Minutes of the Roads Committee Meeting

MINUTES OF THE ROADS COMMITTEE MEETING – A AGENDA HELD IN THE FIRST FLOOR COMMITTEE ROOM AT THE TOWN HALL ON FRIDAY, 27 JANUARY 2012 AT 9.00AM PRESENT: Constable S Crowcroft Mr N Blake Mr P Pearce Mr K Shaw Mr J Wilding The Very Rev R Key (Dean) APOLOGIES: Mr G Jennings IN ATTENDANCE: Mr C Barton (Procureur du Bien Public) Mr J Stievenard (Assistant Director of Technical & Environmental Services)

OPEN MEETING The Constable welcomed Mr Shaw, who was attending his first Roads Committee meeting since being elected.

MATTERS ARISING 01/12 - Previous minute 315/11 refers MILLENNIUM TOWN Mr Chris Sampson from TTS presented various facts to the Committee. PARK 1.0) Completion of TTS have purchased all of the granite paving for the Parish roads on either streetscape works side of the Park, at a cost of £350K but due to insufficient funds cannot now lay all of it down. TTS will continue working at the Town Park until the end of April and hope to complete the cycle track, footway on the southern side of Gas Place and also the granite paved square outside the Le Seilleur building, at which time they propose to let the Parish have the granite so that the Parish can take responsibility for the laying of the remainder of the granite. Their site manager is still on site and, if the Parish takes up this option, he would remain on site at no charge to the Parish.

The Constable said that looking back at the history of the Park project, £10M had been budgeted to complete the whole scheme. It was the States who deemed this amount was sufficient to complete all work and, in addition, create a café at the site. The Parish has not budgeted any funds to carry out work on the Park. The former Planning Minister’s insistence that the Park be fenced in with a wall and railings had obviously used up some of the budget on items that were not originally included.

Mr Sampson stated that the Council of Ministers had agreed the funding for the creation of the Park, but responsibility for the roads rested with the Parish and not TTS.

The Committee questioned whether when the budget had originally been set, anything had been put aside to do the roads. Mr Sampson confirmed that the road design had been progressed later than the Park design.

Mr Stievenard advised the Committee that a Parish team of stone masons was available to start almost immediately on the Tunnel Street section of the project, and while the team could be allocated to carry out the Gas Place work as requested by TTS, this would leave the southern section of the street words unfinished. He also recommended that the offer of project management by TTS would be of great assistance. His preference was to allow the contractors engaged by TTS to continue to work on the Gas Place section, albeit at Parish cost, while the Parish completed Tunnel Street as planned. He said that the cost of the extra work in Gas Place could be met from reprioritising the roads’ programme for the current year.

The Committee maintained that the roads issue was a fundamental one, yet it appeared that instead of addressing the roads issue first, TTS organised the fountain and swings area. As a result the Parish is being passed the responsibility to complete the project. It was considered unfair that ratepayers had to increase their budget rather than tax payers meeting the additional costs. However, it was accepted by the Committee that Gas Place and the area in front of Indigo House was due for resurfacing but had been delayed due to development of the Park. It was further agreed that there have been several instances in recent years where Parish teams have worked in partnership with TTS, such as on the Broad Street project. The Committee was also keen to see the project completed as soon as possible, which would have to include the refurbishment of the roads around the park.

The Committee voted by a majority to ask at a Parish Assembly for additional funding so as not to delay the roads’ programme. Mr Blake asked that his dissent be recorded. However, it was explained that the delay involved would make it impossible for the TTS contractors to complete the Gas Place section of the works. It was also stated that the Roads Committee has responsibility for the roads programme and that adjustments of this nature were sometimes necessary. Accordingly the Committee voted to rescind its earlier decision and voted by a majority to agree to include the Gas Place refurbishment to be funded out of this year’s budget. Mr Blake and Mr Shaw asked that their dissent be recorded.

2.0) Open/Closure The Constable reminded the Committee that it had previously decided to re- of Gas Place open Gas Place to through traffic following the completion of the refurbishment works. However, representatives of the Millennium Park Support Group had attended the Committee to urge them to pursue the original vision of only essential traffic using the side roads around the park. Mr Bernard Manning, Roads Inspector for the Vingtaine, attended on the Committee to express his concerns about pedestrian safety in Gas Place while works are in progress and the Constable said that he was concerned that pedestrian safety was being compromised at the junction of Bath Street and Gas Place, particularly with regard to the right-hand turn being made by vehicles travelling north along Bath Street across the path of the high volume of pedestrians using this major walking route in and out of town. The Committee was reminded that it had previously agreed that a traffic survey would be undertaken to assess to what extent traffic would be affected and local businesses if the road was to be closed to through-traffic.

Mr Sampson said that the junction was not yet complete, a bollard was to be installed which would assist and TTS would monitor its use and re-visit the safety issues if necessary.

The Committee requested that the area of road outside the Le Seilleur Building be monitored to discourage illegal parking, especially in the vicinity of the corner café. The absence of a stop line at the end of Robin Place was raised as a potential legal issue should an accident occur. The matter will be investigated further.

3.0) Land Transfer Property Holdings have Ministerial approval to commence negotiations with between the States the Parish over the extinguishment of part of Oxford Road. Mr Sampson and the Parish explained that there are areas outside the Park boundary which could be taken over by the Parish and these equated almost exactly to the area of Oxford Road to be extinguished but the matter would have to go to Parish Assembly. Agreed in principle.

NEXT MEETING The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 8 February 2012 at 9.30am in the Old Magistrate’s Court, Town Hall.