Highways and Planning Cabinet Member – Minutes – 20 October 2008

42 (10) CONNECT2 – SCUNTHORPE RIDGEWAY – The Service Director Highways and Planning submitted a report seeking approval to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Sustrans for the Scunthorpe Ridgeway/Connect 2 route.

In December 2007 the ambitious Connect2 project won the public vote in the UK-wide Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks: The People’s £50 million. Sustrans’ Connect2 project was about revitalising walking and cycling in 79 communities across the UK by creating new accessible routes for the journeys made every day. North Lincolnshire’s Scunthorpe Ridgeway was one of the selected projects.

The Sustrans entry was successful in winning the £50m prize and £1m of that money has been allocated to the Ridgeway project. However to be eligible for the award the council had to find match funding. The Sustrans funding was available for five years until the end of the 2012/3 financial year. The council was now required to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which detailed the relationship between the council and Sustrans during the project. The MoU also acted as Sustrans’ guarantee that the council will seek match funding. Sustrans would not release any funding until match funding was in place.

Resolved – That approval be given for the Service Director Highways and Planning to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of North Lincolnshire Council, on the understanding that funding is in place to complete the project.

43 (11) NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD SAFETY PARTNERSHIP – ENHANCEMENTS TO SPEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGY – The Service Director Highways and Planning submitted a report seeking approval for expansion of the speed management strategy treatment programme, to include the ’20’s Plenty’ initiative and to integrate the strategy with the developing Safer Neighbourhoods’ initiative, Community Speedwatch.

The Road Safety Partnership’s speed management strategy was introduced in 2003. Each year it enabled the Partnership to identify the roads in North Lincolnshire, which had the highest priority when ranked by incidence of speed offending and accidents.

There were approximately 280 sites in the strategy, which had been assessed over previous years. The priority list changed each year, due to new sites being introduced and speed offending and accident rates changing on established sites.

The Partnership was constantly seeking ways to improve the strategy and, particularly, ways in which more sites could be treated. Two new initiatives had emerged over the past twelve months, which had the potential to enable an expansion of the treatment programme.

  • The ’20’s Plenty’ campaign, which was launched summer 2007, and
  • The national ‘Community Speedwatch’ initiative, which was being developed by the Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

A small number of parish councils had also enquired whether they could purchase vehicle-activated flashing signs, for use within their own communities – self-funded flashing signs.

Resolved– (a) That the ’20’s Plenty’ initiative be incorporated into the Road Safety Partnership speed management strategy, (b) that the development of the ‘Community Speedwatch’ initiative by the Safer Neighbourhoods Team be noted and promoted as a treatment option under the speed management strategy, (c) that the guidelines appended to the report relating to the use of self-funded flashing signs in the highway be approved, (d) that Safer Neighbourhoods officers be requested to carry out consultation with town and parish councils, regarding proposals for self-funded flashing signs, as part of the ‘Community Speedwatch’ trial, and (e) that requests from town and parish councils, for self-funded flashing signs, be referred to the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, for consideration under the ‘Community Speedwatch’ programme, taking account of the guidelines contained in the appendix to the report.