Report
to:
Lead Member for Transport and Environment
Date of
meeting: 21 November
2022
By:
Director of Communities, Economy and Transport
Title:
Community Match Schemes 2022/23
Purpose:
To seek approval for the proposed allocation of match funding to
community-led local transport improvement schemes identified in the
2022/23 programme
RECOMMENDATIONS: The
Lead Member is recommended to:
(1)
Agree that
£4,250 of match funding is allocated towards the Plumpton
Community Match safety improvement scheme for initial detailed
design work in 2022/23 and construction in 2023/24
(2)
Agree that
£5,000 of match funding is allocated towards the
Robertsbridge Community Match dropped kerbs and lining scheme for
initial detailed design work in 2022/23 and construction in
2023/24;
(3)
Agree that
£50,000 of funding is allocated towards the Frant A267
pedestrian crossing scheme which will be designed and delivered by
Frant Parish Council.
(4)
Delegate authority
to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to approve
the 50% match funding contribution for the schemes in
recommendations 1and 2, up to a maximum contribution of
£50,000 per scheme once the design and construction costs are
known.
(5)
Delegate authority
to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to agree the
terms and conditions of the grant funding agreement with Frant
Parish Council for the £50,000 grant from the Community Match
funding allocation towards the scheme as set out in recommendation
3.
1
Background Information
1.1.
The Community Match initiative
was launched by the County Council in 2014. The initiative offered
the opportunity for local communities in East Sussex (typically a
parish/town council or community group) to take forward schemes
identified as a local priority, but not assessed to be of
sufficient priority to be delivered using County Council funding
alone through the Council’s capital programme of local
transport improvements.
1.2.
The Community Match process
begins with a feasibility study to assist Parishes and communities
in identifying possible solutions to locally identified traffic or
transport issues and determining cost estimates. The feasibility
study is undertaken by East Sussex Highways and is funded by the
Parish/Town Council, residents’ group or organisation
promoting the scheme. Many potential schemes do not progress beyond
the feasibility stage as it becomes clear that the scheme is not
feasible or would be too expensive to deliver using Parish funding,
or there is not agreement among local residents and businesses
about the scheme proposals.
1.3.
If a Parish/Town Council or
community group support the measures suggested in the feasibility
appraisal, they can apply to the County Council for Community Match
funds to take the scheme forward to detailed design and
construction. The maximum financial input from the County Council
is £50,000 per scheme, which needs to be matched by the
Parish Council or community group. The feasibility appraisals are
only able to give approximate scheme costs and more detailed scheme
costs can be provided to applicants as more design work is
undertaken. As part of the Community Match funding applications,
the relevant County Councillors are asked whether they are
supportive of the proposed Community Match schemes in their
division.
1.4 As part of the
Community Match programme, the delivery of these schemes will help
contribute towards the County Council priorities of
making
best use of resources now and for the future and
keeping vulnerable people safe.
2
Supporting Information
Community Match schemes for 2022/23
2.1 A sum of
£100,000 has been allocated from the County Council’s
2022/23 Capital Programme for Local Transport Improvements to
match-fund improvement schemes of local importance through the
Community Match programme.
2.2 Although
there have been many Community Match feasibility studies requested,
only three applications have been received requesting funding to
take schemes forward. It is important that projects have strong
support from the local community and that they comply with relevant
County Council policies.
2.3 A summary
of the schemes, together with estimated total costs, community
contribution and Community Match Fund contributions, is shown
below. The community contribution will be at least 50% of the
detailed design and construction costs for all three schemes. The
final costs will likely vary from the current estimate once the
detailed design has been undertaken and the scheme fully costed.
Therefore, the level of Community Match Fund contribution allocated
to each project, with a maximum contribution of £50,000 per
project, and in parallel the level of community contribution may
change depending on the final cost. The County Councillor for each
of the schemes has indicated their support.
|
Scheme
|
Total cost
|
Community contribution
|
ESCC
Community Match Fund contribution
|
|
Plumpton Parish Council - Scheme to improve signage and
road markings along the Station Road approach to the Southdowns
junction to highlight presence of school and enhance road
safety.
