Issue - items at meetings - Valley Gardens

Report of the Strategic Director, Place (copy attached).

1.         That Committee agrees that the principles established by the Valley Gardens Concept Scheme as outlined in this report should guide future improvements in and around Valley Gardens.

2.         That Committee agrees that further work should be undertaken, incorporating full public consultation, to develop the public realm aspects of the Concept Scheme, specifically the public parkland spaces and hard landscaped civic spaces.

3.         That Committee agrees that continued financial allocations to the Valley Gardens project should be made within the council’s Local Transport Plan capital programme to enable the continued development of the project, and that £100,000 should be allocated for this purpose in 2013/14.

4.      That Committee agrees that early consideration should be given to the preparation of bids for external funding that would assist in developing and implementing elements of the Valley Gardens proposals.

5.         That Committee agrees that a management team should be established to oversee consistent delivery of the Concept Scheme, and to ensure synergy between the proposals and surrounding schemes and policies.

65.1         The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director, Place that set out the principles for the Valley Gardens Concept Scheme. The report was supplemented by a presentation at the Committee.

65.2         Councillor West asked if the design brief presented to the Committee was the same as the one it had received previously in July 2012. In addition, he asked the Senior Project Manger to acknowledge the issue of traffic neutrality and the presence of elm trees.

65.3         The Senior Project Manager clarified the brief was substantially the same as the one presented to Committee in July for all but a few words. He supplemented that the elm trees were a constraint on where roads could be routed and the retention of the gyratory system was considered but this was not deemed practical.

65.4         Councillor West asked if a traffic reduction was considered in order to eradicate the need to build across the park.

65.5         The Senior Project Manager replied that this had not been specifically tested, but that Traffic Modellers had advised that reducing highway infrastructure to a single lane in each direction would likely have significant impact on traffic flow within Valley Gardens and dispersal of traffic onto alternative roads in the city. The Senior Project Manager stated that if required, the number of traffic lanes in the proposal could be reduced ahead of any construction. However, to achieve this, wider strategies would need to be implemented to reduce levels of traffic in Valley Gardens. These strategies, which would likely need to overcome issues such as clustering of car parks in the city centre, were beyond the scope of the Valley Gardens project being presented.

65.6         Councillor Robins stated he had found difficulty in visualising how he would drive from Edward Street to New England Road under the new proposals.

65.7         The Senior Project Manager explained that the journey would be made in much the same way as today. The Senior Project Manager confirmed that private vehicles would be able to enter sections of bus lane for local access, but that measures would be implemented to prevent private vehicles driving along the whole length of the bus lanes. 

65.8         Councillor Morgan noted that items 3.9 and 4.3 of the report highlighted that this was a long-term scheme and therefore needed cross-party support to deliver it effectively. Councillor Morgan stated the Labour & Co-Operative party’s support for the current scheme proposals and for the long-term enhancement.

65.9         The Chair agreed noting the recent announcement that applications to the Cycle Ambition City grant would need to demonstrate cross-party support as a condition.

65.10    Councillor Janio praised officers for the work they had conducted thus far. He agreed that consensus on a masterplan was needed from all parties. Councillor Janio noted that recommendation 2.5 referred to the establishment of a management team. He asked for clarification that this be formed by existing staff and budgets and not be a consultancy organisation.

65.11    The Head of Transport confirmed that this team would be formed by existing staff and there may be Member involvement.

65.12     Councillor Kennedy thanked Transport officers for work undertaken on the project. She agreed that cross-party support for a vision would be best for the project which, with its public realm and environmental improvements, had very exciting potential. The proposals would bring significant enhancement to an area that often gave the impression of neglect.

