Issue - meetings

To receive an update from A Waller (Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service) representative of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership.

Alex Waller from the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority attended to provide a verbal update on the future provision of road safety in Cheshire East. Referring to a previous update provided at the meeting held on 15 July 2010, it was explained that whilst a comprehensive response had been promised to follow from this, little detail had emerged regarding the future of road safety in Cheshire East. As a result, it was confirmed that this update would only be able to outline the possible changes that could occur.

Prior to engaging with this, a quick recap of the current arrangements was reported. It was explained that local authorities currently had a number of statutory responsibilities with regards to road safety. Indeed, the 1988 Road Traffic Act Section 39 detailed these as follows:

Each local authority must prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety and may make contributions towards the cost of measures for promoting road safety taken by other authorities or bodies.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, in pursuance of their duty under that subsection each local authority—

(a) Must carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or parts of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area,

(b) Must, in the light of those studies, take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents, including the dissemination of information and advice relating to the use of roads, the giving of practical training to road users or any class or description of road users, the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of roads for which they are the highway authority (in Scotland, local roads authority) and other measures taken in the exercise of their powers for controlling, protecting or assisting the movement of traffic on roads, and

(c) In constructing new roads, must take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to reduce the possibilities of such accidents when the roads come into use.

It was explained that at the current time the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership (CSRP) receives funding from the four Cheshire authorities to meet these requirements. Attention was drawn to the fact that this had been a useful model because there had been logic to there being one central analyst who then distributed money to the relevant areas in a targeted way.

It was reported however, that funding was likely to be withdrawn from the CSRP by at least one authority after March 2011. In this reduced funding environment, it would be likely that the CSRP would take on a different guise, with a heavier focus on operating road safety cameras leaving the other statutory function to the respective local authorities. In order to circumvent this funding gap, it was explained that one possible option that was available would be include a road safety responsibility in any highways contract tender. Alex Waller confirmed that if this option was to be pursued  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71