Agendas, Minutes and Reports

Item 6.4

North Somerset Council

REPORT TO THE Planning and Economic Development Policy & Scrutiny Panel

Date of Meeting: 8 january 2007

Subject of Report: Kewstoke toll road

Town or parish: Weston-super-Mare and Kewstoke

Officer presenting: director of development and environment

Key Decision: no

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Planning and Economic Development Policy & Scrutiny Panel are invited to provide the Executive Member for Strategic Planning with their views on the reintroduction of the Kewstoke Toll Road Concession.

1. Summary of Report

The report sets out to respond to the questions raised by the Planning and Economic Development Policy & Scrutiny Panel at their meeting of 9^th August 2006 in relation to the Kewstoke Toll Road Concession.

2. Policy

Council aims of protecting and improving the environment, building safer communities, increasing prosperity, and continuous improvement are relevant to this issue.

3. Details

Background

The Executive Member for Strategic Planning in his decision note (No. 06/07 DE 362) requested that the Planning and Economic Development Policy & Scrutiny Panel be invited to provide their views in respect of the reintroduction of the Kewstoke Toll Road Concession prior to any formal decision being made.

At their meeting of 9^th August 2006 the panel considered a report in respect of the historic perspective and options in relation to the Kewstoke Toll Road Concession. The conclusion of this item was that the Executive and officers be recommended to undertake further work on the following issues, and reports be submitted to a further meeting of the Panel:

1. that Officers look at the difficulties and cost of adoption of the Toll Road;

2. that a more detailed report be submitted on the costs of implementing the toll;

3. that a detailed survey be carried out on road usage by vehicles;

4. that the “in-house” traffic count be made available to all consultees;

5. that there should be a period of full consultation with both Kewstoke Parish Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council and continued liaison;

6. that Officers ascertain how long before the Toll Road becomes a right of way by default; and

7. that Officers consider concessions for residents.

matters for consideration

Taking each of the above questions in turn:

3.1 That Officers look at the difficulties and cost of adoption of the Toll Road

The difficulties in respect of adopting the Toll Road were dealt with in the report to the Panel at their meeting of 30^th October 2006. In this report the view of Officers was that the road can be formally adopted by North Somerset Council.

3.2 That a more detailed report be submitted on the costs of implementing the toll

As requested by the Panel the estimated revenue and running costs for the operating period March to October have been reviewed. The summary of these costs is set out on Appendix A of this report.

The revised estimate is that to operate the service, including capital borrowing to respond to health and safety issues will cost in the region of £104,000 per year. This figure encompasses the following maintenance estimates:

Maintenance / Income Estimates	£ per annum
Tree Canopy Works (linked to open top bus route)	4,000
Street Cleansing (including mechanical sweeping and manual litter picking)	6,000
Highways Routine Maintenance (winter maintenance / patching / repair / safety barrier repair / sign cleaning)	10,000
Grand Total	20,000

3.3 That a detailed survey be carried out on road usage by vehicles

As a result of the discussions at the Panel at their meeting of 9^th August 2006, the automatic counter, which provides volumetric data, has been set to download on a monthly basis, the data that this unit has collected since May 2002 is summarised in Appendix B

In summary the 7-day 2-way average data flow is as follows, this is in relation two periods, the first being when the toll road concession was in operation (March 2002 to May 2004) and the second since the concession finished:

7 day 2-way average daily flow	Average count March 2002 to May 2004 inclusive	Average count Feb 2005 to November 2006 inclusive
12 hour	1757	2186
24 hour	2177	2643

Turning to the annual count, this was last conducted in May 2006 (scheduled to be repeated in May/June 2007), the data is summarised in Appendix C of this report. When looking at the collated data for the 2001 to 2006 counts the following can be determined:

· The number of cars using the Toll Road has increased since the Toll Road Concession was finished in 2004

· The number of buses and coaches has remained constant

· The number of light goods vehicles (small vans, transit vans and flat bed trucks) has doubled

· The number of heavy goods vehicles has remained constant

· From the 2006 monthly data traffic is higher in the summer months

3.4 That the “in-house” traffic count be made available to all consultees

The data was provided to both Weston-super-Mare Town Council and Kewstoke Parish Council on 21^st August 2006. In addition the most recent months automated traffic count data has been provided to both Councils.

