MINUTES of a meeting of the PEAK PARK TRANSPORT FORUM held at County Hall, Matlock on 17 September 2001.

Present:

Derbyshire County Council

Councillors L Bennett, Mrs J Bevan, J Bull, W Burrows, D B Taylor, Mr D N Hickman and Ms Y Peach.

Peak District National Park Authority

Mr A Brown, Councillor Mrs C Crowther, Ms B Hilditch, Mr W Kirkham and Mr M Smith.

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Councillor J Bristowe and Mr A Chymera.

Cheshire County Council

Councillor Ms E Wallace.

Countryside Agency

Ms L Broughton and Ms M Owen.

GMPTE/PTA

Councillor J P Brown and P Johnston.

High Peak Borough Council

Mr A Fisher.

Highways Agency

Mr S Forgham.

Macclesfield Borough Council

Councillor A Knowles and Mr R Cramer.

Oldham MBC

Councillor E Ritchie and Mr G Willerton.

Sheffield MDC

Councillor T Bagshaw.

Stockport MBC

Mr B Allan.

Tameside MBC

Councillor A Whitehead and Mr P Calverley.

SPITS Project Staff

Mr C H Smith

Also in attendance were Messrs D Mullen and I Palmer (MVA Limited).

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors J G Williams and J Powell (Derbyshire County Council), Councillor G M Doughty (Peak District National Park Authority), Mr J Reeve (Cheshire County Council), Councillor G Stevens (Derbyshire Dales District Council) and Councillor Uprichard (High Peak Borough Council).

1/01 APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR

RESOLVED that Councillor J G Williams be appointed Chair of the Forum.

2/01 APPOINTMENT OF VICE-CHAIR

RESOLVED that Mr A Brown be appointed Vice-Chair of the Forum.

Mr A Brown (in the Chair)

3/01 MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Peak Park Transport Forum held on 4 December 2000 be received.

4/01 MINUTES - MATTER ARISING - THE MATLOCK - BUXTON RAILWAY REOPENING (Minute No 16/00)

It was reported that the Matlock - Buxton feasibility study had not yet commenced. £800,000 was required for the feasibility study, Derbyshire County Council, with partners, had offered £400,000.

RESOLVED to note the report.

5/01 STUDY AND PROPOSALS FOR BUS SERVICES IN THE SPITS AREA

Messrs Ian Palmer and Dominic Mullen from MVA Consultants attended the meeting and gave a presentation to the Forum on its findings for phase 1 of the Bus Services Study to support a bid for Rural Bus Challenge Funding. Phase 2 of the Study was a bid to the Countryside Agency for funding for further study work in to rural hubs, interchanges, public transport information and linking services. Members were given the opportunity to ask questions.

RESOLVED that

(1) MVA be thanked for their presentation and their work producing Phase 1 of the Bus Services Study;

(2) subject to the securing external funding, a Phase 2 Bus Services Study be commissioned;

(3) two bids for the Rural Bus Challenge Fund 2001 be submitted, one based on upgrading the strategic bus services to hourly frequency, the other based on upgrading the strategic bus services to two hourly frequency; and

(4) the Peak District National Park Authority Standing Order 2.2 be waived and MVA be invited to prepare and submit bids for Rural Bus Challenge Funding provided a satisfactory quotation for the work is received.

6/01 SPITS QUIET LANES PROJECT

Approval was sought to set up a South Pennines Integrated Transport Strategy (SPITS) Quiet Lanes Project in the south west lozenge traffic restraint area (the area bounded by the A6/A52/A523 trunk roads). The project aimed to reduce traffic on appropriate roads and encourage walkers, cyclists and horse riders to use the lanes to access village facilities and would encourage more sustainable transport in the area. The project would work with local communities, statutory bodies and other interested parties to draw up proposals for Quiet Lanes networks in the south west lozenge. Six pilot areas had been identified centred on Wirksworth, Hartington, Youlgreave (Derbyshire), Longnor, Waterhouses (Staffordshire) and Sutton (Cheshire). It was reported that the budget for 2001/02 and the proposed budget for 2002/03 included funding for a Quiet Lanes Project. In addition the existing and possible forthcoming commitments of funding from Forum partners beyond a yearly basis would enable bids for external funding to be submitted.

RESOLVED

(1) to note the progress on the SPITS Quiet Lanes Project;

(2) to approve the start of consultations in the six pilot areas, subject to receipt of external funding; and

(3) that a further progress report be made to the next meeting of the Peak Park Transport Forum.

7/01 FINANCE

An estimate had been made of financial commitments for the 2002/03 programme and was included as an appendix to the report. The estimate included project officer and project assistance staff costs and technical and administrative support. Based on the current amount of outstanding and remaining commitments for 2001/02, there was likely to be a carry over of approximately £6,292 to 2002/03. In order to have funds available to implement the Action Plan as set out in the Business Plan, a continuation of the existing formula for next year's budget would cover expected costs. Based on subscriptions of £1,400 per share, this would be distributed as follows:-

3 shares - National Park Authority, Derbyshire County Council, Highways Agency

2 shares - Other Highway Authorities, Passenger Transport Executives and Railtrack

1 share - other authorities and agencies.

In addition external sources of project funding would be continued to be sought in line with the Business Plan.

It was reported that Derbyshire County Council and the Peak District National Park Authority had agreed to commit themselves to contribute to SPITS until March 2006. This would enable bids for external funding to be prepared beyond April 2002. Other partners were requested to consider a similar commitment and to agree an extension of their funding commitment for a further four years in order to maximise external funding opportunities.

It was proposed that the project staff be permitted to work occasional extra hours as work dictated, subject to the agreement of the Officer Working Group and within the constraints of the approved budget. It was also suggested that a programme of measures be instigated as set out in the Business Plan covering areas listed in the appendix to the report, and that authority be given to the Officer Working Group, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Forum, to approve a programme of work and subsequent expenditure up to a maximum of £10,000.

RESOLVED that

(1) the Forum approved the subscription level for 2002/03;

(2) partners are asked to request their respective authorities, agencies or companies to commit funding to SPITS for 2002/03 and notify the outcome by 31 December 2001;

(3) the partners in the Forum be asked to request from their respective authorities, agencies or companies a funding commitment to the Peak Park Transport Forum until 31 March 2006 or as far forward as budgetary forecasting will allow;

(4) the Forum permits the SPITS project staff to work occasional extra hours as the work dictates, within the constraints of the budget; and

(5) the Forum delegates authority to the Officer Working Group, acting in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Forum, to approve a programme of work and subsequent expenditure up to a maximum of £10,000 per project.

8/01 IMPLEMENTING THE BUSINESS PLAN: AN OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS

RESOLVED to note the progress towards implementing the SPITS Business Plan 2000/2015.

9/01 THE SOUTH TRANS-PENNINE (HOPE VALLEY) ROUTE ASPIRATIONS AND CAPACITY ISSUES

A copy of a paper considered by the Trans-Pennine Rail Consortium on 27 April 2001 had been circulated for information. The paper focussed on the South Trans-Pennine (Hope Valley) route between Manchester and Sheffield and considered passenger train services and freight services.

RESOLVED to note the report and to endorse the recommendations contained therein.

10/01 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Peak Park Transport Forum should take place at the beginning of January 2002 in consultation with the Chair following receipt of the LTP settlement.

11/01 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item on the agenda to avoid the disclosure of information which should not be disclosed for the reasons set out in the following summary of proceedings:-

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS CONDUCTED AFTER THE PUBLIC WERE EXCLUDED FROM THE MEETING

1. Report on Staffing Issues (contains information relating to the employment of a particular person).