(i)         Councillor Shaw declared, in the interest of transparency, that he was acquainted with the lead petitioner in relation to the petition for traffic management measures on B6151 Baildon Road, Baildon (Minute 40).

(ii)        During consideration of the petition for traffic management measures on B6151 Baildon Road, Baildon (Minute 40) Councillor Greenwood declared, in the interest of transparency, that her brother lived in the area, on Hinchliffe Avenue, Baildon.

ACTION: City Solicitor

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 13 September and 11 October 2017 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Palbinder Sandhu – 01274 432269)

Resolved –

(1)       That the minutes of the meetings held on 13 September and 11 October 2017 be signed as a correct record.

(2)       That the Executive be requested to amend the arrangement for the Community Right to Bid process, as approved on 6 November 2012, in order to allow the Chairs of Area Committees to accept nominations to list properties as Assets of Community Value in instances where the officer’s recommendation is to accept them and the Ward Councillors affected and the Chair of the Area Committee concur, rather than a report being submitted to the Committee.

NOTE: Resolution (2) above relates to Shipley Area Committee Minute 32 (2017/2018) and Executive Minute 59 (2012/2013).

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: Regeneration & Economy

ACTION: Strategic Director, Corporate Services/ City Solicitor (Committee referral)

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Palbinder Sandhu - 01274 432269)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

To hear questions from electors within the District on any matter this is the responsibility of the Committee. 

Questions must be received in writing by the City Solicitor in Room 112, City Hall, Bradford, BD1 1HY, by mid-day on Monday 13 November 2017.

(Palbinder Sandhu - 01274 432269)

There were no questions submitted by the public. 

The Strategic Director, Place will submit Document “P” which considers a petition from local residents of Baildon, who are expressing concerns regarding speeding motorists on B6151 Baildon Road, Baildon.

Recommended –

(1)  That the petitioners’ request to introduce traffic management measures on B6151 Baildon Road to address speeding be included on the list of scheme candidates to be considered by this Committee for possible inclusion within its 2018/19 capital works programme.

(2)  That the lead petitioner be informed accordingly.

(Environment and Waste Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Simon D’Vali – 01535 618375)

The Strategic Director, Place submitted Document “P” which considered a petition from local residents of Baildon, who were expressing concerns regarding speeding motorists on B6151 Baildon Road, Baildon.

The Senior Engineer provided a summary of the report.  He corrected an error in paragraph 2.6 of the report and stated that of the traffic speeds and volumes on Baildon Road recorded on 2 October 2017, 15 motorists had been driving over 61mph (the report had wrongly stated 74 motorists).  He also added that 1,065 motorists had driven at 41mph or above, with 78 driving at 51mph or above.

A representative of the petitioners’ addressed the Committee and made the following points:

·         Baildon residents had seen an increase in the level of traffic in the area over recent years.

·         There had been a number of accidents on Baildon Road.

·         The statistics in the report provided evidence that the average speed of traffic was excessive and this was the case night and day.

·         Elderly people crossed Baildon Road to catch the bus.

·         The Committee were urged to introduce traffic calming measures as seen implemented on other similar roads across the district.

·         Temporary measures with the aim of influencing drivers to slow down would be welcome.

·         The Committee were asked to consider the statistics, the petition and the residents’ concerns.

In response to Members’ questions, the Senior Engineer reported that:

·         The statistics showing that there had been nine traffic collisions resulting in 15 slight casualties had been evidenced from Police records.

·         The speeds and volumes recorded on 2 October 2017 had been taken over a 24 hour period.

·         The speed of traffic was recorded at its worse during the hours of 10am and 11am.

·         A breakdown of speeds per hour would be provided to Members as requested.

·         The recorded statistics had been sent to the Police but no response had yet been received.

·         Over the 24 hour period during which speeds were recorded, the mean speed of traffic Baildon bound was 35.1mph and Shipley bound was 32.3mph.

