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Minutes of Totnes Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group
Wednesday 20 January, Totnes Guildhall, 7pm - 9pm
Present - Thea Platt, Tony Whitty, Chris Balch, Peter Rees, Robert Vint, Jacqi Hodgson, Andy Garner, Graham Swiss, Teresa Lakeman, John Green, Helen Gilhespy, Richard Jackson (Devon CC)
Apologies - Mary Coughlan-Clarke, Chantelle Norton, Ian Franklin
Chair - Paul Bennett
Task/Issues / DetailMinutes of last meeting / · Approved
· No general matters of note
Briefing on Devon County Council policy on Highways and Transport (Richard Jackson, Senior Highways Development Officer) / · For further details, please refer to Richard’s notes which are attached at the end of this document
· Richard gave an update of where the highways policy currently stands and a summary of what has been achieved so far, namely:
Ø A pedestrian crossing on Plymouth Road
Ø Totnes station forecourt
Ø Eco-cars scheme
Ø Electric bikes
Ø Bob the Bus community transport
· Richard then spoke of the broader strategy of the DCC, which included:
Ø Noting that the new bypass is cutting journey times by up to 20 minutes
Ø Suspects trends might change in terms of which route commuter traffic will take
Ø Investigations on traffic through Totnes shows 70% is commuter traffic (within peak hours)
· Paul asked if the Council had a strategy for dealing with the through traffic - Richard responded that the DCC currently has no strategy regarding the through traffic in Totnes (A385) they will be looking at this in the future if there is ever investment for this type of research but historically there hasn’t been a steady stream of investment into this area
· Peter felt there was a reluctance to do more surveys and pointed out there are big gaps in the data. Richard responded that they will continue to look at data but that trends change all the time
· Roberts concern is that if we are to get S106 money for future sites we need to flag any highway issues ASAP
· Chris stated that the DCC should be taking a broader view on the traffic flow around the county, looking into where people live and work and the impact of this on the flow of commuter traffic. It needs strategic approach if the issue of congestion is to be addressed
Task/Issues / Detail
Briefing on Devon County Council policy on Highways and Transport (cont.) / · Jacqi wondered if better rail links could be the solution to the problem and that improvements of the alternatives to driving could be the key
· Chris agreed we need to make Totnes a town that becomes less reliant on driving - make it a cycling town
· Peter and Robert were tasked to work with the transport steering group as a Travel Plan Partnership to:
Ø propose updates to the town councils prioritised list of transport projects;
Ø propose how a revised list be agreed with local authorities
Ø To draft a job description for a Green Travel Plan Coordinator for Totnes and strategy for funding the post from S106 contributions in preparation for the appointment of a coordinator
· Robert was keen to ensure that all policies join together - Totnes on the Move, the Neighbourhood Plan and the DCC plans and wants to establish an active working relationship with the DCC to prioritise matters. This will include the creation of a new post, a Green Travel Plan coordinator
· Richard agrees in principle that individual projects fit within the overall framework and that we need to appoint a travel plan person to coordinate all projects/ parties
· Richard confirmed there is £570,000 left to spend overall
· On the subject of the resurfacing of The Lamb and Heath’s Way, Richard advised these roads are not being resurfaced out of this budget
· Robert noted that Ross Kennerley is trying to work with towns to come up with a priority list of projects – and this is the route that DCC should be taking in coming up with a solution to the current transport issues
· Richard offered to circulate the diagrams he brought along to the meeting which included the cycle improvement plan and the pedestrian crossing plan (Action: Robert and Peter to confirm what is useful to circulate)
· Tony asked what help is there available from the highways dept of DCC to NP groups in terms of helping NP teams realising what is viable. Richard is happy to help facilitate this and confirmed that this kind of support is a key part of his role
Coordinator update / Thea circulated an update. Key points:
· Public consultation data is now up on the website
· Results of the business survey have been analysed
· Key findings paper from the November event still needs producing
Task/Issues / Detail
Coordinator update (cont.) / · Thea is starting a process of all key consultation data and doing a cross analysis – to produce a document that will aid to underline all the key messages – this will be a very useful starting point for the vision and objectives meeting
· Sites meeting is arranged for 28th January
· Energy consultation is being run with Dartington on the 19 March at Birdwood House
· Budget (locality grant) is almost spent
· There is still £800 we can apply for - Thea recommends putting this towards running costs
· Tony – NP budget was discussed at a meeting this morning – some councillors felt the NP was over-running and there is concern about the sites issue and whether this will delay the completion of the plan
· Paul suggested that the inclusion of sites means an enormous amount of work will be required on the evaluation
· Graham - SHDC said that all the sites that have been submitted through the SHLAA process have been assessed.
