Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Suite - County Hall

Contact: Gerry Rufolo, 01392 382299  Email: gerry.rufolo@devon.gov.uk

Items
Note No. Item

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73.

Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2022 (previously circulated).

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meetings held on 15 July 2022 be signed as a correct record.

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74.

Items Requiring Urgent Attention

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

Minutes:

No item was raised as a matter of urgency.

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75.

Bus Services in Exeter

Stagecoach (Exeter) to report on service developments and answer Members’ questions.

Minutes:

Mr M Watson, Managing Director, Stagecoach South West, attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee on developments affecting bus services and the network in and around Exeter.

 

Mr Watson reported on service developments, service reliability with recent improvements and enhanced working partnership with the County Council.

 

Mr Watson responded to Members’ questions as follows:

 

·         from the end of October, a commercially sustainable network would be in place and staffing levels will be improved such that service delivery would be returned to pre-pandemic standards allowing concentration on growing patronage in 2023. It had been difficult to get to this stage against a backdrop of staff availability, increasing costs and lower post-pandemic patronage. A 10% pay rise and a £2,000 joining bonus to PCV holders would help ensure Stagecoach was fully staffed in the coming months;

·         route B would operate half hourly between Exminster and the Science Park thus restoring the half hourly leg to the Science Park. Pinhoe will instead be served half hourly by route E2 as the E1 and E2 are extended back across the City by popular demand restoring direct links between Exwick and Beacon Heath. Some roads in Beacon Heath, not served by routes E1 and E2 would instead be served by new Devon County Council route F, which would also serve West Garth Road. Withdrawn services beyond Crediton and Tiverton were largely being covered by new County Council services, which had largely covered any broken links;

·         further improved services involved the Alphington end of route A returning to a bus every 20 minutes while the Thornpark Rise end will be included on the R/S loop. This runs via Broadfields Road, restoring their direct link to Heavitree and also restoring the 30 minute frequency on the R and S. Meanwhile, route 4 will operate every twenty minutes from Cranbrook to St David’s and route 4A will run every 20 minutes from the Airport to St David’s thus giving a ten minute frequency between St David’s, the City Centre, Heavitree, Honiton Road Park and Ride and Skypark. This replaced the 56 and Honiton Road Park and Ride while the southern end of the 56 was picked up by a new County Council route;

·         the details and arrangements for the Government’s £2 fare cap were still awaited. The details and whether Stagecoach would participate were yet to be discussed with the County Council;

·         the changes to the P route allowed Stagecoach to operate it with one less vehicle, which meant it would be commercially sustainable. This did  however mean that Charnley Avenue and Isleworth Road would remain without a bus service although those roads were less than 400m walk from either the E1/E2 or the P. Meanwhile, Okehampton Road would now be served by route Devon County Council route 173 as a replacement;

·         the developments on the South West of Exeter were currently under discussion with Devon County Council on how best to serve them. It may involve extension or diversion of existing services;

·         the new Marsh  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

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76.

Road Casualty Data Dashboard Demonstration

Presentation by the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport

 

Minutes:

The Committee received a presentation by the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport on a website dashboard which provided detailed information on road casualty data in Devon at Devon-wide, District/City Council and electoral division levels.

 

The Dashboard information was available via:

 

Link to Councillors’ Dashboard Landing:

 

Councillor Dashboard Landing Page - Power BI

 

Link to public webpages:

 

Collision & Casualty Data - Roads and transport (devon.gov.uk)

 

Members’ questions and discussion points with the Officers included:

 

·         the useful resource available for County Council Members and a request that it be made available also to the City Council Members of this Committee;

·         the inevitable delay in reporting serios/fatal accidents pending investigation by the Police (usually 2- 3 weeks or more in certain cases); and Members should contact the Officers about any outstanding incident;

·         confirmation that most accidents were on the arterial routes; and cluster spots were investigated according to priorities and subject to available resources for investigation by officers and it was not possible to investigate  all clusters; and there was little scope to investigate perceived danger spots (where there was no record of serious or fatal injury) and that Member concerns should be reported via the Neighbourhood Highway Teams and the public was also able to report concerns to the Road Safety Help desk (Road safety - Roads and transport (devon.gov.uk) or email rshelp@devon.gov.uk);

·         confirmation that Members were able to participate in the SCARF process concerning alleged excessive speeding and they should contact their local Neighbour Highways Team about details; and

·         confirmation that data in excess of 5 years (available on the dashboard) was held by Officers and available.

   

The Chair thanked the Officers for their interesting and useful presentation.

 

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77.

Progress of Residential Parking Proposal: Stoke Hill, Exeter

In accordance with Standing Order 23(2) Councillors P Prowse has  requested that the Committee consider this matter.

Minutes:

In accordance with Standing Order 23(2) Councillor P Prowse had requested that the Committee consider this matter and in particular requests for residents’ parking in Stoke Valley Road, Stoke Hill and in relation to the East Park development.

 

The Director for Climate Change, Environment and Transport confirmed that S106 funding had been requested (and invoice issued) in regard to the East Park development and consultations would be commenced in due course; and the Stoke Hill proposals would be pursued when S106 funding was  payable in due course.

 

The Committee noted the position.

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78.

Actions Taken Under Delegated Powers pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (CET/22/54), attached

 

Minutes:

The Committee noted the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (CET/22/54) on actions taken under delegated powers.

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79.

Dates of Meetings

16 January 2023; 21 April 2023; 24 July 2023; 30 October 2023; 11 January 2024; and 17 April 2024 (all at 10.30 am)

 

Details can be found here: Browse meetings - Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee - Democracy in Devon

Minutes:

16 January 2023; 21 April 2023; 24 July 2023; 30 October 2023; 11 January 2024; and 17 April 2024 (all at 10.30am).

 

The dates and details available here:

 

Browse meetings - Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee - Democracy in Devon