Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman noted the ongoing consultation on the Local Plan Review, and drew attention to the written briefing notes in the agenda pack from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) and the Wiltshire Police road safety team.

The Chairman then handed over to the Highways Matters panel to introduce the Area Board-hosted event.

To receive a presentation covering the following topics:

·       Strategic Business Plan Priorities

·       Maintenance

·       Local Transport Plan

·       Congestion

·       Public Transport

·       Air Quality

·       LHFIG

The panel for the Highways Matters event comprised the following:

·       Councillor Caroline Thomas - Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene and Flooding

·       Samantha Howell – Director of Highways and Transport

·       Dave Thomas - Head of Highways Asset Management & Commissioning

·       Councillor Tim Trimble – Lead Representative of Bradford-on-Avon Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG).

Councillor Caroline Thomas introduced the event, providing context about the importance of highway infrastructure in Wiltshire and of balancing their positive and negative consequences.

The panel gave an overview of how highways in Wiltshire were funded and what investments the Council planned on making in the future, such as projects to tackle fly-tipping, speeding and flooding. The panel also described the Local Transport Plan and its role as a strategy for growth, using transport as an enabler for development.

Turning their attention specifically to Bradford-on-Avon, the panel acknowledged that the town had several legacy highways issues that continued to cause significant problems. The panel noted feedback from the public concerning highway maintenance, traffic modelling, recent road closures, road safety, air quality, river crossings, the parish steward scheme and flood prevention and provided updates on them, including findings from the traffic modelling and upcoming documents on air quality.

Dave Thomas delivered a presentation on highway maintenance, touching on potholes, resurfacing, bridges, road signs, markings and street lights. The panel also mentioned the important partnership between Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire Police regarding road safety and speeding.

Councillor Tim Trimble noted in feedback to surveys, almost all of the Bradford-on-Avon residents surveyed on transport considered traffic to be a problem in the town. He also explained that priorities for residents included reducing traffic volume, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, air quality and sustainability. Feedback suggested that residents found the one-way system through the centre of town employed during the Covid-19 pandemic to be generally less problematic than the current system. He also commented on road safety findings on crashmap.co.uk, which highlighted that the majority of incidents occurred either side of the town bridge. He touched on the aspiration of a safer pedestrian river crossing to promote sustainable travel, but suggested that there was a need to prove a positive benefit-to-cost ratio. Finally, he remarked that nitrogen dioxide levels in the town were decreasing but still high, with concentrated pollutants found in canyon-like areas like Mason’s Lane.

An opportunity to ask questions about the matters raised during the presentation.

The panel then opened the meeting up to the floor and invited questions and comments from those present. They also explained that they would provide written responses to the questions submitted in advance of the meeting in a separate document attached to the minutes. A summary of the questions and responses from the meeting is provided below.

Q1: The volume of traffic and the efficient flow of traffic are separate issues and should be treated as such.

The panel responded that they aspired to make highway transport quicker and easier while also reducing its prevalence on the roads.

Q2: Is there a possibility of demand-responsive transport in Wingfield, where there is inadequate public transport?

The panel responded that they were committed to improving existing bus services and adding new ones but added that the traditional bus model was not necessarily a universally sustainable one and so demand-responsive transport in certain areas was a definite possibility being considered in the public transport strategy review.

Q3: There is no evidence of gulley-clearing in certain areas of Bradford-on-Avon, which is a risk for an area so prone to flooding.

The panel responded that gulley-clearing was definitely occurring across the county but encouraged members of the public to report areas of concern either online or over the phone.

 Q4: Has the Council considered a toll on the Town Bridge in Bradford-on-Avon for non-residents to reduce the volume of traffic?

The panel responded that they considered other methods of reducing traffic volume more viable and added that toll roads were a significant legislative challenge.

Q5: Why has there been no progress made towards a new pedestrian bridge crossing despite the obvious safety concerns on the Town Bridge?

The panel responded that the town needed to make a sound business case for a new bridge after the failure to produce one in 2017. They explained that there was no timescale in place yet, and that the funding would almost certainly need to come from the Department for Transport rather than Wiltshire Council.

Q6: Why are micro-particulates not being considered in the air quality research, despite being a more significant contributor to long-term health issues than nitrogen dioxide?

The panel responded that Bradford-on-Avon was an Air Quality Management Area for micro-particulates until 2021, and that micro-particulates are gradually reducing, in large part due to higher-quality diesel engines, tires and road surface materials. The panel acknowledged that micro-particulates were an issue but suggested that advancements in technology would contribute to an improvement in the situation over time in the absence of a better short-term solution.

Q7: There are a sparsity of buses going through Bradford-on-Avon and an absence of off-road parking on the north side of town, which is in turn affecting the local economy.

The panel responded that there had been recent successes in securing grants pertaining to public transport and added that a key element of the local transport plan was the car parking strategy, which may well address problems in north Bradford-on-Avon in that respect.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Sarah Gibson.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2023.

Resolved:

To approveand signas acorrect recordthe minutesof themeeting held on 13 September 2023.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Remaining Budgets:

Area Board Initiatives:

Community Area Grants:

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

Young People Grants:

Delegated Funding

The Board is asked to note any funding awards made under the Delegated Funding Process, by the Strategic Engagement & Partnership Manager, between meetings due to matters of urgency:

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

Older& Vulnerable Grants:

YoungPeople Grants:

The HUB at BA15 requested £1,250 towards continuing their support for older and vulnerable residents. The Chairman moved to grant the funding in full and was seconded by Councillor Trevor Carbin.

Resolved:

To grant The Hub at BA15 £1,250.00 towards continuing their support for older and vulnerable residents.

Wiltshire Music Centre requested £500 towards their Strictly Seated dance class geared towards those with mobility problems. The Chairman moved to grant the funding in full and was seconded by Councillor Trimball.

Resolved:

To grant Wiltshire Music Centre £500.00 towards Strictly Seated dance classes.

Mighty Girls CIC requested £4,500 towards their programme of Mighty Girls projects for 2024.

Bradford-on-Avon Town Council requested £4,450.00 towards an expansion of their youth club service.

The Committee noted that as there was not enough youth funding available to fully grant both requests, as to do so would result in a £947 overspend, so they agreed to instead award a reduced amount to both applicants.

The Chairman moved to grant £4,000 to Mighty Girls CIC and was seconded by Councillor Carbin.

Resolved:

To grant Mighty Girls CIC £4,000 towards their programme of projects for 2024.

Resolved:

To grant Bradford-on-Avon Town Council £4,000 towards their youth club service expansion.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

Future Meeting Dates (7.00-9.00pm):

·       21 February 2024

·       5 June 2024

·       18 September 2024

For information on applying for a grant or grant application deadlines for these meetings, contact the Area Board Delivery Officer, Caroline.LeQuesne@wiltshire.gov.uk

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 21 February 2024, with the Chairman stating that it would have a focus on environmental issues.