Agenda item

An update from the Cabinet Member for Highways, Mr Colin Kemp.

No declarations of interest.

1.         Colin Kemp, Cabinet Member for Highways set out his intention to improve the quality and transparency of the information that is provided to members and residents.

2.         The Cabinet Member acknowledged that although the local committee’s highways budget had been drastically cut, there was still a role for local/joint committees going forward.

3.         This year £90 million will be spent this year across the Surrey road network. A map (attached) was displayed that showed the location of projects in Reigate & Banstead either delivered or scheduled for delivery this financial year. (N.B. the numbers on the map are the Surrey Highways asset ID number.  These numbers correspond with the ID on the published Horizon 2 lists on the SCC website) A briefing note (attached) summarises the spend across the borough; but the Cabinet Member knows this is not enough which is why there is a need to prioritise where and how on the network this money is spent.

4.         Going forward the Cabinet Member would like proposals to be presented to the Local Committee earlier so that members are able to contribute to the process

5.         The Local Committee also needs to look at other funding that it has access to (eg Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) developer funding (s106) and parking surplus). Parking outside local commercial centres is one area we can explore. The main aim is to create churn of vehicles and allow residents who wish to visit these businesses to park, this in turn would help the businesses survive. The Federation of Small Businesses has acknowledged that its members could benefit, although there will be different challenges depending on the area.

6.         Members will need to feed into the process and the final decision will come back to the Local Committee for agreement.

7.         There will be some financial benefits to this and figures indicate a possible income across Surrey of £2.5million per annum. It is important to note that this money will be divided 20% to RBBC, 20% to Surrey Highways and 60% to the Local Committee, which can be used by the Committee to respond to residents’ issues locally.

8.         There will be challenges and some opposition to the proposals but it is important to start having the conversations.

9.         Going forward he will be happy to receive emails directly from members but borough councillors should copy in their county councillor as a matter of form.

10.       With reference to information on the cutting back of dangerous trees (page 5 of briefing note) members wanted to know how many had been replaced and the reason for the height of the tree stumps that are left. The AHM explained that many of the trees are cut down at the end of their life or in an emergency and unfortunately there was no budget to plant replacements. The tree stumps are left at a height so as to be clearly visible to those with a visual impairment.

11.       The divisional member (Nork & Tattenhams) commented that there was currently a license application lodged with the Leader’s office to allow Residents Associations to plant trees. The Cabinet Member agreed to follow up on this on his behalf.

12.       Members further discussed the on-street parking charges’ proposal. While some acknowledged the possible need for a more commercial approach, it was generally agreed that consultation with the Local Committee was key and that it was necessary to balance the interests of all parties.

13.       The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for attending the meeting and providing the update.