MINUTES of a meeting of the PEAK PARK TRANSPORT FORUM held at County Hall, Matlock on 21 January 2002.

Present:

Derbyshire County Council

Councillors L Bennett, J Bull, W Burrows, D B Taylor and J G Williams, Ms Y Peach and Mr M Smith.

Peak District National Park Authority

Ms A Ashe, Councillor Mrs C Crowther and Mr W Kirkham.

Barnsley MBC

Mr A Chymera.

Cheshire County Council

Councillor Ms E Wallace and J Gray.

GMPTE/PTA

Councillor J P Brown and Mr P Johnston.

High Peak Borough Council

Ms C Blackett.

Highways Agencies

Mr S Forgham and Mr A Slack (Birmingham) and Mr A Withington (Manchester).

Kirklees MC

Mr M Padgett.

Macclesfield Borough Council

Councillor A Knowles.

Stockport MBC

Councillor D Brailsford and Mr B Allan.

Tameside MBC

Councillor S R Oldham and Mr P Calverley.

SPITS Project Staff

Mr C H Smith.

Also in attendance was Mr D Moore (NETA).

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor J Bevan (Derbyshire County Council), Mr A Brown and Councillor G M Doughty (Peak District National Park Authority), Councillor J Bristowe (Barnsley MBC), Mr C Kennington (Cheshire County Council). L Atkinson and J Felton (Countryside Agency), Mr R Lloyd (Railtrack) and Councillor T Bagshaw (Sheffield MDC).

Councillor J G Williams (in the Chair)

1/02 MINUTES RESOLVED

(1) that the non-exempt Minutes of the meeting of the Peak Park Transport Forum held on 17 September 2001 be received; and

(2) that as the information contained in the exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2001 was no longer exempt, it was agreed that they be received in the open part of the meeting.

2/02 PRESENTATION BY NETA ON THE NORTH EUROPEAN TRADE AXIS

David Moore and Mike Padgett gave a presentation and showed a video on the North European Trade Access - a Trans Pennine Freight Study.

The Forum were reminded that the SPITS Business Plan 2000/15 included the setting up of a Freight Sub-Group to consider how to address issues of freight management, including contributing to a High Gauge Freight Study to which £10,000 had been allocated in the approved budget.

RESOLVED that

(1) the NETA Management Team be thanked for the presentation;

(2) the Peak Park Transport Forum make a contribution of £10,000 towards a Trans-Pennine High Gauge Freight Study; and

(3) the SPITS Freight Sub-Group be set up with a remit to maximise the use of rail freight transport.

3/02 STRATEGIC BUS SERVICES IN THE SPITS AREA

It was reported that a Rural Bus Challenge Fund bid "Meeting the Targets for Rural Bus Service Access: New Opportunities In and Across the South Pennines" had been submitted by Derbyshire County Council on behalf of the Forum. The bid had consisted of major service level improvements to cross Pennines bus services; and integrated rail/bus timetables/ticketing. This represented a major step towards meeting government targets of increasing the proportion of the rural population with access to quality bus services. If successful the Rural Bus Challenge funding would be £1.6m per year for 3 years. An announcement from the DTLR was expected by the end of February 2002.

Since the adoption of the SPITS Business Plan 2000/2015, the network of Rural Transport Partnerships (RTP) covering the South Pennines had been enhanced and extended. Much of the work of the proposed Phase 2 study would now be carried out by RTPs, so the Officer Working Group considered that the work of the Strategic Bus Group could best be progressed in other ways., including practical, on ground, projects like the introduction of Real Time Passenger Information. As there was not any spare SPITS staff time to implement this, it was suggested that a proposed bid to the Countryside Agency for Rural Transport Partnership project funding (to replace the Phase 2 Bus Service Study bid and utilise the match funding) be submitted that could include funding to make the existing half time Spits Project Assistant's post full time.

RESOLVED that

(1) a Phase 2 Bus Services Study be not commissioned;

(2) the Peak Park Transport Forum Partners and the bus operators be urged to continue their support for the SPITS Strategic Bus Services Network;

(3) the SPITS Project Officer liaise with the Rural Transport Partnerships (RTP) and co-ordinate those parts of the South Pennines Integrated Transport Strategy (SPITS) being implemented by them; and

(4) a bid for Countryside Agency Rural Transport Project funding be submitted for the SPITS Strategic Bus Services Network Enhancement Project, including a bid for Real Time Passenger Information, as outlined in the report.

