Agenda item

Having declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of this item, Councillor Humby left the room and took no part in the debate or decision.

Councillor Warwick introduced the report and highlighted it was a good example of joint working.  She thanked the officers involved from the City and County Councils.

Three representatives of local groups spoke during public participation as summarised below.  Cabinet also had regard to the comments made by Mr Tait during general public participation above.

Mike Slinn, Winchester Walking Group

Mr Slinn expressed disappointment in the Strategy and recommended that it not be approved.  He believed that there was no evidence provided for the conclusions reached; the modelling used was not fit for purpose; and it did not demonstrate a vision for the city centre.    He supported the vision put forward by Design Engine regarding converting North Walls to two-way and removing the majority of traffic from St George’s Street.  The Walking Group and Design Engine would like to make a joint proposal to members in due course.

Mike Lawrence, Chairman of Cathedral Street Residents’ Association

Mr Lawrence explained that the Association comprised of the various streets surrounding the Cathedral which were predominantly medieval and not designed for modern traffic conditions.  In general, he supported the proposals but requested that some “quick win” elements be implemented as soon as possible.  In particular, he would wish to see the closure of the “rat run” linking Southgate Street and Market Lane through the streets adjacent to the Cathedral.  This had been closed due to Southern Water works earlier in the year and had led to a much improved quality of life for residents.

Phil Gagg, WinACC

Mr Gagg thanked the City and County Councils for working with WinACC and for listening to the public through consultation undertaken.  He welcomed many of the Strategy proposals including bus priority, enhancing the public realm and removing “rat runs”. He believed it was important for the vision to be approved and then many of the detailed points could follow on.   He requested that there be more commitment to reducing parking spaces (including park and ride as demand for cars decreased overall) and that a work place parking levy should not be discounted completely.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillors Thompson, Cunningham and McLean addressed Cabinet as summarised below.

Councillor Thompson welcomed the report and thanked the City and County Officers involved.  She highlighted the importance of ensuring the amount of traffic in Winchester was reduced.

Councillor Cunningham welcomed the decision to reject the proposal for a western bypass as he believed this would have had a significant negative impact.  He questioned the decision to close the existing Andover Road as it was a vital route from the north of the city.

Councillor McLean queried what consideration had been given to market towns and rural parishes?

The Corporate Head of Regulatory and Frank Baxter (Head of Integrated Transport - Hampshire County Council) responded to points raised during public participation and by Councillors as summarised below:

·         Mr Baxter disagreed with comments made by Mr Slinn and believed the evidence base with sufficiently robust.  He indicated that further modelling could be undertaken during the next stage of the work.

·         The Corporate Head of Regulatory confirmed that the Strategy target was to reduce traffic movements by approximately 25% during the AM peak within the city centre which should have a significant impact on air quality.

·         The offer of further input from Design Engine and Winchester Walking Group was noted.

·         Mr Baxter confirmed that the Strategy undertook to re-examine the proposed closure of Andover Road.

·         With regard to the request for improvements to pedestrian access along Bridge Street, Mr Baxter advised that this could be considered as proposals to manage traffic circulation were progressed.

·         Mr Baxter stated that if “rat runs” were to be closed before other traffic management measures had been undertaken it could lead to more congestion and worsening air quality.  However, there were some measures that could be implemented more quickly, such as introducing contraflow cycling paths.  A study of traffic in the Square had been undertaken when the Southern Water road works were underway and the results of this would be added to the evidence base.

·         The Corporate Head of Regulatory confirmed that parish councils surrounding the town area had been contacted as part of the consultation process on the emerging strategy and some had attended drop-in sessions arranged to discuss the proposals with community groups and other stakeholders.

The Chairman reported that the Strategy had been discussed by The Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 20 March 2019 where Members had received a presentation on the proposals.  The same presentation was available to Cabinet at this meeting. Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had welcomed and endorsed the Strategy for adoption and had no matters of significance they wished to raise with Cabinet.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons outlined above and set out in the Report.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the City of Winchester Movement Strategy be endorsed and adopted as a key evidence base to support the development of Local Plan 2036, future major projects, future updates of the Air Quality Strategy and Action Plan and the development of the Car Parking Strategy.

2.         That the City Council works collaboratively with Hampshire County Council, as the highway and transport authority, to support the delivery of the nine measures to be taken forward in the action plan section of the Strategy.

3.         That the proposal to allocate £250k from the district Community Infrastructure Levy fund from the general fund to support further detailed development work be approved in addition to the £250k already committed from the general fund approved already as part of the budget setting process.

4.         That authority is delegated to the Corporate Head of Regulatory to make any minor editorial changes to the City of Winchester Movement Strategy.