To receive any written questions.

Councillors may ask questions of Cabinet Members and Chairmen of Committee so long as a copy of the question is deposited at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.  A list of questions, set out in the order in which they had been received, was circulated at the beginning of the meeting.

Question asked by CouncillorJ Stone

"Will the Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) raise with the Highways Agency and the Chief Constable the serious impact of traffic diversion on villages like Luston when the A49 is closed due to accidents which happen with increasing frequency?"

Councillor D.B. Wilcox Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation), agreed to do so, but reminded Council that there are often few options in choosing the diversion routes which are signed when incidents occur and, even then, some drivers seem to ignore them on occasions.  He advised that the Traffic Management Act 2004 had imposed new duties on the Council to facilitate traffic movement on both its own highway network and those of other highway authorities, such as the Highways Agency.  In developing a comprehensive Network Management Plan for the County, it is intended that a series of key diversion routes will be reaffirmed or revised, supported by detailed operating plans, to support the use of those routes during emergencies.  The Police will be included in consultations about these diversion routes.

In response to a further question Councillor Wilcox agreed that the accident record on the A49 was very bad.  He said that he had been involved in discussions with the Director of Environment and the Highways Agency.  A speed limit study was being undertaken between Hereford and Leominster and a safety review in Ashton was nearing completion which should lead to the introduction of a package of safety measures.  Although the Council could continue to pursue a solution, he was reluctant to commit any Council funding for something which was the responsibility of the Highways Agency.  He reminded Council that a reduction in the number of serious and fatal road accidents was a feature of both the Local Area Agreement and the Local Public Service Agreement.

Question asked by Councillor DJ Fleet

"In view of the Council's commitment to re-furbish High Town to a similar level of the recent refurbishment of Eign Gate, can I be informed what was the total cost for the Eign Gate refurbishment including all Design Fees, Hire charges for plant and  equipment, together with the Greyfriar's storage compound and other ancillary charges. Also costs for street furniture, lighting and trees etc."

Councillor Wilcox confirmed that the Eign Gate refurbishment project was the first stage of the wider refurbishment of the city centre.  The project costs to the end of January 2006 were £650,000 and within budget.  These costs included design fees and contractors costs. 

Individual parts of the refurbishment work, such as street lighting and trees, form part of the itemised contract for construction of the scheme and were commercially confidential. Contractors plant and equipment, together with temporary storage facilities, were incorporated into unit prices for the works contract.

In response to a further question Councillor Wilcox confirmed that the costs as at January 2006 amounted to £650,000 and that some final invoices were still to be settled.  He agreed that £2 million had been allocated to refurbish the City Centre and that, although High Town was the priority, other works would be undertaken within the budget,as appropriate.

Question by Councillor Mrs. E.A. Taylor

"Regarding the pedestrianisation of Widemarsh Street, I realise that the disabled parking bays in Widemarsh Street will be lost and would like to know whether the Council has considered the possibility of making disabled parking available in the area known as Norgate Street, opposite Barclays Bank?  This would be approached via West Street, turning left into Norgate Street and parking in up to eight angled bays facing Barclays Bank.  Altering this junction, by cutting back the pavement, which juts out, would also assist coaches approaching the Cathedral."

Councillor Wilcox stated that when Cabinet decided to retain the Widemarsh Street pedestrianisation scheme, it also agreed to consider a range of further measures to address many of the concerns raised during consultation on the experiment.

He advised that a review is currently being carried out of options for improving parking and waiting facilities for disabled drivers, taxis and coaches.  This review will incorporate the potential to use the area at the northern end of Broad Street (Norgate Street) for parking or waiting.  However, this area is open to through traffic outside the pedestrianised hours and he had some concerns about the potential for conflict between disabled vehicles and through traffic if angled parking bays were to be introduced.

He confirmed that the junction of Broad Street and West Street would be adjusted to assist turning by long vehicles such as coaches, and these works were expected to be put in hand during the summer.

Councillor Mrs. Taylor thanked the Cabinet Member for his response and urged him to look again at facilities for disabled drivers.

Questions to be asked by Councillor Mrs MD Lloyd-Hayes

1.         "Much as I support the Extracare housing project I cannot support the proposed closure of the Rose Garden in Ledbury Road for two years, this large open space is used on a daily basis by many members of the community.

            Additionally the closure of the footpath would cause great inconvenience to the public as it is a much used route by all ages to schools and to the city centre. Why cannot the council make arrangements for part of the site to be available to the public and arrange for the footpath to be diverted during the build?"

Councillor Mrs Barnett, Cabinet Member (Social Care Adults and Health) said that, with regards to the closure of the Rose Gardens open space, a Public Notice was placed in The Hereford Times in December advising of the Council’s intentions with particular regard to disposal of a small section of the open space adjacent to the existing access road to enable the creation of an improved access to the proposed Extra Care site, and the temporary closure of the remainder of the open space for a period of two years.  Objections or queries were invited to the proposals outlined in the Notice.  As a result some concerns were raised by the local Member and some members of the public.   These concerns were discussed at a meeting that she had attended along with the Cabinet Member (Community Services), and officers and the disposal of part of the Open Space was agreed together with the temporary closure of the remainder of the site for a maximum period of two years.

Further details were presented at the meeting with regard to the extent of the Flood Alleviation Works and Improvement Works proposed for the Rose Gardens site.  A briefing for local members had therefore been arranged for 10th February.

A public consultation event was being arranged for 21st February between 1.30pm and 6.00pm, at Brockington. This would provide an opportunity to view the development proposals and the works proposed to the open space.  Written representations will be invited through the Public Notice.

The Housing Association developing the Extra Care Scheme are seeking closure of the footpath only, for a period of eight weeks to enable improvements to the access road running parallel to the footpath.   Councillor Mrs. Barnett regretted any inconvenience this would cause to those who used the footpath. 

Councillor Mrs. Lloyd-Hayes asked why consultation had not taken place prior to the public notice being published.  Councillor Mrs. Barnett replied that, in an effort to progress matters quickly, some things may not have been done in the right order, but these were being put right.

2.            "Following the commendable work by Jarvis of cutting back the dense vegetation from Eign brook alongside the Extracare development, will the Council continue to keep the brook clear of debris on a regular basis as it flows between the Meadowbank development and Brookside area en route to the river?"

Councillor Mrs. Barnett advised that the Council was responsible for ensuring that the Eign Brook was properly maintained and would continue to discharge its responsibilities for maintenance and supervision of this critical watercourse.  The Council is currently liaising with the Environment Agency who will be taking over responsibility for critical ordinary watercourses in the County in the near future.