Darnall and South East Area Panels and Handsworth Forum Minutes 1st March 2005

DARNALL AND SOUTH EAST AREA PANELS AND HANDSWORTH FORUM

Meeting held on 1^st March, 2005, at Handsworth Grange School

PRESENT:		Councillors Mary Lea (Chair), Marjorie Barker, Terry Barrow, Harry Harpham, Mike Peat and Chris Rosling-Josephs.

		Representatives of Panel Partners:-
		Councillor Gerald Smith	-	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
		Karl Battersby
		Tony Sarjeant
		Maurice Littlewood	-	Handsworth Forum

		Officers in attendance:-
		David Curtis	-	Head of Development Services
		John Bownes	-	City Development Unit
		Ian Wheeldon	-	Highways Development
		Stella Mekonnen	-	Area Co-ordinator
		Sarah Thomson	-	Committee Secretariat

		31 members of the public and representatives from local community groups attended the meeting.

…………………..

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM PANEL MEMBERS
	Apologies for absence were received from Rt. Hon. Clive Betts MP and John Mothersole.

2.	WAVERLEY DEVELOPMENT
	Presentation by Sheffield City Council
	John Bownes, Policy and Programme Manager, Development, Environment and Leisure Directorate, gave a brief presentation which outlined the proposal to build a new link road across the Waverley site, from Retford Road at Woodhouse Mill to the Parkway junction at Catcliffe. He commented that due to the topography of the site the development would have a major impact on the City.
	Mr Bownes reported that the City Council had made their views clear on the proposals at a meeting held in September 2003 to consider the report on the Masterplan for the Waverley development and that the Waverley link road would make an important contribution to the City by means of identifying traffic concerns and the provision of a housing development for 3,500 homes.
	He added that in September 2004, the City Council’s Cabinet considered a report and the proposed options for the development following which Cabinet requested that full public consultation be undertaken before any conclusion was reached with regard to the link road development.

	Presentation by Handsworth Forum
	Maurice Littlewood Chair of Handsworth Forum commented on the volume of traffic in the area, which he believed had increased as a result of the development of housing and industrial estates within the Handsworth Area. He referred to the proposed link road to be developed on the Waverley site and commented on the proposed 3,500 houses, which he, and others, had always understood to be included in the proposals along with the potential 10,000 jobs over the next twenty years and added that in his opinion further developments could not be created without creating further unacceptable traffic and pollution problems for Handsworth.
	He added that Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council had indicated that the implementation of the proposed link road would resolve the traffic problems in the area. He refuted this suggestion as being unproven.
	He then circulated a graph which highlighted the air quality in Handsworth and commented that he had undertaken research between June 2003 and December 2004 and added that the chart highlighted that air quality levels in Handsworth were higher than the Government guidelines.
	Mr Littlewood reported that the proposed development of the link road had not been agreed and requested that the planning application for the proposed 3,500 houses be declined, a decision which he believed would not then necessitate the development of the proposed link road.
	The Chair thanked Mr Littlewood for his contribution to the meeting.

	Presentation by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Tony Sarjeant gave a presentation outlining the background to the proposals, a progress report and details on future developments. He reported that during 2000, consultants from the Babtie Group had been commissioned to consider the level of new transportation required, if all the identified development sites were implemented. He added that progress had been slow until UK Coal, who were responsible for the Waverley site had prepared a Masterplan for their site which showed the proposed link road.
	As part of the Masterplanning process UK Coal and RMBC carried out extensive public consultation on the proposals during 2003, following which RMBC employed transportation consultants, Faber Maunsell, to assess whether the proposed option was the most appropriate and to determine whether a case could be established for a bid for funding to the Department for Transport (DfT).
	Mr Sarjeant reported that seven options were submitted although four of the options were considered to be unrealistic and with the three remaining options being progressed for further evaluation. The three remaining options were on-line improvements to Retford Road, a link road which passes to the east of the sewage works at Woodhouse Mill and a link road which passes to the west of the sewage works and crosses the playing field.
	Mr Sarjeant added that the preferred option was to develop a link road across the playing field to form a junction with Retford Road and added that the reasons for the preferred option had been based on the fact that it would have less environmental impact and less cost.
	Following this preliminary work the Council resolved that work would be started on preparing a full scheme appraisal that would include further public consultation.
	Mr Sarjeant commented that RMBC had engaged MVA consultants to prepare the funding bid to be submitted to the Department for Transport. The Government require that the proposal be considered against five key objectives; environment, safety, economy and accessibility and integration.
	Mr Sarjeant commented that approximately 9,500 questionnaires were sent to residents for them to express their views on the proposed options. He added that a further 150 questionnaires were also sent to residents in Swallownest following a complaint from residents who felt that they were not represented in the sampling exercise. Mr Sarjeant also added that the results of the survey were being analysed and would be reported to Council for them to decide whether or not to make a funding bid to the Government by the end of July 2005.
	In summary Mr Sarjeant stated that RMBC and Sheffield City Council were working in partnership in order to plan for and accommodate the likely increase in traffic, which he anticipated would rise as a result of the development plans prepared for Sheffield and Rotherham. Even with the improvements to public transport, and measures to encourage walking and cycling, he believed that there would inevitably be an increase in vehicular traffic and action needed to minimise the impact of this additional traffic.
	Karl Battersby commented that UK Coal had produced a Masterplan with regard to the Waverley Development Site and added that RMBC and Sheffield City Council were jointly seeking to make provision to encompass the changes recommended in the plan.
	He commented that the proposals were not final and added that the final decision remained with Government as to whether funding would be provided for the project.
	Mr Battersby referred to the proposal for the Waverley site and added that the proposed application was in the early stages of the process and added that a planning application had not been submitted for the development of houses on the former colliery site.
	The Chair commented that the Waverley Development belonged to RMBC and indicated that members could only ask questions and comment on the proposals at this stage.
	The Chair thanked Mr Sarjeant and Mr Battersby for their contribution to the meeting.

