Members of the public are invited to raise questions or issues, either at the meeting or in advance, to the Wirral West Constituency Manager, Jane Morgan (Tel: 0151 929 7706 or by email janemorgan@wirral.gov.uk)

The Chair invited questions from members of the public upon matters that were relevant to the Wirral West Constituency and he indicated that a number of questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting.

·  A member of the public, Mr John Durrant, representing the Wirral Environmental Network, highlighted his concern with regard to the Dee Estuary and in particular, to the shoreline at Thurstaston being subject to tidal erosion. He questioned whether Wirral Council and its neighbouring local authorities should work together to turn the estuary into a Lakeland and to link Wirral by road with North Wales.

o  The Council’s Health, Safety and Resilience Manager, who had responsibility for coastal management referred to the Coastal Management Plan, which was available by way of the Council’s website. This was a 50 year plan, the current version having been approved by the Cabinet in 2010, and covered the whole of Wirral’s coastline and all relevant agencies were signatories to it. The Constituency Manager proposed to provide a copy of the document to the questioner and any areas of concern could then be raised direct with appropriate Council officers.

·  A question was asked by Mrs Fiona Johnson as to why the Number 138 bus service was no longer running, it being a valuable link between West Kirby, Hoylake, Moreton, Liscard and New Brighton. Members also expressed their concern that this service had been stopped and Councillor Hale advised that he was awaiting a response to an enquiry he had made to the Leader of the Council, Merseytravel now being a part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

o  The Constituency Manager proposed to make enquiries on behalf of the Constituency Committee and to notify Members of the outcome.

·  A Pensby resident, Mr John Cranny, enquired whether the Committee would consider the provision of bike stands in the vicinity of the shops on Pensby Road, near Fishers Lane.

o  The Chair indicated that such a request would seem to fit well with the criteria for the provision of grant funding. He asked the Constituency Manager to arrange for the request to be considered as part of the budget allocation process for the improvement of road safety and promotion of active travel and health (see minute 7 ante).

·  A question was asked by Mr Andrew Hodgson as to whether a reduced speed limit of 20mph could be imposed in parts of the centre of West Kirby, on the basis of improving both road safety and promoting active travel and health.

o  The Chair introduced Councillor Stuart Whittingham, who was the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways and Transport. Councillor Whittingham proposed to liaise with the Council’s traffic management officers, who would assess the suitability of the proposal. Subject to officers recommendations, it could then be considered as part of the process for the allocation of the Committee’s road safety budget

·  A resident of the Upton area, Mr Damian McGregor, had submitted questions (i) as to why safety barriers had been removed with the introduction of new traffic lights at the Upton By-Pass; (ii) why were footways next to the roadway re-sited; and (iii) with regard to the provision of yellow lines as part of the junction set up.

o  David Rees, the Council’s Road Safety Manager, outlined the content of a written response had been sent to the questioner. The introduction of traffic lights had been in response to an independent safety audit and he confirmed that officers would keep the situation under review.

There were no proposals to erect a pedestrian guardrail along the full length of the new footways adjacent to the by-pass. The pedestrian guardrail was erected to guide pedestrians to a specific location where needed and did not form a vehicle safety barrier system. A footway adjacent to a busy carriageway with a speed limit of 30mph without a guardrail was not dissimilar to other locations on the borough, for example Woodchurch Road which had a busy 4 lane carriageway. The existing pedestrian guardrail was to remain insitu on the verges to the north side of the by-pass which would prevent pedestrians crossing over the by-pass and thus directing them to the proposed pedestrian controlled crossing island. The independent Road Safety Audit carried out and approved for the scheme during the design process did not highlight the lack of guardrail as a safety issue and therefore it was not mentioned in the audit.

With regard to the re-siting of the footway, the proposed location of the new footway adjacent to the carriageway on the south side of the junction would lead to the new pedestrian refuge facility to Houghton Road and thus onto the controlled pedestrian crossing facility on the By-Pass. This new footway was in addition to the existing footpath located at the back of verge, which was to remain.

