To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Malcolm Beer, Marius Gilmore and Paul Lion.

To receive any Declarations of Interest.

Cllr Pryer: Declared a personal interest in the item relating to the junction improvements at Imperial Road/Winkfield Road/Clewer Hill Road as she lived in close proximity to the area where the improvements were proposed.

To confirm the Part I Minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting of the Windsor Urban Development Control Panel held on 1 February 2016 be approved.

To receive and consider the above report.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement introduced the report to Members and highlighted the following key points:

Ø  It was the third time a report on the pilot scheme had been before the Panel and it was recommending to Cabinet that the Night Time Economy Scheme remain in place permanently.

Ø  The full findings of the report were detailed in the report on page 11 which included actions that had been implemented.

Ø  Performance Measures were detailed in table two of the report.

Ø  Appendix one provided a more detailed breakdown of incidents covered by Community Wardens during the Night Time Economy hours.

Ø  Appendix two contained a breakdown of the spread of work up to 3am.

Ø  The report requested approval to explore further areas in conjunction with the Police to help the Night Time Economy run safely and smoothly.

Craig Miler confirmed that Police had provided contacts for the Borough to liaise with how they could work more closely with the Community Wardens. The Police had preferred Option 4 of the report as they wanted to use Council resources for longer periods of time through the night and for Community Wardens to take on more responsibilities. The report would include the comments from the Police when it went to Cabinet but, the Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed he was still recommending Option 1.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed one Community Warden had resigned to take on a different job since the pilot had been running but, he stated the Warden did not resign due to the Night Time Economy pilot scheme. Cllr Hunt commented Community Wardens were working with the Police and facing higher risks during the Night Time Economy hours. she asked if there were any plans to increase the hours Wardens were available after midnight. Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement confirmed Officers were paid an enhanced rate for night time work as per the Council’s policy. With regards to considering longer hours, yes he had considered it but, he had spoken to Wardens and their view was that there were little to no issues after midnight. The Head of Community Protection & Enforcement had looked at the business case and the evidence from the pilot scheme and that is why he had recommended Option 1.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement stated there had been three incidents reported by the public and three referred by the police. The scheme was a pilot and it took approximately a year for people to learn about the scheme being in place. Once the service was known more widely, the number of incidents would increase.

The Head of Community Protection & Enforcement stated there were 18 Community Wardens in place and he was looking to double that number using existing resources such as using multi-skilled officers. Cllr Jones said the residents in her ward had noticed their Community Warden had not been as visible during the day since the pilot had been in place.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To receive and consider the above report.

Craig Miller, Head of Community Protection & Enforcement introduced the report and highlighted the following main points:

Ø  The report set out the proposal for a pilot scheme with the Department for Transport introducing a 25% discount for motorists who use the full appeal process.

Ø  The Department for Transport had approached the Leader of the Council as ministers were concerned after receiving feedback from people who would be likely to win at appeal.

Ø  People were not appealing because if a penalty charge was paid within 14 days, the penalty was reduced by 50%.

Ø  If an appeal was unsuccessful, that 50% reduction did not apply and the motorist would have the full amount of the penalty charge to pay.

Ø  In order to encourage more people to use the appeal process, if an appeal was unsuccessful, a 25% reduction in the penalty charge would be applied.

Ø  The full appeal process could take up to three months to complete so the discount window would be nine months with information gathered by 12 months.

Ø  154 appeals had been raised in 2014/15 and 77 of those were unsuccessful. They would have received 25% discount had the pilot been in place.

Ø  There was a potential increase in the amount of people appealing. The Council wanted to ensure there was a safeguard so the Council could keep an eye on revenue received from penalty charge notices.

Ø  There were costs associated with the pilot and the Department for Transport would be sharing those costs.

Ø  The pilot scheme was to prove if there were issues or not with the amount of people appealing being too low due to the 50% reduction if paid within 14 days.

