Agenda item

a)   To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Council Rule of Procedure.12.

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 28 November 2018).

b)   To receive any petitions submitted under the Council’s Petitions Scheme.

56.1           The Mayor invited the member of the public to ask his questions and the Lead Member for Built Environment to answer them:

                  Question 1: Can the Lead Member for Built Environment, inform me how many people attended the information event for the proposed new A40 roundabout held on 21 and 22 November, 3:30pm to 7:30pm at the Oxstalls Sports Park?

                  Answer 1: There were 78 attendees.

                  Question 2: Why was it not held at Innsworth Community Hall?

                  Answer 2: Oxstalls Sport Park was chosen as a location due to its central location in the area, andthe facilities the venue has such as car parking etc. Officers are looking to provide another date at a venue in Innsworth and further details will be available shortly.

                  Question 3: What advertising was put out to inform the people of Innsworth and the surrounding areas that might be affected to let them know the event was taking place?

                  Answer 3: The events were advertised via press, radio and social media.

                  Question 4: What was the cost of the event to the tax payer?

                  Answer 4: £100 rent of venue plus Officer time.

                  Question 5: What are the preliminary findings, if any, of the information event?

                  Answer 5: The preliminary comments/questions arising from the event are available on the Joint Core Strategy website. The business case will take these into account.

                  Link to summary of responses (under Documents and further information):

                  https://www.jointcorestrategy.org/a40-innsworth-gateway

                  Question 6: Is the Council going to hold a consultation event in Innsworth Community Hall which will be properly advertised?

                  Answer 6: Yes. The date is to be agreed and advertised shortly.

                  Question 7: What pollution monitoring has been undertaken at Longford and Elmbridge Court roundabout during morning and evening rush hours?

                  Answer 7: An air quality assessment was undertaken as part of the planning application process and the relevant details were subsequently conditioned as part of the planning approval.  The report concluded that the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, PM10 and PM2.5, will remain below the air quality objectives at all existing receptors in 2019 should the scheme be implemented.

                  Question 8: As the congestion on the A38/A40 Longford and A40 Elmbridge Court roundabout is likely to increase, what information was made available to Members on pollution levels caused by the increased extra traffic due to the local plan sites at Innsworth, Longford, Twigworth and the Innsworth/Churchdown site?

                  Answer 8: All information submitted as part of the planning application and the subsequent conditions is available on the Council’s website.  All relevant information regarding pollution levels (Air Quality) as part of the process is in the public domain and also made available on the Council website. 

                  Question 9: What is the traffic modelling impact assessment on the local road network in regard to the Innsworth allocation within the Joint Core Strategy in respect of traffic movements in the morning and evening rush hour?

                  Answer 9: The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) traffic assessment was undertaken for the Local Authorities (including the County Council) by consultants through the Saturn, Central Severn Vale model. The work reviewed a number of transport corridors, one being the A40 north of Gloucester (see table of results below).

                  The table of results has been published on the JCS website and confirms that the overall growth was at an acceptable level and was agreed by the highways authority and Highways England.

                  Question 10: Did the Council take an overview of ALL local allocated sites transport impact assessments or did Councillors take a short-sighted site by site view?

                  Answer 10: The JCS takes a comprehensive view of all developments allocated and this is the approach the Council took.

                  Question 11: What was the significant change to the transport infrastructure plan, from the Inspector’s decision in 2006 to now allowing an interruption to the traffic flow on the busiest section of the A40?

                  Answer 11: The JCS evidence was based upon the updated Saturn 2013 transport model and so, at the time of the examination, was the latest transport data available.

                  Question 12: Why is the A38 (Twigworth) A40 (Innsworth) link road missing from the proposal put out for the public to view and ask questions at this event?

                  Answer 12: The drop-in event to gather information from members of the public for inclusion in the business case (the process to release the Growth Deal funding), was based upon the proposed mitigations (Longford roundabout, new roundabout and access road to Innsworth allocation) as agreed by the highways authority during the planning appeal process of the Innsworth site - as opposed to any wider improvements which could include the link road.

                  Question 13: How long is the archaeological survey due to take and when will it report its findings?

                  Answer 13: The archaeological survey will take approximately four months and will report as per the planning condition in approximately April/May 2019.

                  Question 14: When the survey is finished, and Severn Trent has finished its work, will the site be put back to how it was and who is responsible for making sure this is done?

                  Answer 14: Yes – and the responsibility for doing so rests with the developer and Severn Trent accordingly.

                  FOR INFO BELOW

                  Link to JCS transport strategy evidence base:

                  https://www.jointcorestrategy.org/transport-strategy-modelling-outputs

                  Table of flow to capacity for corridor: A40 (see report for full details)

                  Do Minimum – growth with minimal list of mitigations

                  Do something DS7 – outputs based upon suite of interventions as listed in the strategy.

56.2           The Mayor thanked the member of the public for his questions and invited him to watch the remainder of the meeting from the public gallery. She indicated that the questions and answers would be sent to him after the meeting; they would also be circulated to all Members for information.