (SC)
Mr R Le Brocq (RLB)
Mr G Jennings (GJ)
Mr N Blake (NB)
Mr P Wade (PW)
Mr J Wilding (JW)
The Very Rev R Key (Dean) (RK)
APOLOGIES: / Mr C Barton (Procureur du Bien Public) (CB)
IN ATTENDANCE: / Mr P Pearce (Procureur du Bien Public) (PP)
Mr J Stievenard (Director of Technical & Environmental Services) (JS)
Mrs D East (Town Centre Manager) (DE)
OPEN MEETING / Having been previously circulated, the ‘A’ Agenda Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2014 were agreed.
MATTERS ARISING
241/14 - REFURBISHMENT - HALKETT STREET / Previous minute 213/14 refers
SC said the Assistant Treasury Minister, Deputy Eddie Noel, had confirmed the additional funding of £83K had been promised by Treasury. JS will try and find a written record of the funding and then SC will write to the Chief Minister to express his dissatisfaction that the funds have been withdrawn from the TTS budget.
242/14 - TOWN CENTRE MANAGER’S REPORT / The Committee welcomed Mrs Daphne East the new Town Centre Manager who would resume the normal monthly report at the Committee Meeting. DE updated the Committee as follows:
·  The latest footfall figures for St Helier indicate a reduction of -3% year on year, the UK trend is -10% for the same period
·  There are very few empty shops which indicates a positive picture
·  The meetings of the many traders groups are being reinvigorated
·  Christmas lights switch on will take place on 27 November 2014. Procession will start in Millennium Town Park moving on to Royal Square, where the crib will be located, and finish at the Weighbridge with the lights being turned on gradually
·  Christmas window competition will take place sponsored by the Parish and BBC Jersey
·  DE is trying to establish relationship with Tourism
·  Christmas Battle of Flowers Parade will take place on 7 December 2014
·  Bonfire will take place on 7 November 2014
·  The grant application for the new town centre signage has been submitted and the decision will hopefully be made on 6 November 2014. DE and GJ to meet to discuss the signage and provision of interpretation in some locations
·  The “Love Shopping, Love Thursdays” initiative is showing positive signs and it is hoped other retailers will want to become involved, DE will try and get some statistics from the retailers
AGENDA ITEMS
243/14 - PROPOSED RECYCLING PLANT, LA COLLETTE / The Committee received a presentation from Mr Chris Sampson (CS), TTS concerning the plans to develop the recycling plant at La Collette and move some services away from Bellozanne. He outlined the following points:
·  Only liquid waste (sewage) will remain at Bellozanne
·  All solid waste will be dealt with at La Collette
·  A number of Planning Applications have recently been submitted for the various elements of the site and a further Application will be submitted in due course for landscaping of the area
·  Proximity to the harbour will be useful for exporting recyclables
·  The road network and surfaces will be improved
·  Pre-consultation exercises have been carried out with the regulatory bodies, Havre des Pas residents group and emergency services
·  There are limitations on the design and access to the area for the public because of the presence of the fuel farm
·  The site will not be visible to residents of Havre des Pas
·  Weekend traffic to Bellozanne will be reduced
·  The opening hours will be the same as Bellozanne and it is hoped the new site will encourage recycling
·  There will be a separate entrance for commercial vehicles via a weighbridge
·  If Planning permission is received it is hoped that work on the roads and services will start in the first half of next year and the remaining work will be carried out in the second half of the year. The operation needs to be moved from Bellozanne to allow work to start on the construction of the new sewage facility in early 2015
·  The “lake” will be filled gradually with waste rubble but it is envisaged this will take 10 - 15 years, the area will be landscaped after this
·  A “re-use” area would be available where the public would be able to leave items that were still usable, may also be of interest to charities
The Committee raised the following points:
·  The ability of the new site to be able to deal with the high volume of green waste and would separate sites around the Island not be preferable - CS said attempts to identify other sites has not been successful
·  St Helier is taking the burden for all the domestic waste of the Island
·  Loose domestic waste blowing around the area - CS said that all the lorries transporting waste were covered
·  Could the site be open to the public 24 hours a day to avoid fly tipping? - CS said there was not the demand at present but this was something for the future however the facility would have to be manned at all times
·  The layout of the containers may not make it easy for members of the public to drop off items – CS said the design layout had been audited
·  Promises to landscape the area have not come to fruition – CS said the trees are now going, albeit slowly because of the location
·  Public access – CS said that Planning constraints restricted some areas that were deemed hazardous to the public
·  Fire risk – CS said a new water main and hydrants would be installed and the fire strategy had been approved by the relevant bodies
The Committee thanked Mr Sampson for his presentation and would have opportunity to comment on the Planning applications in due course.