65.13    Councillor West stated that whilst he believed there were many good aspects to the proposed scheme which would deliver improvements, he had numerous concerns. Councillor West stated that he was uneasy about the impact of two lanes of traffic in the natural open spaces of Valley Gardens including a possible third stretch of road on Marlborough Place. Councillor West noted that he had checked the brief provided to Committee in July 2012 which he believed differed to the one presented to Committee at this meeting. Specifically, there was less traffic and more tranquillity and that the potential of the scheme had not been met with the current proposals. Councillor West added that whilst he appreciated that  aspects of the scheme had been consulted on, he believed that the specific details of the scheme, particularly the new elements, should be consulted on again as the public must have ownership of the Valley gardens scheme. Councillor West stated that he believed the scheme could be improved adding that because of the constraints of a traffic neutral scheme and the narrowing of green spaces, the current design would create little more than a central reservation.

65.14    Councillor Janio asked the Senior Project Manager if the proposals would lead to a significant loss of green space as described by Councillor West.

65.15    The Senior Project Manager replied that it was important to differentiate between quality and volume of green space. In terms of quality, the current plans would enhance the ambience, connectivity, safety, ecology and character of the area. In terms of quantity, and excluding new swales and trees on hardscaped areas, a scheme that included the realignment of the road to the west of Victoria Gardens south would lead to a reduction of around 7% in green space. Leaving the road in its current alignment would result in a 1% increase in green space. The Senior Project Manger added that the stated figures did not include the flexibility within the scheme to amend the design details at future points.

65.16    Councillor West formally moved the following amendments to the recommendations as shown below:

The existing recommendations 2.1 and 2.2 to be replaced with:

2.1    That Committee notes the Valley Gardens Concept Scheme proposals.

2.2      That Committee instructs officers to undertake a full public consultation on the Valley Gardens Concept Scheme proposals and to bring the results of the consultation back to a future Committee.

Recommendation 2.5 to be amended to read:

2.5       That Committee agrees that a management team should be established to oversee consistent development of the Concept Scheme, and to ensure synergy between the proposals and surrounding schemes and policies.

65.17    The motion did not receive a formal seconder and therefore, was not put to the vote.

65.18    Councillor Cox stated that he support the proposals. The overall vision was to a high standard and realistic should funding be achieved. Councillor Cox stressed the importance of as much cross-party support as possible as it was a long-term project and likely to be delivered over more than one administration. Councillor Cox added that the current design problems at Valley Gardens demonstrated that lessons needed to be learned in consistent delivery of such schemes over a number of administrations. Councillor Cox supplemented that he hoped funding would be forthcoming and investigated as much as possible.

65.19    Councillor Theobald expressed his support for the Concept Scheme and his thanks to the Senior Project Manager and his team for their work on the project thus far and how the design had appreciated or included a broad spectrum of opinion. Councillor Theobald believed that the Valley Gardens area was currently underused, in a very poor condition and lacking in smooth transition for pedestrians and cyclists.

65.20    Councillor Robins stated that the Concept Scheme was very good and essential in an area at the heart of the city.

65.21    The Chair thanked Members for their positive comments and the discussion. He added that whilst he appreciated the concerns raised, public engagement was ongoing which would help refine the scheme to resident’s priorities and preferences.

65.22    RESOLVED-   

1.         That Committee agrees that the principles established by the Valley Gardens Concept Scheme as outlined in this report should guide future improvements in and around Valley Gardens.

2.         That Committee agrees that further work should be undertaken, incorporating full public consultation, to develop the public realm aspects of the Concept Scheme, specifically the public parkland spaces and hard landscaped civic spaces.

3.         That Committee agrees that continued financial allocations to the Valley Gardens project should be made within the council’s Local Transport Plan capital programme to enable the continued development of the project, and that £100,000 should be allocated for this purpose in 2013/14.

4.      That Committee agrees that early consideration should be given to the preparation of bids for external funding that would assist in developing and implementing elements of the Valley Gardens proposals.

5.         That Committee agrees that a management team should be established to oversee consistent delivery of the Concept Scheme, and to ensure synergy between the proposals and surrounding schemes and policies.