Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Bad Homburg Room, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter

Contact: Sharon Sissons, Democratic Services Officer (Committees)  Telephone 01392 265115 or email  sharon.sissons@exeter.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

24.

Apologies

To receive any apologies.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Foale and M Mitchell.

25.

Minutes

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2019.

Minutes:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2019 were taken as read and signed by the Chair as correct.

26.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were made.

27.

LONG DISTANCE COACHES WAITING ROOM

To discuss the findings from the exploration into the potential provision of a Long Distance Coaches Waiting Room.

Minutes:

The Programme Manager referred to the request by Members of the Programme Board to explore the options for a potential enclosed long distance coach waiting room facility. The findings of the exploration including a summary of the approach, the legal obligations and technical solutions were presented. 

 

Following the closure of the Bus Station last June, an interim arrangement was put in place for passengers using long distance coaches, with a drop-off and collection point from on-street stands sited in Sidwell Street. Once the new Bus Station facility is completed, the long distance coaches will use dedicated bus bays in Bampfylde Street as their drop-off and collection point. A lease for a space within The Barn student accommodation, on the ground floor close to Bampfylde Street had been secured. An indicative layout of the accommodation was presented which was comprised of a single unit with glazing on both sides facing into the street.The fit out would have to have adequate space for luggage, the provision of some refreshments through a vending machine and be mindful of the security of the passengers.

 

Members were also reminded of the outline planning permission for the redevelopment of the Bus Station site, which included the demolition of the existing bus station and creation of new bus and coach arrangements in the city centre. Although the consent identified the long distance coaches would be able to stop ‘on street’ at dedicated stands in Bampfylde Street, no dedicated waiting room facilities were identified as being required in the Planning Permission or the Section106 agreement. However, a planning condition attached to the consent for The Barn required a management plan, before any such facility was brought into use to cover maintenance, security, cleaning and provision of information to coach passengers.  The City Council undertook to consult with Devon & Cornwall Police in discharging the aforementioned planning condition.  As a result, the exploration study included discussions with Devon and Cornwall Police who raised a number of concerns which related to the safety of passengers and public in an enclosed space, the potential for anti-social behaviour and the increased likelihood of such behaviour later in the evening and early hours of the morning encouraged by the attraction of a lit and warm area.  A number of options had been explored to mitigate such behaviour and these included an access control for travelling passengers with tickets, tamper proof specification for fixtures and fittings and the inclusion of a panic alarm system and CCTV. Live monitoring would take place from the Council’s Control Centre with the protocol for a first response from a private security firm. The Programme Manager responded to comments on access and he referred to the limitations of the access code and he set out a number of scenarios in respect of access control to the waiting room from discarded tickets and also both the security and life span of a single use code.

 

The operators of the long distance coaches (Megabus and National Express) had been contacted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board will be identified to coincide with the Programme gateway.

 

 

Minutes:

A further meeting of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board would occur as and when required to suit the needs and demands of the projects within the programme.