Council and democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1, Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL. View directions

Contact: Jessica Feeney, Senior Democratic Services Officer  Email: Direct.Democracy@thurrock.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 66 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Planning, Transport, Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committeemeeting held 7 June 2016.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on the 7 June were approved as a correct record subject to Councillor Smith being marked as leaving the meeting at 8.30pm when he stayed until the close of the meeting.

2.

Items of Urgent Business

To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

3.

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

4.

c2c service - update pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Minutes:

Members were informed that at the 2 March 2016 meeting the Planning, Transport, Regeneration (PTR) Overview & Scrutiny Committee were informed about the actions that c2c were taking in order to improve the service provision. Members were informed that the Committee asked for further updates to be provided in relation to current and future c2c train service provision therefore the report offered a brief update.

 

Members were disappointed that a representative from c2c did not attend the Committee.

 

The Head of Highways and Transportation provided a power point presentation for members which outlined what train services had decreased in the number of people standing during the duration of their journey during peak hours. The figure was compared from March to June 2016 showing that 6 trains had decreased numbers of passengers standing.

 

The Chair of the Committee requested that an update report was filtered back to the Committee in November 2016 and March 2017.

 

The Committee requested that a letter was sent from the Chair of the Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee to c2c raising the following concerns.

 

·             Clarity on which services were going to favour from the additional carriages.

·             Were the expected carriages in 2020 expected to be brought forward to a nearer date.

·             c2c and their current method of consulting with customers.

·             Customer satisfaction results.

 

The Chair of the Committee requested that officers created a robust tool for the Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee to use to scrutinise the c2c service.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Planning, Transport, Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee received the c2c update and responded thereto.

 

 

 

5.

Local Growth Fund Round 3 pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Minutes:

Members were updated on the latest call for project proposals under Local Growth Fund Round Three (LGF3). The report identified the process adopted by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) for the preparation of its LGF3 submission. It  outlined the criteria which will be used to assess proposals and identified the Thurrock projects which had been submitted to SELEP.

 

Members were informed that the two projects for Thurrock submitted was the Grays South Project and the Lakeside Transport Hub.

 

Members congratulated the Regeneration team on their hard work.

 

Councillor John Allen asked for assurance regarding the Grays South Project by questioning if flooding pumps and CCTV was incorporated into the Grays Rail underpass plan. The Head of Regeneration confirmed that this had been incorporated and agreed to circulate the bid documentation which included all planning details and expenditure for the Grays South Project to the Committee.

 

Councillor Gerrish stated there was not much interest for regeneration shown in Tilbury and declared that Tilbury should be made a priority for the future plans.

 

Councillor Smith questioned when the council would be made aware if the LGF3 had been successful. Members were informed that the outcome would be released in the autumn statement. Councillor Smith requested that congestion and air pollution was considered in all growth hubs when planning future regeneration projects.

 

The Chair of the Committee requested that the Thameside Towns Portfolio aspiration was made a priority for Thurrock and its regeneration journey, the Chair of the Committee stated that Schools and Health Provisions were a fundamental need in the community.

 

Councillor Piccolo questioned if SELEP reviewed previous funding and performance when looking to grant new applications. The Head of Regeneration confirmed that this was taken into account when allocating funding.

 

RESOLVED:

 

Members noted the current LGF3 process, to support submission of the two Thurrock projects and commented on the aspirational projects included in the project pipeline.

 

6.

Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme - Asset Management and Recommendations for Improvement pdf icon PDF 112 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report set out the findings and recommendations from a review of the Thurrock Highway Asset Management Strategy in accordance with the Government’s Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme (HMEP). Improvements to existing documents and the creation of new documents would bring Thurrock Highways in line to the current practice. The report brought revised documents for Committee’s recommendation which would inform the final version for Cabinet approvals in September 2016.

 

Members were informed that adopting the HMEP principles and recommendations would lead to more customer focussed, data led and efficient asset management and to optimise funding opportunities. 

 

Members discussed the condition of various roads in the borough and questioned why they were in a poor state. The Head of Highways and Transportation explained that funding for highway repairs has not been enough to repair all pot holes in the borough, members were enlightened that the number of HGV’s in the borough caused increasing damage to the roads.

 

The Chair of the Committee explained that on one occasion where a number of pot holes all in the same area but only two of those were repaired. It was questioned why they all had not been repaired at the same time. The Head of Highways and Transportation explained that the council did not have the financial capability to repair all pot holes at once. Members were informed that the £110,000 that had been allocated to the new pot hole repairing system which would gradually progress from the east to the west of the borough.

 

Councillor Smith requested a site visit for members to witness the new pot hole repairing system.

 

RESOLVED:

 

The Planning, Transport and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the attached revised Highways Asset Management documents and provided comments for final documents for submission to September Cabinet.

7.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 45 KB

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Officer informed members that an updated copy of the work programme would be circulated.