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ITEM EX7 - ANNEX 1

EXECUTIVE – 23 DECEMBER 2003

WITNEY INTEGRATED TRANSPORT AND LAND USE STRATEGY

Consultants Llewelyn-Davies were jointly commissioned by the County, District and Town Councils in 1996, to carry out the Witney Integrated Transport and Land Use Study. The outcome of this work was a recommended Strategy, which comprised of a package of measures that would help to reduce the reliance on the private car, improve the vitality and viability of the town centre and improve the environment. The Strategy proposed strengthening parking management (via the introduction of parking charges), pedestrianisation, bus priority in parts of the town, cycle and pedestrian facilities and Park and Ride feasibility and site investigation. However, in 1997 the District and Town Councils were not prepared to support a Transport Policies & Programme submission based on this recommended Strategy, because of concerns regarding the introduction of parking charges, pedestrianisation and environmental work costs, likely traffic impacts and the need for further public consultation.

Following further work and discussion a revised Witney Integrated Transport Strategy was developed and agreed at the County Council’s Environmental Committee in May 1998. The Strategy included parking management (using two-hour maximum stay in the short stay car parks and strict enforcement), pedestrian priority in the town centre, bus priority facilities in the town centre and a Park and Ride feasibility and site investigation. This Strategy formed the basis of a TPP package bid to Central Government in July 1998. However, this package bid was not successful as the Government Office for the South East required much stronger parking management stating that the "availability of free parking close to the town centre must be considered as a serious deficiency in the Strategy".

In December 1999 the County Council’s Environmental Committee resolved that it was agreeable to considering the effects of the District and Town Councils’ parking strategy for Witney subject to the agreement of those Councils to use monitoring procedures with agreed success criteria based on Local Transport Plan requirements. The Committee also resolved to instruct officers to develop a range of complementary sustainable transport measures for Witney for possible inclusion in the Councils’ future Integrated Transport Strategies programme and Local Transport Plan (LTP).

In December 2000 funding was allocated from the 2001/02 County Council Capital Programme for the implementation of transport measures in Witney. However due to the indeterminate position of WITS, it was not felt possible to develop a comprehensive programme of schemes.

To enable a programme to be identified and additional funding allocated, the Strategy needed to be revisited and agreed by all three Councils. It was therefore agreed by the County Council’s Environmental Committee on 27 June 2001, that "the Witney Integrated Transport and Land Use Strategy Joint Steering Group should be reconvened to oversee the process of the review of the Witney Integrated Transport and Land Use Study". The Joint Members’ Steering Group comprises three County Councillors, three District Councillors and one Town Councillor and was reconvened in January 2002. The purpose of the Steering Group was to review the position of the Witney ITS and agree a way forward both for the implementation of agreed schemes for 2002/03 and for revisiting aspects of the earlier work which have not had joint agreement. Ultimate responsibility will rest with the County Council’s Executive, the District Council’s Cabinet and Witney Town Council for the approval of the Strategy recommended by the Joint Members’ Steering Group.

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