3.5 That there should be a period of full consultation with both Kewstoke Parish Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council and continued liaison

As the Panel is aware the consultation with the two councils commenced prior to the Panels meeting on 9^th August 2006, a suite of questions, as detailed in the report to the Panel of 9^th August 2006 (Section 4) were sent to the respective Councils to obtain their views. Subsequent to this the Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Officers attended a Council meeting of Weston-super-Mare Town Council on 19^th September 2006. The feedback from the Town Council in respect of the Toll Road is as follows:

The Council have considered the points raised and have subsequently requested me to advise you of their response, which is as follows:-

North Somerset Council should formally adopt the Toll Road and not re-introduce the toll fees.

The Town Council look forward to hearing the outcome on this subject at the earliest convenience.

Officers attended a meeting of Kewstoke Parish Council held on 2^nd October 2006 at which the Toll Road Concession was discussed. A formal response has now been received from Kewstoke Parish Council, dated 21^st November 2006. In this correspondence the Parish Council have confirmed that they wish the toll to be returned.

The Parish Councils main reasons for this view are:

· Increasing traffic flow particularly on Kewstoke Road

· The perceived traffic calming effect of the Kewstoke Road

· Road Safety not only on the Toll Road, but also within Kewstoke

The Parish Councils views are that, North Somerset Council should:

· Agree to do a 2007 proper survey so that once and for all a Toll could be proved viable or not.

· Decide not to reintroduce a toll road and bring in road traffic personnel to provide a proper road management system for the Kewstoke roads and agree that with its community.

3.6 That Officers ascertain how long before the Toll Road becomes a right of way by default

As set out in the report to the Panel at their meeting of 30^th October 2006, Section 31 of the Highways Act refers to the "20 year rule"- i.e. if the public enjoys a route unimpeded for 20 years without interruption then it is presumed to be dedicated as a right of way. This can be prevented by appropriate signing and closing the road at least once a year, for example as per Marine Parade.

3.7 That Officers consider concessions for residents

Under the previous Toll Road Concession with First Management season ticket concessions were provided to Kewstoke Residents. This equated to a £1.10 saving i.e:

Kewstoke Resident Annual Permit ~ £4.40
North Somerset Resident Annual Permit ~ £5.50

This equates to a 20% saving for Kewstoke Residents, this saving has been applied to the cost modelling as set out in Section 5, Financial Implications, of this report.

It is the view of Officers that there should be equality of provision and as such one permit charge should apply as per the report to the Panel of 9^th August 2006.

4. Consultation

Consultation has taken place with Weston-super-Mare Town Council and Kewstoke Parish Council as detailed above.

5. Financial Implications

It is estimated that to operate the service, including capital borrowing to respond to the health and safety issues will now cost in the region of £104,000 per year, this is summarised on Appendix A of this report.

The income requirement for the 2006/07 year has been removed. However the requirement to maintain the road is still present, at the current time only tree maintenance and cleansing operations are being undertaken as the road has been the subject of extensive highways work in 2005/06 (in the region of £100,000).

In order to look to balance the cost of re-introducing the Toll Road Concession a review has been undertaken in respect of the impact upon the day tickets and permits, based upon a range of potential new charges. The results of this analysis are set out on Appendix D. In summary:

(a) If the permits were kept as detailed in table 1 (but with 3 years inflation applied) the operation would produce a net loss of £38,500 per annum

(b) If the permits were increased to £22.00 per annum for North Somerset Residents and £17.60 for Kewstoke Residents the operation would produce a net loss of £931 per annum.