The Chairman stated the pilot may have come about because there were cases people felt they have been unfairly ticketed but did not feel they would win an appeal. Cllr Sharma commented it was a good scheme and the analysis of responses to the consultation on page 36 showed people felt the pilot would be a good idea. Cllr Jones said she was supportive of the idea as the Council needed to be sure of the validity of tickets being issued. Cllr Pryer commented that sometimes, parking signs could be misleading or unclear. She agreed with the pilot and would like confirmation of how the Council planned to make it as clear as possible for residents. Craig Miller confirmed he had been speaking to the company that ran the ticketing system and had agreed to include a leaflet in with the penalty charge notice explaining the pilot. He added the leaflet would be simple and clear.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That: Members fully endorsed the recommendations of the report.

To receive and consider the above report.

Ben Smith, Head of Highways & Transport introduced the report tom Members and highlighted the following main points:

Ø  The report was to be considered at Cabinet.

Ø  The Council received a petition with over 1,000 signatures to reduce the current weight limit from 18 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes.

Ø  The new weight limit would restrict very large vehicles.

Ø  The new restriction would prevent very heavy traffic from crossing the bridge, causing traffic and other safety risks.

Ø  There had been wide consultation on the scheme using the press and producing leaflets.

Ø  73 people had responded to the consultation with over 70% wanting a reduction in the weight limit.

Ø  There were some objections from Surrey and Ben Smith had met with their Lead Member and went through the consultation with them.

Ø  Due to the results of the consultation, the weight limit was being reduced.

Ø  Alternative routes that were not weight restricted were in Surrey.

Ø  If HGV’s stayed on the Chobham Road route, that would cause traffic safety risks and clog the village.

Ø  There were two alternative routes HGV’s could use that were far more suitable for very large lorries.

Ø  The Chobham Road route had impaired visibility across the bridge and was also a residential area.

The Vice-Chairman stated there were a lot of new developments in that area and that would bring more HGVs to the area. There had been a large petition to get the weight limit reduced. He was happy to endorse the recommendations.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That: Members fully endorsed the recommendations of the report.

To receive and consider the above report.

Ben Smith, Head of Highways & Transport introduced the report to Members and highlighted the following key points:

Ø  The report was to be considered by Cabinet.

Ø  The area had a history of very heavy traffic at certain times

Ø  A consultation on two options had been carried out.

Ø  Letter drops had been carried out, publicity in local press and ward Members held two drop in sessions.

Ø  The publicity created a lot of feedback.

Ø  The outcome of the consultation showed there was no clear consensus on which option should implemented.

Ø  Clewer Hill residents did not want to get rid of the traffic lights at the junction.

Ø  Residents from St Leonards Road also had concerns regarding improvements.

Ø  Neither option that was consulted on were to be implemented but the Council had decided to take the best bits of the feedback from the consultation and implement those.

Ø  The alterations to the junction were detailed in the report and Members noted there was a short term solution being implemented in time for summer and there was a long term road improvement plan to be introduced in 2017.

Ø  The Council had tried to choose the best bits supported by the consultation and remove the bits which had received negative feedback.

Cllr Pryer suggested amending the recommendation to include Ward Members to be consulted with alongside the Lead Member as the improvements would affect quite a few wards. Ben Smith, Head of Highways & Transport confirmed if Cabinet agreed the recommendations in principle, the Council would carry out technical traffic modelling. He added the traffic was not good for residents so he was trying to get the best solution for all.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That:

Members fully endorsed the recommendations with the following amendments:

Recommendation: That:

I.              Authority be delegated to the Head of Highways & Transport in consultation with Lead Member for Highways & Transport and with Ward Members to implement changes to the operation of the traffic signals at both junctions to enhance efficiency and trial changes to the positions of bus stops by 30 June 2016 and implement a banned right turn into Imperial Road during the school summer holidays of 2016;

II.            Authority to be delegated to the Head of Highways & Transport in consultation with Lead Member for Highways & Transport and with Ward Members to develop and model a scheme to replace the traffic signals at the Imperial Road/St Leonards Road junction with a roundabout in combination with pedestrian crossings on at least two of the three arms of the junction. Additionally minor changes to traffic island configuration at Clewer Hill Road and changes to the bus stop arrangements would be introduced.

III.           The traffic baseline measurement be carried out during the school holidays and during school term time in order to collect accurate data on traffic movements in the area.