EVESHAM TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the TOWN PLAN COMMITTEE held at 6.30 pm on MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2016 at Evesham Town Hall, Market Place, Evesham
Those present:
Chairman: Cllr M S Goodge
Councillors: Cllr A P Booth, Cllr R S W Jones (Deputy Mayor),
Cllr F Kaler (Town Mayor), Mrs J E Sandalls, Cllr C Tether
Non councillor committee members:
Mr R Walker
Officers: Mr S D Carter (Town Clerk)
Mr Shawn Riley (Evesham Business Partnerships Manager WDC)
Also present were Cllrs Mrs S Amor, Mrs J Johnson, and J H Smith OBE.
17. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence received from Cllr C D Homer (Vice Chairman) and G O’Donnell.
18. Declarations of pecuniary or other interest (if any)
There were no declarations made under this agenda item.
19. Minutes of the previous meeting held 20 June 2016 including questions as to the progress of any items
It was RESOLVED that that the minutes be adopted as a true and accurate record.
20. Financial Report
The Town Clerk circulated with the agenda a financial report. The report indicated that the committee had spent or committed to spend £4,033 out of a budget of £6000. It was highlighted that the Council had recently decided allocate just under £3,000 from the Town Pla budget for the new town wide signage, as this was a project from the Town Plan. This had contributed to the reduction in budget when compared to the last meeting.
NOTED
21. Project working Group reports
(a) Transport Working Group
Cllr Tether presented the latest report from the Transport working group in the form of minutes from their latest meeting which are attached at appendix A.
There was debate about the intention to request that the 1 hour no return spaces to the north of the town centre be extended to 2 hours to facilitate those that use them to visit the various accountants and solicitors in this part of town. It was commented that shop keepers were opposed to this as the one hour no return kept a constant cycle of visitors in the town centre. In response to this it was clarified that the spaces in question were not in the town centre, but the spaces north of Leicester Grove.
It was noted that the Evesham Rambling Club had successfully joined the walking route from the railway bridge to Worcester Road. The committee put on record their congratulations and sincere thanks to the Rambling Club in achieving this.
The committee considered 3 proposals put forward by the working group, the first one being that the provision of a 20 mph speed limit in the town. This was one of the actions detailed in the town plan. It was commented that Worcestershire County Council did not at present support the introduction of 20 mph speed limits in the county. Despite this it was put forward that regardless of whether the Town Council supported or opposed the 20 mph speed limit, and WCC views on it,, it would be a good idea to ask WCC to include it in their modelling as part of the Evesham Traffic Study to see what affect it may have. This would then allow members to make an informed decision. Members were not proposing to formally support or oppose the introduction of 20 mph speed limits in the town but it was RESOLVED to recommend that the Council ask WCC to include the introduction of 20 mph limit into the traffic study in order to understand the possible implications.
The second proposal put forward was that Members consider a direct approach to Highways England asking for a bridge over the A46 to the Vale Business Park. There was concern about crossing the A46 for both pedestrians and cyclists to get to the Vale Business Park. It was noted that the present crossing point was to the west of the Millennium Way roundabout and was without any type of signal control. The undertaking to provide a controlled crossing was removed by approval of a planning application in 2013. It was commented that for the new section of the Business Park, the current application contains proposals to install a signalised crossing just north of the Cheltenham Road roundabout but that this was unlikely to be agreed by Highways England.
A much better and safer arrangement would be to provide a bridge for walkers and cyclists which could serve both sections of the Business Park. It was reaffirmed that any approach to Highways England was likely to result in them saying that the cost had to be met by the developer, but as the developer had successfully got the requirement removed form the planning approval, it was difficult to see a way forward. Despite this the committee agreed that this should be taken forward and it was RESOLVED to recommend that the Council writes to Highways England about the provision of a bridge over the A46.
Finally the group had asked the committee to consider allocating £1,000 towards the provision of bus timetable boards on at least 20 of the bus stops in Evesham. Again this had been identified in the Town Plan and WCC did not have the resources to provide the timetable boards. At present there was no timetable information on the majority of bus shelters in Evesham. Members asked Cllr Tether to prioritise the boards accordingly and RESOLVED to provisionally support the expenditure of up to £1,000 for this project.
(b) Green Plan
Mr R Walker gave a verbal update on the Green Plan. The plan was to become a framework and its formulation would involve many key interest groups. The key areas of the framework were energy which Transition Vale Evesham were working on, Transport which the Town Plan committee was working on, housing, and food. Mr Walker would report back to the committee with updates and eventually present the framework for formal consideration.
NOTED
(c) Anti Litter Working Group
Cllr Mrs J Sandalls tabled a report updating members on the anti litter group. The report is attached at appendix B. Cllr Sandalls added that she hoped to display the anti litter posters which had been designed by local school children at Wallace House, having previously been displayed in Tesco.
NOTED
22. Town Signage
Mr Shawn Riley gave a verbal update on the town signage project. He advised that the Town Council had agreed to fund the shortfall. He also advised that the Town Council had agreed to the Regal Cinema being included on the tourism plates/signs, having previously been opposed to the idea. Mr Riley had informed the Town Council of the popularity of the Regal Cinema and how it was the major destination for people from outside Evesham.
Mr Riley was now awaiting the section 106 funding from the B&M store to be paid in order to commission the new signage.