(c) If the permits were increased to £24.50 per annum for North Somerset Residents and £19.60 for Kewstoke Residents the operation would produce a net profit of (£3,520) per annum

(d) If the permits were increased to £35.00 per annum for North Somerset Residents and £28.00 for Kewstoke Residents the operation would produce a net profit of (£22,210) per annum

The following assumptions have had to be made in respect of this financial modelling:

· The baseline audited ticket data for 2004, provided by First Management Group, has been used to determine the number of day and annual tickets

· That day tickets would be set at the following rates:

Motorbikes

Cars / vans single

Cars / vans return

Coaches / Commercial Vehicles

£0.50

£1.00

£3.00

· That the number of day tickets would be in the region of 69,000

· That Kewstoke Residents will receive a 20% reduction on the annual season ticket charge

· That the number of permits would be in the region of 2,000, made up of 1100 Kewstoke Residents and 900 North Somerset Residents

· The costs detailed do not include any management, contract monitoring or support costs as these will vary dependent upon the type of contract let

· That the cost of the health and safety works would be in the region of £71,250 and would be met by capital borrowing

· That the maintenance of the toll road will cost in the region of £20,000 per annum

6. RISK MANAGEMENT

Whilst the financial model makes various reasonable assumptions about usage (based on 2004 data from the then contractor), inevitably actual usage and permit purchases would vary from these assumptions, and there will be a complex (and currently unknown) interrelationship between prices and demand for trip tickets and season tickets. It is important to note the potential impact of these changes on the financial viability of the scheme, which, even with a significant increase in season ticket prices, produces only a marginal net profit. Appendix E presents a brief analysis of the main sensitivities. Given the marginal net profit made with season ticket prices of £19.60 and £24.50, it is likely that, as one of the objectives of the scheme is to cover costs that a higher season ticket pricing structure would be recommended.

Risk	Impact of Risk	Risk Control Measures
Reintroduction of the Toll Road Concession
Reduced use of the toll road, owing to residents and visitors unwilling to pay the new day and season ticket prices	Potential reduction in income which places the operation into a loss making position	Select a price that balances price and demand
Increased usage of the surrounding road network as people avoid the toll	Increased use of existing road network and longer journey times at peak time periods	Monitor road usage on both the Toll Road and surrounding road network and review road network in light of the increased vehicle usage
Continue to maintain as a private road without tolls
Sustaining the long term maintenance of the toll road	Decline in condition of the road	Ongoing bids for maintenance of road, to sit along side other corporate priorities
Increased usage of the toll road	Continued rise in the use of the toll road	Ongoing monitoring of traffic flows and volumes. Review of the traffic flows around the Kewstoke area
Adopt as a public highway
Sustaining the long term maintenance of the toll road	Decline in condition of the road	Maintenance of the road to be undertaken as part of the adopted highways network
Increased usage of the toll road	Continued rise in the use of the toll road	Ongoing monitoring of traffic flows and volumes. Review of the traffic flows around the Kewstoke area

7. Equality Implications

If applicable dealt with in section 3 of this report

8. Corporate Implications

If applicable dealt with in Section 3 of this report

9. Options considered

The three options open to the council as owner of the road are:

Option

Benefits of Option

Disadvantages of Option

Reinstate tolls at a high enough level to ensure that cost of collection is covered

· Financial contribution to the ongoing maintenance of the Toll Road

· Potentially reduced traffic volumes on this road during the day

· Potentially controlling speed at the point of the Toll

· Significant increase in costs of annual season tickets for minimal financial return

· Displacement of traffic onto other roads within the area

· Increased journey times and congestion

Continue to maintain as a private road without tolls

· Allows for future options to be considered

· Unrestricted access and egress between Kewstoke and Weston-super-Mare

· Funding of road subject to separate bids outside the adopted Highways Network

· Potential increase in usage (as currently observed)

Adopt as a public highway.

· Unrestricted access and egress between Kewstoke and Weston-super-Mare

· Considered in the wider context as part of the overall adopted Highways Network

· Secured funding as part of the Highways Network

· Funding of road subject to funding available as part of the overall management of the adopted Highways Network

· Potential increase in usage (as currently observed)

Author

Ian Edser, Group Manager Streets and Open Spaces

EXT 7509

Background Papers

Communication between Kewstoke Parish Council, Weston-super-Mare Town Council and North Somerset Council