4/02 MATLOCK BUXTON RAILWAY RE-OPENING - FEASIBILITY STUDY

It was reported that Derbyshire County Council had commissioned the first phase of the Feasibility Study, the total cost of which was expected to be in the region of £750,000 to £800,000, for which external funding was being sought. The SPITS Project was contributing £10,000 towards the cost of the Study, subject to the effects on modal shift and environmental impact being assessed. It was noted that the project had implications far wider than its name suggested and that there was a need to ensure that there was close liaison between the promoters of the Matlock-Buxton scheme and rail studies in Greater Manchester.

RESOLVED to note the report.

5/02 FINANCE AND STAFFING

Attached to the report were details of financial commitments for the 2001/2002 and estimates for 2002/2003.

The revised programme for 2001/02 included a contribution to a Freight Study and a contribution towards the Matlock Buxton Feasibility Study. Other studies and measures not implemented in 2001/02 were to be carried forward to 2002/03 with a carry-over of approximately £67,000.

Included in the estimates for 2002/2003 were Project Officer and Project Assistant staff costs and technical and administrative support. The proposed 2002/03 programme also included external funding from the Countryside Agency and the public participation workshop. Sufficient commitments had been made by Forum partners and from external funding from the Countryside Agency to fund the Project Officer's post full time until 31 March 2004. The SPITS Project Assistant had resigned in July 2001. Following the Forum meeting on the 17 September 2001 enough partners had made commitments for 2002/03 to fund the Project Assistant's post for the financial year 2002/03 and it was proposed, therefore, that a SPITS Project Assistant be appointed until 31 March 2003.

It was also proposed that project staff be permitted to work occasional extra hours as the work dictated, subject to the agreement of the Officer Working Group and within the constraints of the approved budget; that a programme of measures be instigated as set out in the Business Plan covering the areas listed in the appendix to the report; and that authority should continue to 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 per project.

RESOLVED that

(1) the Forum approves the appointment of a SPITS Project Assistant until 31 March 2003;

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

(3) 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.

6/02 FUTURE FUNDING SOURCE: INTERREG IIIb

A report was presented on Interreg IIIb which was a European Commission Community Initiative to encourage transnational co-operation on spatial development between national, regional and local authorities which ran until the end of 2006. Details were given in the report of North Sea Region Programme Priorities.

RESOLVED that

(1) that Interreg IIIb be investigated as a source of possible funding to implement the South Pennines Integrated Transport Strategy and appropriate partnerships; and

(2) a report on progress be presented to a future meeting of the Forum.

7/02 IMPLEMENTING THE BUSINESS PLAN: AN OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS SINCE SEPTEMBER 2001

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

8/02 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION WORKSHOP

In order to keep the South Pennine Integrated Transport Strategy up to date with significant developments in the field of transport and to review progress implementing the SPITS Business Plan 2000/2015, a public participation workshop was to be held on Thursday 2 May 2002 at the Agricultural Business Centre, Bakewell. The purposes of the workshop were to review the objectives of SPITS and to decide if the Business Plan needed significant reviewing in the light of developments in Government policy; additional transport elements which should be included in SPITS; how to continue with public participation; and how to take SPITS forward.

RESOLVED that

(1) a SPITS public participation workshop be organised for Thursday 2 May 2002 at the Agricultural Business Centre, Bakewell; and

(2) invitations to the workshop be extended to local authorities, special interest groups and other agencies, as well as Forum partners.

9/02 SPITS QUIET LANES PROJECT: PROGRESS REPORT

It was reported that external funding for the Quiet Lanes Project had been secured from the Countryside Agency in November 2001. Initial meetings with appropriate parish and town councils were being arranged to commence in February.

RESOLVED

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

(2) that a further progress report be made to the next meeting of the Forum.

10/02 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Peak Park Transport Forum should take place at 2 pm on Monday 24 June 2002.