The
scheme would be delivered through the East Sussex Highways
contract
|
circa £8,500
|
£4,250
|
£4,250
|
|
Salehurst & Robertsbridge Parish Council -
Knelle
Rd/Langham Rd Crossroads Traffic Improvements
(Robertsbridge).
Addition
of double yellow lines on the four corners of the Langham Road /
Knelle Road junction. New dropped kerbs and tactile paving on the
same four corners
The scheme
would be delivered through the East Sussex Highways
contract.
|
circa £10,000
|
£5,000
|
£5,000
|
|
Frant
pedestrian crossing A267. Contribution towards a section 278
agreement. Majority of funding from developer contributions and
Community Infrastructure Levy.
The
scheme design and delivery would be overseen and owned by Frant
Parish Council. Assets to be owned and maintained by
ESCC
|
Circa £250,000
|
£200,000
|
£50,000
|
Risks
2.4
Communities will be recharged their share of the detailed
design and construction work. In addition, for Community Match
schemes there is a notable risk around delivering schemes that
include speed limit or parking changes which require a Traffic
Regulation Order (TRO), and the increase in costs that comes with
delivering these types of schemes due to the additional resource
and administration required. If formal objections to TROs are
received and cannot be resolved by discussion with the objector,
they must be considered by Planning Committee. This process adds
both time and cost to the scheme.
Frant Parish
Council – proposed grant
2.5 Frant Parish
Council have applied for £50,000 Community Match funding for
a light-controlled pedestrian crossing to replace the existing
pedestrian island on the A267 near the Abergavenny Arms public
house. The scheme is estimated to cost in the region of
£250,000.
2.6 A pedestrian
crossing is a long-held aspiration of the Parish Council, for which
they received development contributions and funding from the
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for such a scheme of around
£200,000. Following discussions with the Parish Council on
the various options available to expedite the scheme’s
delivery, they resolved at their Parish Council meeting on 19
October 2022 that taking forward the detailed design and delivery
of the scheme themselves under a section 278 agreement with the
County Council, with a £50,000 contribution from the County
Council, was a more prudent way to deliver the scheme in a timely
fashion. This option means the same investment from the
County Council that they would have received, which is capped at
£50,000, if they had decided to ask the County Council to
deliver the scheme.
2.8 As a consequence,
the project design will be managed by Frant Parish Council, who
will also take on the liability for delivering the scheme, however
the design would need to be approved by the County Council before
construction and entering into the s278 agreement. As with
all highway schemes (including Community Match), the ownership,
maintenance and energy costs for the pedestrian crossing will be
taken on by the County Council’s asset management team
following completion of the works.
2.9 The Parish Council
will be required to enter into a grant funding agreement with the
County Council to enable the transfer, and ensure the appropriate
use, of the community match funding as a contribution towards the
delivery of proposed pedestrian crossing on the A267.
3 Conclusion and Reasons for
Recommendations
3.1 3.1
The Community Match programme
continues to provide the opportunity for town/parish councils,
local resident groups and organisations to secure match funding to
enable local priority schemes to be delivered which otherwise would
not come forward using County Council funding alone through the
capital programme of local transport improvements. From the
£100,000 allocation for 2022/23, there is sufficient funding
available to provide the community match funding requests to
deliver all three schemes that have submitted applications.
These schemes will help contribute towards delivering the County
Council’s priorities of making best use of resources now
and for the future and
keeping vulnerable people safe.
3.2 Therefore, the Lead
Member is recommended to allocate £4,250 of community match
funding to the safety improvement scheme in Plumpton, £5,000
to the dropped kerb and lining scheme in Robertsbridge and
£50,000 to the A267 scheme in Frant. It is recommended
that the Lead Member delegates authority to the Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport to approve the 50% match
contribution from the Community Match Fund, up to a maximum of
£50,000 once the design and construction costs are
known.
3.3 As Frant Parish
Council are proposing to take on the design and delivery of their
scheme themselves, it is recommended that the Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport is delegated authority to agree
the terms and conditions of a grant funding agreement with the
Parish Council in relation to the £50,000 Community Match
funding allocation.
Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport
Contact Officer:
Nicholas Mitchell
Tel. No. 07809 401749
Email: Nicholas.Mitchell@eastsussex.gov.uk
LOCAL
MEMBERS
Councillors Osborne,
Redstone, Standley.
BACKGROUND
DOCUMENTS
None