Agenda item

(a)  That the conditional offer of the Berkshire Local Transport Body (BLTB) to provide £1.324m for Harrow Market to Meadfield Rd and £1.033m from Meadfield Rd to Elmhurst Rd from the Local Growth funding stream towards the cost of these improvement works be welcomed;

(b)  That it be agreed in principle the design of the scheme as outlined in Section 5 subject to the development of the designs through the detailed design process; and

(c)  That further discussions be approved with the trustees of the Langley War Memorial Field and the Parks Team about small boundary adjustments on the eastern side of the field to accommodate the new highways design.

The Lead Member for Sustainable Transport & Environmental Services introduced a report that sought approval to progress implementation of the next stages of the Langley High Street Corridor Highway improvement works.

The proposed scheme was an extension to the original rail station accessibility and Station Road/High Street/ Langley Road junction improvement scheme in Langley.  It aimed to provide a resilient network infrastructure to support planned regeneration in the area and to reduce congestion from Meadfield Road Junction along High Street which would reduce the negative environmental impacts.  Hollow Hill Lane was expected to close in the future as part of the Western Rail Link to Heathrow.  The traffic impacts had been modelled and the proposed new highway layout for the area had been designed to mitigate the impacts and accommodate the predicted traffic growth.  The Council had been successful in securing a significant external funding contribution of £2.4m from Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

In response to points raised from the Cabinet, the Service Lead Major Infrastructure Projects explained the work being undertaken to address air quality issues as part of the scheme and set out the consultation arrangements, which would largely take place virtually during August.  Lead Members commented on the importance of engaging local businesses, as well as residents, to ensure their issues were understood and considered in the final design of the scheme.

The proposed scheme would require some boundary adjustments to Langley Memorial Park and discussions were taking place with the parks team and trustees.  It was noted that Councillor Swindlehurst was a member of the Trustee Committee.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Cabinet agreed the recommendations.

Resolved –

(a)  That the conditional offer of the Berkshire Local Transport Body (BLTB) to provide £1.324m for Harrow Market to Meadfield Rd and £1.033m from Meadfield Rd to Elmhurst Rd from the Local Growth funding stream towards the cost of these improvement works be welcomed;

(b)  That it be agreed in principle the design of the scheme as outlined in Section 5 subject to the development of the designs through the detailed design process; and

(c)  That further discussions be approved with the trustees of the Langley War Memorial Field and the Parks Team about small boundary adjustments on the eastern side of the field to accommodate the new highways design.