244/14 - REQUEST FOR ALFRESCO FACILITIES – 12 YORK STREET / The Committee were asked to consider a request for a small area of alfresco dining at Costa Coffee, 12 York Street. An initial request for an area which would only leave 1.60m of clear footway outside the facility was not supported by TTS. This has now been and a reduced area, which maintains a 2.0m (6’-6”) clearance, has been approved by TTS. Costa Coffee’s standard post and barrier system will be used and letters of support from the adjacent traders have been received. The area will measure 4.385m x 0.980m with additional 45˚ splays at either end. The establishment currently has 2 ‘A’ boards, JS said one of them could be accommodated within the alfresco area but if they still wanted the second one on display the alfresco area would have to be reduced to accommodate it.
The Committee approved on a trial basis for one year especially as the pavement is quite narrow and busy at this location.
SC said that he was disappointed with the quality of some of the screens in use around some of the alfresco areas and would discuss the matter with DE on one of the town walkabouts. JS said that he hoped DE could pursue an “alfresco of the year competition”.
245/14 - REQUEST FOR RE-LOCATION OF MOTORCYCLE PARKING FACILITIES – CLAIRVALE ROAD / The Committee were asked to consider a request from a resident of Clairvale Road who lives adjacent to the motor cycle parking area asking for it to be relocated, citing issues of noise, fumes and nuisance. The motor cycle bay was introduced in 2003 following a request from a resident of the same property in Clairvale Road who was having difficulties in parking his motorcycle close to his house. Since then complaints have been received from a number of neighbouring properties but the Committee has been consistent in their refusal to either remove or relocate the motor cycle bay.
The Committee were asked to consider the option of relocation of the bay further along Clairvale Road where it would sit between two properties and be adjacent to a high wall behind which is a car park therefore it is not directly outside domestic accommodation. As this space is within the RPZ area it would need to be replaced by the one lost outside No 4 Glenrose Place involving fairly lengthy changes to the Road Traffic Order.
The Committee agreed that a consultation exercise, including an article in the Town Crier, would be carried out to establish demand for motor cycle parking in the area with a view to either relocating the bay, provision of an additional bay or removal of the bay.
246/14 - REQUEST FOR PRIVATE DRAIN CONNECTION – BOND STREET / The Committee were asked to consider a request from the owners of No 10 Bond Street for a private drain connection to manage occasional flooding in their basement, generally caused by a surcharge of waste water in the public sewer which is unable to cope during periods of heavy rainfall. The owner has approached both TTS and a local drainage consultant to explore solutions.
Connection to the main sewer is not feasible due to high costs, an alternative is for the owner to install a pump in the basement to draw water out of the building via a rising main to height of approximately 900mm below road level and then run a 50mm pipe down Bond Street to connect into a TTS drainage manhole, but TTS have advised that they will not adopt this pipework.
JS advised the Committee that there are three issues that should be taken into consideration:
·  Responsibility for apparatus under highways – as the TTS Minster is not obliged to take responsibility for the pipework should the habit of installing such apparatus multiply there is a real chance of the Parish being ultimately responsible for a number of private installations if licence holders do not transfer their licence to new owners at point of sale.
