NLP Board Minutes - 24 January 2007 (1)

North Lanarkshire Partnership

Minutes of the Board meeting

Held on Wednesday 24 January 2007 

Present:	Cllr Jim Smith, Chair	NLC
	Gavin Whitefield	NLC
	Mary Castles	NLC
	Chief Superintendent Anne McGuire	Strathclyde Police
	Hugh Logan	Motherwell College
	David Collie	Jobcentre Plus
	June Vallance	NL Voluntary Sector
	Roger Popplewell	Communities Scotland
	David Smith	Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
	Crawford Kirkwood	NL Voluntary Sector
	Liz Connolly	Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire
Attending:	Stephen Kerr	NHS Lanarkshire
	Graham Johnston	NHS Lanarkshire
	Sandie Mackay	NLC
	Graham Mackay	NLC
	David McDove	NLC
	Karen McNiven	NLC
	Laura Mill	NLC
	Kirsty Morrison	Steer Davies Gleave (Consultant)
	Simon Neilson	Steer Davies Gleave (Consultant)
Apologies:	Colin Sloey	NHS Lanarkshire
	Cllr Jim McCabe	NLC
	Gregor McKenzie	NLC
	Nicky Munro	Scottish Executive
	Ken Corsar	NHS Lanarkshire
	Tim Davison	NHS Lanarkshire

Introduction and Welcome

Councillor Smith welcomed all to the meeting, particularly,  Kirsty Morrison and Simon Neilson, Consultants from Steer Davies Gleave who were in attendance to  deliver a presentation on the North Lanarkshire Transport Strategy.   Also welcomed to the meeting were Graham Mackay, Head of Roads and Transportation and David McDove, Team Leader, both Planning & Environment Department.  Councillor Smith also welcomed Karen McNiven and Laura Mill who recently took up post in the Chief Executive's Office.

1.                  North Lanarkshire Local Transport Strategy

Kirsty Morrison, Steer Davies Gleave, Consultants,  delivered a detailed presentation on the "Local Transport Strategy". The meeting heard that this was the second stage of the consultation process which Steer Davies Gleave were commissioned to undertake, seeking the views of stakeholders and public on local transport issues.

Views were also sought via -

·         the previous NLP Board

·         the  6 Local Area Partnerships

·         stakeholder and public questionnaires

·         on-street surveys (where over 500 members of the public were asked for their views on local transportation issues)

The meeting also heard that to date, review of the previous LTS has been undertaken;  reviews of national, local and regional policies;  and analysis of NL's population, employment and travel patterns.

Detailed statistics were also highlighted including – NL's people; economy; industry of employment, deprivation and inequality; and travel to work methods/distance;

NL's draft Transport Strategy should focus on the following key areas –

·         Peak hour traffic congestion

·         Access to employment/health/education

·         Safety and security when travelling on the transport network (including lone travel)

Consideration should also be given to -

·         School safety

·         Investment in additional cycle routes/lanes (and promote off-route cycling)

·         Access to leisure facilities by public transport

·         "Fast links" to areas including Strathclyde Business Park, Eurocentral and regeneration areas (possible consideration to "Park and Ride" facilities; minibus hire, car share)

The timescale for completion of the draft strategy will be approximately May 2007 and details will be circulated to the NLP Board thereafter.

There was a suggestion that a "Transport Working Group" be established across partner agencies to drive forward this agenda.

The draft transport strategy will be developed in conjunction with the Corporate Plan and Community Plan 2008-2012.

Cllr Smith extended thanks for this informative presentation and invited comments/questions.

2.         Apologies

Apologies were noted from Cllr Jim McCabe, Gregor McKenzie NLC, Colin Sloey, Tim Davison, Ken Corsar, NHS, Nicky Munro, Scottish Executive.

3.         Minutes of the last meeting (15 November 2006)

Agreed as an accurate record.