Agenda item - Valley Gardens Update

Report of the Acting Executive Director of Environment, Development & Housing (copy attached).

1)           That Committee notes the update and timeline in 3.6-3.11.

2)           That Committee notes the urgency of gathering updated traffic data within the October ‘neutral period’.

3)           That Committee agrees that the Project Management Board should oversee project progress along-side formal Committee decision-making processes.

24.1      The Committee considered a report of the Acting Executive Director Environment, Development & Housing that updated Members on the Valley Gardens project.

24.2      Councillor West noted that he continued to be supportive of the scheme but was worried by a number of aspects. Councillor West noted with concern that the financial implications suggested there was no guarantee of the same amount of funding through re-profiling; that the delay would jeopardise future funding opportunities and that there was no mention of the cost of new surveys and re-modelling.

24.3      The Head of Transport gave assurance that since the point of publication of the report, he had received a letter from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) confirming the same level of funding. He added that traffic modelling was an expensive process but it was important to make sure the scheme was robust and captured recent changes to the network that would directly impact upon the Valley Gardens area. Furthermore, the re-examination of the scheme gave an opportunity for officers to gather new data for the long-term.

24.4      Councillor West asked for confirmation of the cost of updating the traffic model.

24.5      The Head of Transport confirmed that this was in the region of £70,000 to £80,000 that was expensive but was very important for a large, citywide scheme.

24.6      Councillor Barradell stated that it was essential to note that the preferred scheme agreed by the committee in October 2014 differed from the scheme detailed in the Business Case.

24.7      Councillor Theobald expressed his support for the revision of the scheme as it was very important to make sure it worked effectively and efficently. Councillor Theobald added that it was imperative that the scheme remained traffic neutral.

24.8      Councillor Janio stated that the re-modelling and new surveys would be important in light of the significant work undertaken at key points in the city in the past few years including Seven Dials, Lewes Road and Edward Street.

24.9      RESOLVED-

1)     That Committee notes the update and timeline in 3.6-3.11.

2)     That Committee notes the urgency of gathering updated traffic data within the October ‘neutral period’.

3)     That Committee agrees that the Project Management Board should oversee project progress along-side formal Committee decision-making processes.