Blandford Road Lorry Ban

AGENDA ITEM 11

BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – THURSDAY 6 th JANUARY 2010

REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

BLANDFORD ROAD LORRY BAN

PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN: NO

STATUS (Strategic, Service Delivery Information)

1. PURPOSE AND POLICY CONTEXT

1.1 To consider the extension of the existing night-time lorry ban in Blandford Road to a full time ban once the Twin Sails Bridge is opened.

2. DECISION(S) REQUIRED

It is recommended that the Portfolio Holder approves:

2.1 The advertisement of the extension of the existing night-time lorry ban in Blandford Road to apply at all times and with representations being brought back to a future meeting of this Group for consideration.

3. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION

3.1 The Council has given a commitment at the Public Inquiry into the permissions for the Twin Sails Bridge that the existing night time lorry ban in Blandford Road would be extended to apply at all times. The Twin Sails Bridge is planned to be opened in January 2012 and in order to get through the necessary legal procedure it would be appropriate to start the process now. 3.2 The existing lorry ban applies between Bridge Approach and Upton and is in force between 8pm and 6am, with the following exemptions :  Access – there are a large number of commercial premises within the length of the ban  abnormal loads (Blandford Road is the abnormal load route to and from the Port) and overheight vehicles,  for periods when the lifting bridge is not open to traffic. 3.3 The issue was discussed with the Traffic Panel on 16 June 2010 and the views of the Police and Bus Company are attached at Appendix A. 3.4 The existing part time lorry ban within Poole is actually part of an order made by Dorset County Council. Clearly there needs to be liaison between the two authorities in terms of co-ordinating any changes throughout the whole length of Blandford Road, and discussions are currently ongoing on this. 3.5 It is envisaged that Poole would make the final decision with regards to any changes in this area as they have the requirement to satisfy the conditions of the Public Inquiry associated with Twin Sails. The current position is that Dorset also support a permanent lorry ban in their area. 3.6 Given the discussion that took place at Traffic Panel it is anticipated that the Police are likely to have some concerns over the level of enforcement they could provide in respect of a full time ban. Should there be a subsequent unacceptable level of abuse then there may be opportunities to provide equipment such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at some time in the future to assist in identifying ‘regular’ offenders. 3.7 The Legal Orders will have to be widely advertised to give road users, freight operators, bus companies and the police a chance to make comment before a final decision is made on whether or not to confirm the Orders. It is envisaged that the same exemptions as listed in item 3.2 would apply with the new order.

4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

4.1. The budget for the Twin Sails Bridge Project includes a provision of for traffic arrangements and for traffic signs to guide drivers across the appropriate bridge. The new signing arrangements will incorporate the necessary signs for the ban. Dorset County Council will be amending the signs at the Upton end of Blandford Road.

5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 The extended lorry ban will require a Traffic Order which will need to be widely advertised to give road users the opportunity to make representations. Any representations will need to be formally considered by this Group.

6. RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

6.1 There is a risk that Poole and Dorset could come to different conclusions with regards to implementing the permanent ban. However two separate arrangements (eg a permanent ban in Poole but retain the part time in Dorset) could conceivably stand alone.

7. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

7.1 None – an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) is not required. Julian McLaughlin Transportation Service Unit Head

Report Author Steve Dean

Contact officer: Steve Dean (Tel: 01202 262071)

Background Papers: None APPENDIX A

Minute of Traffic Panel discussion – 16 June 2010

Mr. Dean explained that it had always been an intention of the Council to make the lorry ban full time once the new bridge was operational and this had been part of the Council’s evidence at the Public Inquiry. The Police expressed strong reservations about enforcing such a ban. They explained that enforcement of this type of ban was particularly onerous as they had to follow vehicles right through the area to prove that they had not accessed premises within the zone. While this might be achievable at night, when there is very little activity in the commercial premises within the zone, a large proportion of HGVs using the road during the day will be doing so, legitimately, to serve the large number of commercial premises in Hamworthy. The Police recognised that Poole and Dorset Councils will be under pressure to extend the hours of operation of the ban but they could not guarantee to give a high priority to enforcement. The Police suggested that: 1. consideration should be given to changing the appearance of the road at the points where the ban starts, so that drivers do not inadvertently travel along the restricted section of the road 2. consideration should be given to the most appropriate way of defining the exemption – an exemption or Loading is generally more tightly defined than an exemption for Access. 3. There would probably need to be exemptions for abnormal loads and for periods when the bridges might be out of action. The Bus Company pointed out that there are problems and congestion when large vehicles try to pass on the existing bridge. Although the new bridge will reduce this problem, extending the hours of operation of the lorry ban, will tend to concentrate the number of HGVs using the bridge and this could disrupt their service.