·  Lapsed licences - under the Highways Law licence holders are permitted to transfer their licence by endorsement eg when a company or property is sold, but if, for whatever reason, this is not undertaken the licence ceases to be in force at the expiration of 3 months and again the Parish may find itself responsible for a number of lapsed licence installations. Parish lawyers have advised that it would be advisable for Parish to enter into a formal legal contract passed in court meaning that the contractual responsibility will be passed on to new owners/leaseholders.
·  Fee – consideration could be given to the introduction of a fee, perhaps one off, to be paid by the applicant for the privilege of the installation; the Highways Law allows for such payment to be made.
The Committee asked whether connection to the drains at the adjacent Parish site, 3 & 5 Conway Street, was feasible but were advised that it was too late and would be costly as the concrete foundations had already been laid.
The Committee agreed with the proposal provided a legal contract was in place and Parish Assembly would be advised accordingly, SC and the Procureurs to agree an appropriate fee in due course. SC said he would write to the TTS Minister re a possible change to the Drainage law to ensure TTS take responsibility for services under the public highway.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
247/14 - OVERSEAS TRADING CORPORATION, LA ROUTE DE ST AUBIN, ST HELIER / RW/2014/1740
Overseas Trading Corporation, La Route de St Aubin, St Helier
Replace 7 No existing timber windows with new single glazed timber windows. Refurbish 3 No timber windows and timber door.
The Parish has no objections to this application provided that the requirements of the Highways Encroachments (Jersey) Regulations 1957 are complied with.
248/14 - MAISON DE VILLE, UPPER CLARENDON ROAD, ST HELIER, JE2 3ZL / P/2014/1708
Maison de Ville, Upper Clarendon Road, St Helier, JE2 3ZL
Demolish existing buildings. Construct children’s day nursery and 29 No care apartments. Create new vehicular access.
·  The Roads Committee supports this application.
·  The Roads Committee has no objections to the above submission.
249/14 - ABBEY GATE AND GARAGE, LA GRANDE ROUTE DU MONT À L’ABBÉ, ST HELIER, JE2 3HA / P/2014/1630
Abbey Gate and Garage, La Grande Route du Mont à l’Abbé, St Helier, JE2 3HA
Construct extension to existing garage to east elevation.
The Roads Committee has examined plans for the above submission and comment as follows:
We note that the proposed extension has reduced the manoeuvrability to access the existing car park, and more importantly exiting the car park. As part of the application we would request that the applicant improves visibility to the north and south by adjusting the hedge in order to enable visibility line.
250/14 - MANGE TOUT, 17 LA COLOMBERIE, ST HELIER, JE2 4QB / RC/2014/1649
Mange Tout, 17 La Colomberie, St Helier, JE2 4QB
Minor internal alterations to change use of existing retail shop into café and takeaway with limited seating. VARY CONDITION No 3 on permit No 15164/H to cease trading at 9.30pm daily. Extend to cease trading at 1.00am daily.
The Roads Committee has no objections to the above submission.
251/14 - THE BUREAU, 9 NEW STREET, ST HELIER, JE2 3RA / P/2014/1665
The Bureau, 9 New Street, St Helier, JE2 3RA
Install new awning to shop front.
·  The Parish has no objections to this application provided that the requirements of the Highways Encroachments (Jersey) Regulations 1957 are complied with.
·  That the proposals are presented to the States Police as one or more of their CCTV surveillance cameras are trained on the area and close up viewing may be impaired by the sign(s).
252/14 - THE RADISSON SAS HOTEL, WATERFRONT, LA RUE DE L’ETAU, THE WATERFRONT, ST HELIER, JE2 3WF / P/2014/1613
The Radisson SAS Hotel, Waterfront, La Rue de l’Etau, The Waterfront, St Helier, JE2 3WF
Install 2 No car park barriers.
The Roads Committee has no objections to the above submission.