Notes of meeting with Kewstoke Parish Council

Ticket Figures and Income 1998 to 2004 from First Management Group

Traffic Count Data

Appendix A

Revenue / Running Costs
	Staff Ticket Sales(G3) 36 Wks * 3	50,000
	Admin Staff - Passes(G3) 4 Wks * 2	3,000
	Stationery inc Tickets	1,500
	Rates/NNDR	7,000
	Cash Collection / Securicor	2,000
	Uniforms	1,000
	Signage	1,500
	Recruitment	2,000
	Phones	250
	Training	500
	Highway Maintenance	20,000
	Kiosk Insurance / Maintenance (future years)	4,000
	Utilities	1,000
	Cost of borrowing for set-up	10,688
	Total Revenue/Running (incl borrowing)	104,438

Appendix B

Automated Count

7day 2-way average daily flow

Appendix C

Annual Traffic Enumerator Count

Kewstoke Toll Road w/o Beach Road


				Weston-super-Mare Inner Cordon Counts

							Heavy Goods vehicles							2way
Date	Month	Pedal	Motor	Cars	Buses &	Light		Rigid			Artics		Total	12 Hour
		Cycles	Cycles		Coaches	Goods	2 Axle	3 Axle	4 Axle	3/4 Axle	5 Axle	6+ Axle	HGVs	Total
2000	May	24	28	1282	50	55	11	2	1	0	0	1	15	1430
2001	May	46	28	1496	39	113	8	4	0	2	0	0	14	1690
2002	May	22	18	1296	33	99	5	3	0	0	0	0	8	1454
2003	May	18	7	1304	26	101	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	1448
2004	May	35	17	1462	33	105	23	0	0	0	2	0	25	1642
2005	May	33	34	1724	38	147	12	2	0	0	0	1	15	1958
2006	May	48	42	2067	44	212	9	2	0	0	0	0	11	2376

Appendix D

Value for Money - Toll Road


06/07 Budget is £5,280 and is for capital charges only

Cost of Permit	North Somerset Resident	£22.00	£24.50	£35.00	Rates as Previous + inflation @ 2.5 % for 05/06 and 05/06 and 06/07
Cost of Permit	Kewstoke Resident	£17.60	£19.60	£28.00
		With Toll	With Toll	With Toll		No Toll
Costs of Works to get Toll up and Running		at Briefing Rates	at Other Rates	at Other Rates
		£	£	£	£	£
	Kiosk and Road lay out & Ticket Machine	71,250	71,250	71,250	71,250
		71,250	71,250	71,250	71,250	0
	Est Cost of borrowing @ 15%	10,688	10,688	10,688	10,688

Revenue / Running Costs
	Staff Ticket Sales(G3) 36 Wks * 3	50,000	50,000	50,000	50,000
	Admin Staff - Passes(G3) 4 Wks * 2	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000
	Stationery inc Tickets	1,500	1,500	1,500	1,500
	Rates/NNDR	7,000	7,000	7,000	7,000
	Cash Collection / Securicor	2,000	2,000	2,000	2,000
	Uniforms	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000
	Signage	1,500	1,500	1,500	1,500
	Recruitment	2,000	2,000	2,000	2,000
	Phones	250	250	250	250
	Training	500	500	500	500
	Highway Maintenance	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20000
	Kiosk Insurance / Maintenance (future years)	4,000	4,000	4,000	4,000
	Utilities	1,000	1,000	1,000	1,000
	Cost of borrowing for set-up	10,688	10,688	10,688	10,688
	Total Revenue/Running (incl borrowing)	104,438	104,438	104,438	104,438	20,000

Income
	If usage as per 2004 and fees agreed	(103,507)	(107,957)	(126,647)	(59,809)

Net cost/(income)		931	(3,520)	(22,210)	44,628	20,000

		-1%	3%	18%

Appendix E

Kewstoke Toll Road Charges - List of key variables that could have an impact on the revenue account if assumptions vary

	Variable	Current assumption	Income generated	Potential Change	Impact on net income
1	Number of Kewstoke Resident permits purchased @ £19.60	1,100	£21,560	Reduce by 10%	-£2,156



2	Number of North Somerset Resident permits purchased @ £24.50	900	£22,050	Reduce by 10%	-£2,205



3	Number of tickets purchased at 50p	5,837	£2,919	Reduce by 10%	-£292
4	Number of tickets purchased at £1	57,775	£57,775	Reduce by 10%	-£5,778