	Questions and Answers
	In response to questions as to whether RMBC Councillors would be attending the meeting scheduled to take place on Monday 14^th March, 2005 at the Woodhouse Mill Club, Councillor Gerald Smith commented that he was not aware of the forthcoming public meeting.
	Members of the public expressed concern with regard to the disruption which they anticipated would be caused to residents during the construction of the link road. Members expressed their disappointment with regard to the unsatisfactory level of consultation with residents in connection with the link road although RMBC had previously promised such consultation at a meeting held approximately one year on from an earlier meeting which had been held during September 2003 and Councillor Marjorie Barker added that in her opinion all Councillors should attend the consultation meeting to be held in March.
	Councillor Smith commented that he had not received an invitation to the meeting. The Chair extended the invitation to all RMBC Councillors to attend the meeting to be held on the 14^th March, 2005, at the Woodhouse Mill Club.
	With regard to concerns regarding the proposed housing development Mr Battersby commented that no consultation had been undertaken with regard to the location of the proposed housing development and added that the aim of the consultation exercise was purely to concentrate on the proposed link road.
	David Curtis referred to the proposed housing issues and added that no planning application had been submitted from UK Coal to build a housing development adding that if such an application was received then local people would be consulted.
	Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs expressed concerns with regard to traffic congestion around the Treeton and Rother Valley Country Park areas and enquired as to whether these areas had been taken into consideration within the proposed options. In response Tony Sarjeant commented that major development proposals, in line with the adopted development plans had been considered in the proposed options but this did not include the recent planning application to redevelop a site adjacent to RVCP.
	Mr Sarjeant commented that the modeling of traffic flows had been based on surveys carried out into drivers’ origins and destinations but added that additional trips, arising from some proposed developments, had also been entered into the computer model.
	In response to concerns as to whether the improvements would ease traffic congestion on local roads Mr Sarjeant commented that he believed that the proposals would divert some traffic onto the proposed link road which he envisaged would resolve some of the impact.
	A local resident referred to the minutes of a meeting held at RMBC during December 2003, and which he understood stated that British Coal could not develop housing on the Waverley site because planning permission must be granted on the development site for the construction of housing. In response Councillor Smith commented that the minute did not refer to a particular housing development but referred in general terms to planning permission for a permanent development but of no specific type.
	In response to how the proposals would affect the Sheffield Parkway Mr Sarjeant reported that he believed that the majority of people using the Waverley Link Road would be commuters to and from the Waverley site.
	Karl Battersby commented that if RMBC submitted a bid for the link road this would be considered by Government, who would, determine whether the proposed option was justifiable or not. He added that RMBC needed to highlight in their bid, details on residents’ views to show why the preferred option had been selected.
	In response to questions regarding other traffic measures in the area Mr Battersby commented that the proposed Masterplan development had included a tram link, heavy rail and bus link improvements and housing for non vehicular owners to ensure that local people could access job opportunities created on the proposed development. He added that the Highways Agency would also be included in the consultation process.
	In response to questions regarding the consideration of a further ‘option e‘ Mr Sarjeant commented that this option would use the existing dual carriageway, adding that this option had arisen out of the consultation process and had been referred to the consultants.
	David Curtis commented that the Government had declined the major Supertram extension as it was too expensive to implement and stated that a bid for a smaller project to extend the Supertram link to Rotherham Town Centre from Meadowhall and to the Hallamshire/Weston Park Hospital had been submitted to Government. He added that no significant new rail improvements would be likely in the near future as the Government were using funding to undertake repair works to the existing rail network following the Hatfield rail disaster.
	Mr Sarjeant commented that if the decision to make a bid for funds was approved by RMBC then it would be submitted before the end of July 2005 to meet this years timescale for a decision in December. He concluded that the DfT would either reject any proposal, provisionally accept a scheme or fully approve a scheme.
	A local resident commented that he had recently devoted time to undertaking research at the end of Falconer Lane in order to make enquiries as to where people had travelled from and also whether they were aware of the proposed Waverley link road development. Councillor Smith commented that only residents in the catchment area had been consulted on the proposal and he therefore believed that those members of the public living outside the catchment area would be unaware of the proposed development.
	Mr Sarjeant reported that approximately 500 questionnaires had so far been returned to RMBC and added that they were still in the consultation process. Following the meeting this figure has been confirmed to be over 1,000.
	In response to questions regarding the A57, David Curtis commented that he fully understood the concerns of residents and added that the link road would not resolve the existing problems experienced on the Parkway.
	The Chair thanked residents and Panel Members for attending the meeting.

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