· Tony asked what is going to be decided at the sites meeting
· Thea replied that Dave Chapman is going to talk through the process that needs to be taken from here on and then a decision needs to be taken as to whether we can do it bearing in time the cost and time implications
· Whether there are any other avenues that can be used to carry forward the sites piece is also to be considered
Task Group lead update / Transport update (Peter)
· Transport have been working on the visioning
· Transport are having another meeting with Totnes on the Move in the next couple of weeks
Public open spaces (Tony)
· Tony has set up an electronic survey and is in the process of updating all his contacts and asking them to disseminate them
· They have been working with KEVICC and Tadpool on their development strategies
· There is a workshop planned in Follaton in February on the management of current and future open spaces in order to gain a strategic overview on this matter (all organisations who are involved in open spaces in the town to be involved in this event)
· Work on footpaths is required. All footpaths need to be put on the definitive maps otherwise landowners can seize the land
· Money has been raised by Living Projects to get another half pipe for the skate park
Task/Issues / Detail
Task Group lead update (cont.) / Further updates included:
· Thea updated the group on the subject of who will head up the Economy Task Group - announcing it will be Mary
· The Environment Group had a meeting last week and working towards the workshop
· Culture and Heritage – the Town team had a meeting last week where data from the workshop was analysed. They are also trying to establish priorities and work on visioning
· Chris stressed we need to look at the setting and character of Totnes from a landscape and heritage point of view and it was questioned whether this should be an issue that is taken on by the Culture and Heritage Task Team?
· All agreed that the NP needs to include something on the actual setting and character of Totnes which so easy to forget but so integral to the spirit of the town
AOB / · Jacqi asked at the last council meeting for £5k investment to keep driving forward the NP
· Funding from the SHDC can be put in place to support NP teams across the region - networking events. One example of this is the event that ReGen are running in February on energy
· Jacqi mentioned the ‘Treeconomics’ which looks at the economic value of trees in towns (how it influences the amount of people who visit the town to shop, how much people spend) looked at tree canopy / cover and how it can improve areas
· Robert asked Graham what he thinks the best way of working together on sites is if there is not the capacity to work in depth on looking at sites being brought forward
· Chris requested that large scale maps should be brought into the sites meeting to aid the session.
A draft discussion note for our meeting with Richard Jackson on the 20th January:
1. The main issue facing the NP:
1.1 Totnes faces the prospect of a declining future as a market town and, having lost several of its larger employers, is at risk of becoming mainly a retirement and dormitory town, dependant on seasonal tourism to support its economy. To remain vibrant and successful it needs to continue to attract its day visitors and to encourage culture based tourism in increased numbers. Traffic congestion is the overriding constraint for the town - detracting from its role as a market town - compromising its attractiveness, its rural scale and the use made of its attractions.
1.2 Given:
a, That the A385 through Totnes already runs at capacity for significant periods each day: That the number of households in the locality is about to increase by at least 17% and elsewhere in the corridor by at least 15%:
b, That much of the scope for further development within the town lies along its A385 corridor:
c, That traffic to the town as a rail head is also increasing and likely to increase further:-
Appropriate counter measures are needed if congestion and pollution is not to get worse and the environment and economy suffer.
2. The A385 Corridor:
There has been much talk of a strategy for the A385 corridor.
2.1 The County’s own transport strategy document for Totnes acknowledges the problem and proposes several quite sensible strategies to address them. Unfortunately, as highlighted by the inspector at the Riverside Development enquiry, the strategies lack proposals or the funds necessary to make them work.
2.2 In successive planning applications recently, the highway authority has taken an incremental rather than a strategic view, viz., that any one development, taken in isolation, is not going to add to current traffic flows by more than 5% and, provided access is possible, there are no grounds to justify refusal. A similar argument was used to dismiss the effect on pollution of such development and to dismiss the need for further monitoring.
Time for a more strategic approach.
3. Local Panning:
3.1 How should the District decide where to allocate future development – how much more development should go to the town, how much elsewhere?
3.2 We are concerned that where Totnes is concerned an increasingly re-active approach is being advocated by some at the County. The lack of a view or proposals to help the transport system in Totnes cope with growth in a sustainable manner is worrying and of no help to Local Planning.
3.3 Without viable infrastructure proposals, there can be no proper costing done and no understanding of the consequences of doing nothing in the face of further development.
4. Data:
As to our request for more or better data: Data collection and travel modelling have both been casualties of the cut backs. We have some count data the reliability of which is questionable. We need more and better data if we are to plan for and recognise what are likely to be small changes in travel behaviour.
4.1 Some Questions:
Can we have help to review the available data and surveys done where there are gaps? Given the seasonal nature of our problems, are there dates and times for surveys that are more representative than others.
In particular:
a, Counts are said to show that traffic on the A385 at Station Rd has not changed in recent years. If true, by how much have delays and congestion increased?
b, Are there screen line counts available to show and compare the change in traffic at the two bridge crossings and on St Katherines Way.
c, Are cordon counts available to show the change in traffic approaching and leaving Totnes, including on Plymouth Rd, Barrack Hill and more accurate counts on the Western by-pass south of Cistern Street.
d, Is there useful data available from traffic models. In particular, what has been the effect of the Kingskerswell by-pass?
e, What is the proportion of through traffic? What are the numbers terminating?
f, How many journeys are made to and from the station?
g, What data is available on bus usage?
h, What are the trends for cycle use.
5. Section 106:
5.1 The Town Council has its own transport strategy for the town – This includes specific schemes, many of which are eligible for section 106 funding.
5.2 One of the tasks for the NP is to add to, validate and prioritise these proposals, a process that, to be meaningful, will need support from the highway authority. There is little sign of such support being available.