Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Committee Section  Email: committee.section@gravesham.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

20.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence was received from County Cllr Ridgers and County Cllr Sweetland.  

21.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 155 KB

Minutes:

 

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on Wednesday, 29 November 2024 were signed by the Chair.

 

22.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

 

23.

Matters Arising from Previous Meetings pdf icon PDF 217 KB

Minutes:

The Chair requested that for all future meetings written responses be provided for all outstanding actions so that they could be included within the agenda pack and reviewed prior to the meeting.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to send over written responses with the Highways Works Programme agenda item.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) apologised that he would not be able to provide an update for every outstanding action as the software that held responses was not functioning properly. The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to circulate the information that was unavailable outside the meeting at a later date.

 

Double Yellow Lines on Cruden Road

 

As mentioned above, the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to circulate a response outside of the meeting.

 

Traffic Issues raised on Whitehill Road

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that the area that was causing an issue had been investigated and it had ben determined that the piece of land where the dangerous turning was happening was owned by Gravesham borough Council (GBC). KCC would work GBC to see if that section of the road could be widened. Cllr Rana explained that current traffic issues meant that cars on the opposite side of the road had been collided with.

 

Cllr Rana added that recently there had been issues with roadworks for emergency repairs on Whitehill Road; signage was placed on the road advising motorist about the road closure, but many members of the public were mounting the kerb to drive around the road closure. Cllr Rana had pictures of motorists mounting the kerb and asked that the companies be contacted to strengthen the placement of the road closure signage.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) responded that UK Power Networks were responsible for those repairs; KCC had recently appointed a West Kent Road Closure Coordinator whose responsibility would be to visit the utility repair sites and make sure they were in good order, as much as was possible. KCC had less control over utility repair works but the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to raise the issue at the next board meeting that all utility providers attended.

 

Issues Crossing Valley Drive

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that they were waiting on the Planning Inspector to finish their recommendations on the LTC; an update on works proposed in the area would be available for the Board soon.

 

Improvements to Northfleet Roundabout – Placement of Anchor

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that Cllr Meade was still progressing the matter, but he had not yet met with County Cllrs Sullivan, Broadley, and Meade.

 

The Chair asked that the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) contact Cllr Meade to see how the matter was progressing and ensure he liaised with County Cllrs Sullivan, and Broadley outside of the meeting. County Cllr Broadley stated that he was happy to wait for an update directly from County Cllr Meade.

 

Perry Street – White Lines

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Reports from Officers

24a

Highways Forward Works Programme: 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 281 KB

Minutes:

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) presented the Board with a report that updated them on the identified schemes approved for construction.

 

In response to Members question regarding allocation of KCC resources between Gravesham and Dartford, the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) explained that Dartford and Gravesham were only marked together by KCC for grouping purposes. Each area was its own district and received a budget based on network requirements, inquiry numbers and what demand there was for each area; resources were not split between the two districts.

 

The Board noted the report.

 

24b

Clive Road Bus Gate

Minutes:

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) apologised that an officer from the KCC team responsible for the Clive Road Bus Gate was not in attendance. As KCC’s stance was officers were not expected to attend evening meetings, any future meetings with the team would have to be held during the working day.

 

The Chair asked the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) to arrange a meeting with the team and himself between the hours of 09:00am and 17:00pm and the Chair would report the outcome of that meeting at a future Gravesham Joint Transportation Board.

 

The Parking & Environmental Enforcement Services Manager advised that KCC’s consultation requesting the public views on the bus gate was public and closed on the 12 March 2024.

 

County Councillor Sullivan noted that the consultation was a very short yes/no questionnaire which didn’t have any areas where additional feedback or concerns could be outlined.

 

The Chair agreed that a collective response from the Board should be submitted via a letter rather than the consultation; the Chair asked the Parking & Environmental Enforcement Services Manager to draft a letter that outlined the Boards previous concerns and state that taxis must be allowed to use the bus gate.

 

The Parking & Environmental Enforcement Services Manager agreed to draft the letter and share it with Members prior to submission. The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to share the letter with the team responsible for the consultation. A response would be brought back to the Board.

 

In response to the Chairs question, the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) confirmed that a meeting with the Network Manager, the Chair and the Chair of the Gravesham Taxi Association had not taken place.

 

The Chair requested that the meeting be held prior to the next Board meeting; the Parking & Environmental Enforcement Services Manager agreed to contact the Association and schedule a meeting.

 

25.

Issues raised by Councillors with the approval of the Chair

Minutes:

The Chair allowed Cllr Rana, Cllr Croxton and Cllr O’Malley to raise several issues at the meeting.

 

a)         Old Road East pavement between Pine venue and St John's School entrance

 

Cllr Rana stated that there was a kerb that was to parked on that was a blind spot to drivers; there had been few near misses and one car accident so far on that piece of land. There were concerns that children crossing the road to go to St Johns School could be hit; Cllr Rana requested a review of the area.

 

b)         Echo Square Roundabout

 

Cllr Rana stated that there was discussion several years ago regarding revising the layout of the roundabout; motorists found the layout confusing and often ending up cutting across Sun Lane.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) explained that Claire Venner was looking into that before she left KCC; he agreed to follow up the matter and provide a response to Cllr Rana.

 

c)         Old Road West – Singlewell Road – Old Road East – Prince of Orange Junction

 

Cllr Rana described a resident’s concern over the lack of pedestrian crossing lights when crossing the road from the Prince of Orange to Wrotham Road/Windmill Street.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) was aware of the resident’s concern and agreed to look into the matter.    

 

d)         Hillingdon Avenue and Singlewell Road

 

Cllr Rana advised that there had been a number of near misses when residents crossed the road to go towards the shop Hillingdon Avenue; Cllr Rana requested a pedestrian or zebra crossing be installed.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to look into the matter.

 

e)         Chantry School – Ordnance Road

 

Cllr Croxton described a resident’s concern over the 30mph speed limit outside Chantry School on Ordnance Road; neighbouring schools had a 20mph limit and Cllr Croxton requested similar limits or ‘wigwags’ imposed on the area outside Chantry School.

 

Cllr Croxton agreed to share the residents details with the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) so that he could update them directly; KCC were already looking into that matter and had contacted several residents previously.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to bring a response back to a future Board meeting.

 

f)          Brown Road and Old Road West

 

Cllr O’Malley and Cllr Rolles had met with residents of Brown Road and Old Road West to investigate resident concerns over a footpath not being restored safely, large pieces of cement and other related rubbish left near the kerb following recent gas works. Photos and videos from residents could be forwarded if necessary.

 

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) explained that he would send the Street Team to review the area and talk to the utility company responsible as it wasn’t acceptable to leave the area in the state described.

 

Cllr O’Malley added that there was a three metre gap in the green railing between the path and the road, near the junction on Old Road East, which was a hazard for young children; the broken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.