Issue - meetings

Councillor Gary Sumner, the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, and Councillor Maureen Penny, the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment, along with the Corporate Director for Communities and Housing submitted a joint report to respond directly to concerns raised by local residents, by petition, to the Nythe Road/Oxford Road Capacity Enhancement Scheme (Draft Council Minute 45, 2019/2020 refers). The joint report outlined the benefits of the scheme, which is being delivered as a part of mitigation requirements for the New Eastern Villages (NEV) development.

Councillor Sumner introduced the draft report and requested that paragraph 1.3 be deleted as this was retained in error from an earlier draft, to which Cabinet consented.

Councillor Russell Holland, Cabinet Member for Finance, Education, and Skills spoke as a ward councillor about the concerns of residents but the greater investment that had been secured for the transport infrastructure. Councillor Dale Heenan, Cabinet Member for the Town Centre, noted the need to make the changes to ensure traffic kept flowing.

Councillors Jim Grant and Bob Wright asked a number of questions relating to:

·        Why the Council was not widening some existing roads that had the land to permit this,

·        The pattern of traffic flows,

·        The degree of concern felt by residents at the proposals affecting Oxford Road, and

·        The lack of improvements reported by residents when major works were undertaken at Bruce Street Bridges.

Councillor Gary Sumner responded at the meeting.

Resolved: -That, in light of the residents’ petition and Council’s resolution, the Corporate Director of Communities and Housing in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment, be authorised to proceed with delivering the scheme as it relates to the Oxford Road/Nythe Road junction as approved by Cabinet on July 2019 (Cabinet Minute 21, 2019/20 refers) and summarised in the body of the report

The reasons for the decision and alternative options are as set out in the report to the meeting.