There were currently no proposals for additional yellow lines on Houghton Road, but the operation of the junction would continue to be monitored. Whilst there were large amounts of yellow lines elsewhere on the estate (New Hey Road and roads off) these went in many years ago and the current approach was not to favour blanketing an area with yellow lines unless absolutely necessary.

In response to a further question from a Member, he stated that the guardrails were in a very poor condition and had been recycled.

·  A resident referred to The Open Golf Championship and requested details of what, if any, payments had been made to the Council by The R&A, to cover the significant costs involved in Wirral hosting the event.

o  The Council’s Health, Safety and Resilience Manager confirmed that no specific funding had been provided by The R&A. However, the large number of visitors who were expected to attend the Championship would provide a clear economic benefit to Wirral, in terms of spend in local bars, restaurants and shops.

The Chair commented also that, in addition to the economic benefits, The Open presented an opportunity to showcase Wirral to a global audience and, hopefully, to attract future investment. He was proud that The Open was taking place in Wirral and praised the work undertaken by Council officers to ensure the event was a success.

·  A resident asked whether the Council could cut 500 jobs, as recently reported, and still maintain essential services; and whether the Council was out of touch with its constituents.

o  Councillor Tony Smith, Cabinet Member – Children and Family Services commented that the Council was in the financial position it was in because of cuts in grant by central government. The Chief Executive was working hard to ensure that a balanced budget could be set and it was hoped that the level of savings required could be achieved by way of voluntary severance/redundancy. The Cabinet was fully aware of the impact on Wirral residents and did not choose to be in the position of having to make such severe cuts in spending.

·  A local resident, on behalf of the Woodchurch Trust sought clarification of a number of matters –

(i)  in respect of the Committee’s Constitution

o  The Chair confirmed that the Committee was properly constituted and that the Constituency Manager would be able to provide copies of the document, on request.

(ii)  road repairs in the vicinity of Hoole Road, Woodchurch

o  Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Cabinet Member – Highways and Transport provided an explanation of the type of asphalt treatment that had been used in the area. Council officers were monitoring the condition of the road surface and any further works would be followed up.

(iii)  money loaned by the Council to other local authorities

o  Members commented that the Leader of the Council had recently made a statement on the significant benefit to Wirral of safe, low risk lending to other local authorities. Councillor Whittingham agreed to investigate the matter raised and to provide a written response to the questioner in due course.

(iv)  the provision of a youth hub at Woodchurch Leisure Centre

o  A Member confirmed the information that had been provided at the last meeting of the Committee that the location of the Youth Hub in central Birkenhead was because the land had been provided free of charge by the Fire Authority and it had excellent transport links from all over Wirral.

·  A resident requested an update in relation to the development of a project proposal in response to a Cabinet Office funding opportunity aimed at supporting older people and reducing hospital admissions during the winter months.

o  The Constituency Manager referred to her Wirral West Constituency Committee Budget 2014/2015 report (see minute 7 ante), which highlighted the opportunity that had arisen. The outcome of the Cabinet Office bid was not yet known but, if successful, consultation would take place with local groups on how best to take the project forward.

·  A West Kirby resident referred to the review of on-street parking restrictions in West Kirby and, subject to the safety requirements at junctions, questioned whether some short term parking could be allowed to benefit local businesses, where there were double lines at present.

o  The Chair agreed that there had been an urgent need for a review of parking in West Kirby. The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport commented that a Scrutiny Review on Parking had been undertaken, which had brought forward recommendations to the Cabinet. The Council’s Road Safety Manager commented that he would consider the results of the review and provide a response to the questioner and to the Committee.

·  A resident questioned how many Councillors would be getting complimentary tickets to The Open Golf Championship

o  The Chair confirmed that he had received an invitation to attend and would be pleased to support such a prestigious event in Wirral. It would be a matter for other Members to declare any gifts or hospitality they were offered.

·  A resident of Irby referred to the difficulty that was faced by children of Irby Primary School when trying to undertake cycling proficiency lessons, because of the volume of traffic they encountered when attempting to cross roads. He asked whether assistance to schools in the area could be provided by the Committee.

o  The Constituency Manager agreed to liaise with the questioner to consider what assistance, if any could be provided.