Agenda and draft minutes

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The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred to the notice of filming at meetings and this information was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under agenda item 8).

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

There were no deputation / petitions / questions.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport considered the report that sought to:

1.    Determine whether two zebra crossings and speed reducing measures on Adams Road near The Willow and Brook Primary Schools, N17 should be implemented.

2. Request approval to proceed to implementation, after considering objections and officer response to those objections.

RESOLVED:

That the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport to:

• Consider all feedback to the public and statutory consultation carried out from 11 October to 1 November 2023, set out in Appendix D, on the proposals outlined in Appendix A together with officer’s views regarding that feedback set out in section 8 of this report.

• Agree that the Council shall exercise its discretion to not cause a public inquiry to be held (see paragraph 8.3) in respect of the TMO referred to in recommendation 3.3 below.

• Approve the implementation of the zebra crossings and speed reduction measures on Adams Road near The Willow and Brook Primary Schools, as set out on the plan in Appendix A, except that the zebra crossing on the eastern end of Adams Road to be relocated by 3m west.  

• Authorise the Head of Highways and Parking to make all necessary traffic management orders (TMOs) to give effect to the measures approved.

Reasons for decision

The Council as a local authority had a duty under Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to improve safety and reduce road traffic collisions.The proposals recommended for approval were aimed at reducing speeds of motor vehicles and improving road safety and pedestrian accessibility especially for children attending The Willow and The Brook Primary Schools.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: This option was rejected as it would not deliver an improvement to road safety and so the Council would not be discharging its duty under section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to “take steps to prevent accidents”.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport considered the report that sought to:

1. Consider the results of the statutory consultation on the proposed speed reducing features along Ferme Park Road N4/N8.

2. Approve to proceed implementation, after considering objections and officer’s views regarding those objections.

The meeting heard that this was an ongoing project and there had been a total of 9 collisions that were recorded to date.

It was noted that there would be a lot of positive outcomes from this scheme and there was a priority in improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists.  

RESOLVED:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transportto: 

• Consider all feedback to the statutory consultation carried out from 29 November 2023to 05 January 2024 set out in Appendix D, on the proposals outlined in Appendix A together with officers’ views regarding the feedback set out in section 8 of this report.

• Agree that the Council shall exercise its discretion to not cause a public inquiry to be held (see paragraph 8.7 and 8.8) in respect of the traffic management orders referred to in this report.

• Approve the implementation of the speed reducing measures on Ferme Park Road N4/N8, as set out on the plan in Appendix A and the making of all necessary traffic management orders (TMOs) to enable the proposed speed reducing measures to be implemented.

Reasons for decision

The Council as a local authority had a duty under Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to improve safety and reduce road traffic collisions.The proposals recommended for approval were aimed at reducing speeds of motor vehicles and improving road safety and pedestrian accessibility.

The reason that this was a key decision was because it was significant in terms of its effects on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards or electoral divisions in the area of the local authority.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: This option was rejected as it would not deliver an improvement to road safety and so the Council would not be discharging its duty under section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to “take steps to prevent accidents”.

There were no new items of urgent business.