NOTED
23. Town Plan Priorities
Cllr Tether had circulated a report regarding the Town Plan’s priorities. Cllr Tether stated that in his opinion it was important to have a measure of what was being and not being done. It was also important to establish whether some of the priorities in the Town Plan were achievable or not. In order to do this, Cllr Tether suggested that a small sub group be formed to review the plan to see what action was being taken, if any, on each priority and catalogue it. This could then be reported back to the Town Plan Committee and the Town Council.
It was agreed that a sub group be formed consisting of Cllr Tether, Cllr Sandalls, Cllr Goodge and Mr Walker.
24. Matters of urgency raised, for information only
There were no matter brought up under this item.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.30 pm.
COUNCILLOR M S GOODGE
CHAIRMAN
Appendix A – Town Plan Minute 7 November 2016
Evesham Town Plan – Transport Group Report for 7th November 2016 Rev 1.
Recommendations:
1. Members’ note the contents of the actions agreed at the meeting.
2. Members’ views are requested on the provision of a 20mph speed limit in the town.
3. Members’ views are sought on a direct approach to Highways England asking for a bridge over the A46 to the Vale Business Park
4. Members’ agree to fund the provision of bus stop timetable boards on Evesham bus stops. It is considered that at least 20 bus stops could be fitted with boards with a £1,000 expenditure.
Background Information
The details of progress made and various recommendations are shown on the minutes of the Transport Group meeting below.
Minutes from meeting on 27 October 2016
Present:
Cllr Fred Kaler
Cllr Charlie Homer
Cllr Colin Tether
Jill Haycock
Clive Bostle
Robin Walker
Apologies received from Cllr Jenny Johnson and James Fleck
Updating of Local Transport Plan.
The County Council has indicated that they will be updating their Local Plan this Autumn and consultation should commence in December. The group intends to contribute to this consultation.
Progress with Priority Areas for Action
Consider changes to the layout of on-street parking
Angled Parking: Colin Tether had met Worcestershire County Council officers on 30/9/2016. Officers had appreciated the situation regarding the angled parking. Cllr Tether agreed to send on correspondence with DfT about the matter.
Duration (time allowed to park) of parking spaces at north end of High Street (currently one hour) : Colin Tether agreed to ascertain whether frontages wishes to see a change to allow a longer duration.
Car parking strategy
Agreed that major changes are ahead, with the opening of Waitrose. It was agreed that the Town Council should be involved in any review following the changes. There is a need to promote the Bewdley Street car park.
Reduce the speed limit through the town to 20mph
There is still enthusiasm for this measure demonstrated at the Civic Society Public meeting. It was agreed this should be pursued as an item for discussion at Town Plan Committee.
Commission an Evesham traffic study
Results of Civic Society meeting with different options for a town traffic system have been sent on to Worcestershire County Council. It is not expected that testing of options will commence until the spring 2017.
A46 and Extension of bypass
It was reported that there is a massive review of the A46 and the route to link up from Evesham to the M5. The Town Council should submit its own recommendations. There is continued enthusiasm for an extension of the bypass to link the A46 with the B4084
A network of well signed cycles routes and footpaths
It was understood that a bid had been made by Wychavon District Council for a £1.3M infrastructure grant to improve cycling in The Vale. Cycle Evesham Vale had assisted in this bid.
The investment being made by Boardman Bikes at ‘The Valley’ was welcomed. The completion of negotiations to allow the implementation of a shared cycle route from Evesham to ‘The Valley’ and onward to Harvington was looked forward to. The possible commencement of ferry services across the river Avon at the Bridge and Ferry, Offenham, would also be welcome and provide a useful link which would avoid crossing the A46.
The County Council has stated that a study into Evesham’s Cycling and Walking route network is to be carried out in parallel to the Traffic Study. CEV looks forward to contributing to this study.
The signing of the National Cycle Route 442, from Honeybourne to Evesham is still in the design stage at Worcestershire County Council. It appears a problem has arisen at the Badsey Lane crossing of the A46, where the central island is technically too narrow. This may hold up the implementation of the route.
Crossing to Vale Business Park. It was agreed there is concern about crossing the A46 for both pedestrians and cyclists to get to the Vale Business Park. The present crossing point is to the west of the Millenium Way roundabout and is without any type of signal control. The undertaking to provide a controlled crossing was removed by approval of a Planning Application in 2013. For the new section of the Business Park, the current application contains proposals to install a signalised crossing just north of the Cheltenham Road roundabout. It was agreed that the latter arrangement would be unlikely to be agreed by Highways England. A much better and safer arrangement would be to provide a bridge for walkers and cyclists which could serve both sections of the Business Park. It was also agreed that The Town Council should press for this.
Establish a Bus Users’ group
Following the agreement to merge with the Pershore Public Transport Group, a data base is being compiled of all necessary contacts. We will then have an inaugural meeting to identify where bus services are needed and work with operators to provide a successful bus network. Members attended a Public meeting at Pershore on 13th October where bus service cuts were discussed.
Timetable information to be more accessible to passengers.
A response to an enquiry first made to Worcs CC in March has now been received. Timetable boards cost £45. It was agreed to pursue the provision of boards up to a limit of £1,000. This would allow around half of the bus stops currently without any timetable information to be fitted. It should be noted that even with this provision; the proportion of bus stops with timetable boards will still not be equal to the proportion in Pershore.
Colin Tether also produced a plan showing bus routes running from Evesham to surrounding villages and towns. It was agreed that such a map would be very useful to display in Bus Shelters etc, so that people could more easily understand where the routes go.