Verbal request by County Councillor Philip Broadbank
Purpose: To request a report from Area 6 Highways on the timescale for footpath and lighting works.
Minutes:
Considered –
The verbal request from County Councillor Philip Broadbank in which he asked the Committee to commission a report from Highways Officers, to include a proposal for speedy action to provide a footpath and street lighting, and how traffic signals could be realigned to improve safety, at Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane because the current situation was dangerous and needed to be resolved as a matter of urgency.
County Councillor Philip Broadbank explained that the location was within his Division and adjoined the Central Division. Over the previous three years, major developments had started around the railway bridge and many of the homes in those developments were now occupied and consequently there was an urgent need to get the footpath and highway lighting in place. He reported that Officers were aware of the issue, and there was a Section 278 agreement in place to construct a footway at the location. Some works had been undertaken, and more were due to be undertaken in the near future. However, a comprehensive approach was now needed as a matter of urgency. Over the previous few years, councillors had had discussions, meetings, and exchanged correspondence with Highway Officers. Whilst some work was planned, there was a lot to do to make this area safe for the increasing number of residents to use for walking and cycling.
Melisa Burnham (Area 6 Highways Manager) reported that the County Council had received, and responded to, correspondence from residents, councillors and the Constituency MP throughout 2021 regarding the lack of footway link on Kingsley Road. There was a planning obligation on one of the developers to design and deliver the said footway link between the Barratts development site and the railway bridge as part of a Section 278 agreement. Unfortunately, a review of the footway design had identified that the proposal put forward was not deliverable due to site constraints. North Yorkshire Highways team had reviewed alternative design options and identified that the solution required third-party land. Land negotiations had taken place and continued. In addition, Highways Officers were seeking further traffic modelling in relation to the footpath and signals and had recently commissioned a transport consultant to undertake this task. In conclusion, the County Council’s Highways could offer reassurances that progress was being made to bring about a satisfactory solution, but the process is very much time constrained by processes which were not directly in the control of the County Council, mainly to do with the third-party land requirements. Therefore a commencement date for the works could not be given at this meeting.
County Councillor Richard Cooper advised that he shared County Councillor Philip Broadbank’s concerns and that the bridge was partly located in his Ward.
Members discussed how the Committee might proceed in relation to this matter and thanked County Councillor Philip Broadbank for bringing this “log-jam” to the Committee’s attention. It was agreed that the matter should be referred for urgent discussions between the Area 6 Highways Manager and the County Councillors and Borough Councillors representing the Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane area.
Resolved –
That the actions required to provide a footpath and street lighting at Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane be referred for urgent discussions between the Area 6 Highways Manager and the County Councillors and Borough Councillors representing the Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane area.