Agenda item

3 valid questions on notice have been received for a response at this meeting.

Question 1 - from Councillor Liam Bones

Can the Mayor give an update on the so called 'temporary' 50mph speed limit on the Coast Road and provide the date where she expects works to be complete and the speed limit returned to the national speed limit?

Councillor Hannah Johnson provided the following response:

In 2023, during routine highway inspections, concerns were raised about the condition of the vehicle crash barrier which is situated on the central reservation along the length of the A1058 Coast Road. As a safety precaution, a temporary 50mph speed limit was initially introduced to safeguard all highway users and to allow a specialist company to undertake a thorough condition assessment of the barriers. 

The detailed condition assessment was recently completed, and the associated report is due to be issued shortly. Our highway engineers have received some initial feedback which indicates that a number of barrier sections will likely require repair or replacement as they have reached the end of their effective lifespan. We are currently developing a programme of work and are to agree a start date for the works with our specialist contractor. In the interests of highway safety, the temporary speed limit will remain in place for the duration of the works and will be removed as soon as the repair work is complete.

The travelling public will be kept informed through our various communications, and information signs have been deployed on site to let drivers know that the speed limit is temporary.

Councillor Liam Bones asked the following supplementary question.

Can the Cabinet member confirm this is a temporary speed limit?

Councillor Hannah Johnson responded the following response:

There's one sign as you go onto the Coast Road at Billy Mill roundabout and

there's another sign as you come into North Tyneside from Newcastle telling people very clearly it's the temporary spend limit. I specifically asked for them after admittedly having the same thoughts myself when I saw the original speed limit signs so it's clear to motorists that they are temporary.

Question 2 – from Councillor Olly Scargill

"Parking in our estates is a real issue. Many grass verges are churned up in the wet weather, which looks dreadful and can become slippy and dangerous. Making some of these into parking spaces will prove cost effective in the long run. Can the Mayor outline what funding she will make available to convert more of the grass verges to parking spaces across Chirton Grange and the Lynn Estate?"

Councillor Hannah Johnson provided the following response:

Parking on grass verges is a national problem and is frustrating for both residents and the Council.  The cause of this is often down to the design and layout of older estates which were not designed for the current high levels of car ownership and the increased size of vehicles.

The conversion of grass to hard surfacing is undertaken occasionally by the Council but only where there are exceptional circumstances such as severe and repeated damage to grassed areas and where it may be causing a safety concern. The works can also be disproportionally expensive to undertake given the need for the re-grading kerb edges, integration with the existing highway as well as the potential risk for buried utilities (gas / water / electricity) which may lie close to the surface and need protecting or diverting.

In some instances, we have carried out an estate footpath maintenance programme, such as Hartburn Road in Cullercoats Ward. Vehicle Access Crossings have been extended. This is something we offer to our residents when we are carrying out a scheme and our construction teams are on site doing works.

Given the limited resources that the Council is awarded by the Government for the maintenance of the highway network, it is very difficult to justify diverting funding to verge parking schemes and this has to be balanced against other highway maintenance priorities.

Moreover, the Government and the Council have declared and are actively tackling a Climate Emergency and are encouraging residents to adopt more sustainable modes of travel such as walking, cycling and wheeling. As such, the hard surfacing of grassed verges is at odds with the Council’s policy objectives which seek to reduce reliance on private motor cars. 

The removal of grass and replacement with non-porous surface treatments also increases the risk of localised flooding and standing water on the highway. Moreover, the loss of incidental green space can also detract from the street scene and appearance of an area thus lowering the quality of place for our residents. Additionally, the removal of amenity grass is not always acceptable to all members of the community.

For these reasons, the Council has no plans to make additional funding available for grass verge hard paving.

Councillor Olly Scargill asked the following supplementary question.

I would appreciate if the mayor would meet me and some local residents so we can have a look at the problem which disproportionately affects Estates in on housing land and makes them look terrible, contributing to problems like anti-social behaviour and a lack of pride in in local areas.

Would the cabinet member be able to provide me with the last time a major investment was made into the Chirton Grange and Lynn Estates?

Councillor Hannah Johnson provided the following response:

We can certainly look into it and provide you with the information and I'd be more than happy to meet with you about it as well.

Question 3 - from Councillor Cath Davis

On 16 March Council agreed that the licencing committee would give consideration to the options available to the committee of adding a condition to Premises Licences to require the licence holder to provide transport home for staff working late what is the update on this as staff are still expected to travel home late at their own expense.

Councillor Karen Clark provided the following response:

A report was provided to Licensing Committee on 12 July 2023.  The specific condition that Council agreed would be explored cannot in fact, legally, be added to a premises licence.  The full report to Licensing Committee is available with the minutes of the meeting.

Councillor Cath Davis asked the following supplementary question.

Its concerning that you know some staff who are quite young are actually being asked to travel home late at night um when the taxis you know have expense of a taxi or sometimes you know having to travel, I'm just thinking the safety of residents I just wondered if there's any way that the council can consider this?

Councillor Karen Clark provided the following response:

Council officers do go out and visit premises, for example the pub watch visits Etc, and they do give advice to license holders around staff safeguarding and risk assessments, but it is the decision of the employer if they were to provide Transport home for employees. Unfortunately, there isn't anything the local

Authority can do legally.