Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Members:-

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 7 – Information Report: Proposed Secondary School – Whitchurch Playing Fields, Wemborough Road, Stanmore

Councillor Ameet Jogia declared a non-pecuniary interest in that the application site was situated within his Ward.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Manji Kara declared a non-pecuniary interest in that the application site was situated within his Ward.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Barry Kendler declared a interest declared a non-pecuniary interest in that he lived in the vicinity of the application site.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

To appoint a Vice Chair of the Panel for the 2016/17 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:  To note that Councillor Anne Whitehead be appointed Vice?Chair of the Panel for the 2016/17 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:  That the following Co-opted Adviser be permitted to speak at the meeting, pending formal approval of his appointment by the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Crime and Community Safety:

Mr Anthony Wood – Harrow Public Transport Users’ Association (HPTUA).

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 48 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  That, in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 48 (Part 4D of the Constitution), the following deputation be received:

1.            Avanti House – to present key information regarding traffic and transport issues and mitigation measures in relation to the proposed scheme.

The first deputee made the following points:

·                     Avanti House was the first state funded Hindu Free school;

·                     the school had the support of 70% of local population and total support from the Education Funding Agency (EFA);

·                     the school was currently oversubscribed.  There were 500 pupils on roll and this figure would increase to 700 in September 2016;

·                     under plans for the proposed development, there would be extensive sporting facilities available at the school and an area of parkland for the use of local residents;

·                     the school had invested nearly £200k in the project.  The school would inject new life into the local area.

The second deputee stated that:

·                     the school had devised a detailed and ambitious School Travel Plan (STP) following consultation with and feedback from Council officers, TfL and local residents;

·                     the school had extensive previous experience in implementing a successful STP and was the only school in Harrow to have achieved TfL’s Gold accreditation for its STP;

·                     the school had liaised two other two local schools in its vicinity, Whitchurch and Stanburn, and had agreed staggered start and finish times and the intention to work closely with each other to co-ordinate events;

·                     TfL had carried out a detailed assessment of the STP and agreed to look into additional capacity for the 324, 340 and 79 bus routes;

·                     the school would be using a local private hire coach operator and there was flexibility in the service with regard to number of journeys and the number of coaches;

·                     the school would use car park marshalls at peak times and actively discourage 6^th formers travelling to school by car;

·                     would deliver £1.5M mitigation works to the junctions in the vicinity of the school;

·                     the S106 agreement was a legal obligation and if the school did not comply with its responsibilities, then the Council would have the option of taking Enforcement action.

Following questions from the Panel, the Deputees advised that:

·                     investigations had revealed that it would not be possible to widen the junction at Wemborough Road and St Andrews Drive and converting the roundabout to traffic signals would be likely to lead to delays and queuing traffic;

·                     all pupils would be expected to be on site by 7.45 am and parents would be informed of any absences by 9.00 am;

·                     calculations in the STP had been based on a 2km walking and a 5km cycling catchment area;

·                     the school had achieved gold accreditation by consulting and responding to feedback from local residents;

·                     the private hire coaches would be dropping and picking up pupils from safe locations, such as bus stops as this was permitted.  Additionally, the school’s car park could also accommodate the coaches;

·                     the funding available from TfL would be used to implement an additional 186 bus on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

To receive a Reference from the Planning Committee meeting of 25 May 2016.

RESOLVED:  To note the Reference from the Planning Committee.

To appoint advisers to the Panel for the 2016/17 Municipal Year.

Members received a report which detailed the nominations for Advisers to the Panel for the 2016/17 municipal year.

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Crime and Community Safety)

That the nominations for Advisers to the Panel, as set out in the officer’s report and the tabled document, be agreed.

Report of the Corporate Director, Community.

The Panel received an information report of the Corporate Director, Community which set out the Transport Assessment, the School Travel Plan and proposed transport mitigations for the proposed secondary school at Whitchurch Playing fields, Wemborough Road, Stanmore.

An officer advised that the application had been approved by the Planning Committee at its February 2016 meeting, subject to satisfactory completion of the S106 Planning Obligation and further detailed consideration of the STP and the Community Use Agreement at a subsequent meeting of the Planning Committee.

Following consideration of the STP at its 25 May 2016 meeting, Members of the Planning Committee had expressed a number of concerns regarding the STP and the traffic and transport mitigations to be undertaken.  The Committee referred these areas of concern to the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel (TARSAP) for further consideration, and requested that TARSAP feedback its conclusions to the 29 June 2016 meeting of the Planning Committee.

Following a brief overview of the report, the officer responded to the Panel’s questions and comments as follows:

·                     there would be significant works to widen the junction at Whitchurch Lane and Honeypot Lane and create additional lanes to improve capacity there.  This was an already busy junction and traffic surveys had indicated that it would exceed capacity in a few years time, notwithstanding any additional traffic arising due to the proposed school;

·                     the proposed junction widening works was unlikely to result in the loss of any trees;

·                     it was unlikely that the junction widening would lead to any bottlenecks or long tailbacks on other nearby roads as congestion problems tended to be concentrated at junctions rather than at linking sections of road between junctions. This improvement was intended to relieve congestion.

A Member stated that in her view, the proposed school expansion would inevitably lead to an increase in traffic, however, following the presentation from the deputees, and because of the school’s good reputation and past experience in implementing its STP, she was confident that the measures in proposed STP would be fulfilled.

An adviser to the Panel stated that he had been advised by TfL that the additional peak time 186 bus service, which would be an 87-seater, would run from Edgware to Harrow Bus Station.

In summary, the Chair stated that TARSAP welcomed confirmation of the following:

1.            the proposed mitigation measures and interventions;

2.            the confirmation from TfL that it would contribute to an additional AM and PM peak time service on the 186 bus route and that local bus provision would be monitored and reviewed;

3.            confirmation of further details regarding the private hire school coach service, which would be regularly monitored and responsive to any potential increase in demand;

4.            the staggered school start and finish times which had been agreed between Avanti House, Whitchurch and Stanburn Schools and the schools’ intention to work closely together when co-ordinating events;

5.            the implementation of a sustainable School Travel Plan that was focussed on the minimisation of car journeys and on attaining STARS  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105.