Agenda and minutes

To receive any disclosure of interests from Members and Officers in matters to be discussed.

Note: Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and/or prejudicial interests in accordance with legislation and the Council’s Code of Conduct.

None.

Minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 June 2018.

Regarding item 2. of the previous minutes entitled “Declarations of Interest”; Councillor Weir clarified that the minute item should read that she was a member of the “University of Winchester Academy Trust.”

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Forum held on 26th June 2018, be agreed as a correct record.

To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on general matters of interest and/or matters relating to the work of the Forum.

The Chairman thanked all for attending the meeting. One Councillor and three members of the public addressed the committee.

Councillor Porter raised and requested responses to a number of issues which could be summarised as relating to:

·         the progress of a planning application in relation to the school;

·         the possibility of a temporary community building;

·         the status of the Residents’ Association;

·         the potential to increase the number of Parish Councillors;

·         the drainage on the lower section of the East path on Andover Road;

·         the negotiations with The Henry Beaufort School to allow an access path;

·         the leaf sweeping programme and the need for a local polling station.

Mr. Spooner, representing the Kings Barton Residents Association conveyed a number of points, which could be summarised as:

·         Whether Winchester Avenue (through phase 1B of the development) was suitable for adoption by Hampshire County Council and if it wasn’t, what were the plans for remedial work? He also sought further information regarding which roads are to be adopted within the development.

·         As occupations increased and roads become increasingly busy within the development, Mr Spooner wanted to highlight several safety issues such as traffic calming, road signage and parking issues.

·         He requested an update to the linking of Kings Barton to Winchester City Centre and to local amenities within Harestock and Kings Worthy. He also requested an update on any known developments within the vicinity of Kings Barton.

Mr. Toosey addressed the committee. He observed it had been difficult to find details of this evenings meeting on the council's website and asked if this could be reviewed.

Mr. Tucker, a resident of Kings Barton, expressed several points, which could be summarised as:

·         He stressed the importance of sustainable transport options and asked for an update regarding plans to promote alternative transport methods within the development. Connected to this, he raised the issue regarding car parking issues, especially issues connected with visitor bays and shared space roads.

·         He felt that whilst existing development plans would help with these issues; he urged that other options be considered that could be implemented sooner and which would support alternative transport modes. He specifically referred to:

·         Considering a dual use cycle/footpath at the Andover Road footpath

·         Better signage and lighting to encourage cycling/walking

·         The reduction of speed limits to encourage cycling

·         Pothole repairs

·         Reassessing of established bus routes and timetables.

Finally, Mr. Tucker requested an update to any plans and timescale for the Kings Barton to Courtenay Road and whether dog waste bins could be installed along Andover Road North.

The Chairman thanked members of the public and Councillor Porter for their contributions which would be responded to as part of item 4 on this evenings agenda. In relation to the next meeting of the Forum, the Chairman asked that if questions could be emailed to officers before the meeting then it would help officers respond.

(KBF20)

Archaeology Update

Paul McCulloch from Pre-Construct Archaeology Limited on behalf of Cala Homes gave a presentation to the Forum regarding the archaeology of the site. Mr. McCulloch provided details of several significant finds on the site. Some of these included; red antler remains dated to around 2800 BC, Roman remains from around 4^th Century AD and Saxon buildings from the 7^th to 9^th Century. Mr. McCulloch made special mention of the 20 or so pit burials that had been located and the two 18^th Century militia camps.

The Chairman thanked Mr. McCulloch for his presentation and hoped that some photographic material used in his presentation would be utilised within the new school development.

Response to Public Participation

The Chairman invited Mr. Tilbury and Mr. Hughes to respond to the questions and points made under item 3.

Mr. Tilbury began by responding to the points raised by members of the public and Councillor Porter. He thanked the speakers for their comments and acknowledged that there was a lot of detail within the questions that may be better dealt with outside the meeting.

In summary, Mr. Tilbury observed that many of the points raised were in relation to Highways issues which was the responsibility of Hampshire County Council (HCC). Mr. Tilbury advised that all the Highways issues discussed this evening would be passed to HCC and officers will report back, providing details of who the question had been referred to. Secondly, Mr. Tilbury explained to the Forum that the existing approved planning permission determines to a large extent what was to be delivered within the development.    

In relation to local representation, the formation of the residents association was very much welcomed but there were no current plans to alter the remit of this Forum. In relation to a wider governance review, it was stated that Winchester City Council could initiate this or it can be triggered through the local petition process. In relation to Polling stations, Mr. Tilbury advised that these are regularly under review and the City Council was open to review any proposals that may come forward.

In responding to the question regarding wider development areas, Mr. Tilbury reported that Winchester City Council are in the early stages of reviewing its local plan which will include the future numbers of houses and their locations. This work will develop over the next 12 to 18 months.

Mr. Hughes reiterated that he was in regular contact with colleagues at HCC and he will ensure all points raised this evening regarding cycle paths; lighting, pedestrian access etc will all be fed to them. In relation to Councillor Porter's question regarding a temporary community building, he would discuss this further with the developer.

Members then considered a detailed report (ref KBF20) that provided the Forum with an update regarding the latest elements of implementation.

Mr. Hughes drew members attention to paragraphs 10.13 through to 10.20 regarding the formation of the residents association and the ongoing discussions regarding a governance review.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.