·         Engineers had assessed the steepness of the road and had deemed it appropriate for traffic calming measures.

While acknowledging that accidents had taken place on this stretch of Baildon Road, the Senior Engineer stated that it had not featured on the capital works programme priority list as other schemes had been prioritised to address the Killed or Serious Injured reduction target within the Local Transport Plan which used an evidence-based approach.  A discussion followed in relation to the high volume of speeding traffic and whether equivalent weighting could be given to a scheme on Baildon Road given that so many motorists were breaking the 30mph speed limit.  A Member also stated that local residents knew of many accidents that had taken place but had not been reported.

A discussion took place about interim measures that could be put in place.  The Senior Engineer stated that the introduction of minor signage and lineage could be explored.  He was requested to work with the lead petitioner and Ward Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

The Strategic Director, Place will submit Document “Q” which details how the Planning, Transportation & Highways service currently manages the Local Highway Maintenance (LHM) function and allocates resources.

It also updates the Committee with regard to current operations being undertaken on the network and the indicative costs of works undertaken in the current financial year.

Recommended –

(1)       That the current operational methods adopted for Local Highway Maintenance be noted.

(2)       That the costs to date for the 2017/18 financial year be noted.

(3)       That the list of completed and ordered CAT3 works as shown in Appendix 5 of Document “Q” be noted.

(4)       That the number/percentage of gullies cleaned within the constituency as shown in Appendix 6 of Document “Q” be noted.

(Environment and Waste Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Andy Fisher – 01274 618297)

The Strategic Director, Place submitted Document “Q” which detailed how the Planning, Transportation and Highways service currently managed the Local Highway Maintenance (LHM) function and allocated resources.  The report also updated the Committee with regard to current operations being undertaken on the network and the indicative costs of works undertaken in the current financial year.

The Principal Engineer provided a summary of the report, highlighting that the percentage spend so far this year was low (35%) due to staffing resources being concentrated on fee earning capital works.  He was confident that the scheduled works for the Shipley Constituency could be undertaken within the remaining time.  With reference to the table showing gullies cleaned in the Shipley Constituency between 30/9/15 and 30/9/17 (Appendix 6) he stated that Windhill and Wrose showed a value over 100% arising from additional visits due to the number of A roads, steep roads and busy junctions. 

 In response to Members’ questions, the Principal Engineer reported that:

·         The CAT3 works for Holden Lane, Baildon had been ordered and should be completed during the current financial year.  Enquiries would be made as to when the works were due to be undertaken.

·         Resources had been diverted to a capital works scheme at North Street, Keighley and operational staff were expected to work there until the end of December 2017.

·         Gully cleaning was undertaken on a two year cycle for each ward.

·         A list of hot spot areas for gully cleaning was being compiled and more co-ordinated work was being undertaken with the cleansing team. Some gullies may require cleaning less frequently, for example every five years, instead of two years, which would free up resources to concentrate on hot spot areas. 

·         In other constituencies there were sometimes problems accessing gullies to clean them due to parked vehicles and Days of Action were therefore arranged with the Ward Officers to co-ordinate the gully cleaning and provide residents and businesses with prior notice.

·         Gully cleaning was funded from the revenue budget.

·         The total budget last year was £1.7m and this year is £1.54m.  The allocations for constituencies across Bradford were calculated on factors such as the length of roads and population amongst other things.  The Shipley Constituency had been allocated 20.9% of the funding, the Keighley Constituency had received 22.8% and Bradford South, West and East constituencies had received less than 20%.

·         A sink hole, such as the one that had recently occurred in Baildon, could not be foreseen during inspections.

The Chair requested that the list of hot spot areas for gully cleaning be circulated to Members as well as the cycle of when gully cleaning works were due to be undertaken in their ward.  He stated that Members could provide local knowledge of any hot spot areas not on the list.

The Chair raised concern that funding for highway maintenance works could be lost if works were not undertaken within the financial year.  He stated that bad weather conditions could also delay the works and questioned at what point  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.