2006-2011 Main LTP

Introduction

The plans and policies set out in the LTP present a long term strategy for the development of transport in Warwickshire. It will take much longer than the five year life of the Plan to achieve all of these planned objectives and improvements.

This delivery strategy covers the period of this LTP which runs from 2006/07 to 2010/11. It sets out the proposed allocation of financial resources and how this allocation relates to the priorities and targets set out in the LTP.

Value for Money and the Capacity to Deliver

It is essential that best use is made of available resources, and that efficiency savings are made where possible. The County Council has entered into a number of partnerships that are aimed at providing the resources necessary to deliver planned programmes and achieving best value from available resources.

The largest expenditure on transport is maintenance. High importance is therefore placed on getting value for money from this expenditure. Our maintenance programme is delivered through a long term partnership contract with Carillion. It is a target price contract which will achieve continuous improvement through a progressive reduction in costs.

The level of staff resources and the range of expertise available in house to a local authority are necessarily limited. The County Council has therefore entered into a long term partnership contract with Arup for consultancy services. Through this partnership the County Council is able to draw on the expertise and resources of an international consultancy.

Warwickshire has developed a close working relationship with the rail industry and a number of local bus operators. As a result of these relationships we have a track record of developing improvements to bus and rail services which encourage good will and investment from the private sector to complement public sector investment. The County Council intends to establish a countywide Quality Rail Partnership in the near future to continue our excellent track record in delivering complex rail schemes. Ongoing partnership working with the principal bus operators in Warwickshire will also continue to deliver further Quality Bus Corridor improvements and Quality Bus Initiative schemes on the tendered service network.

Support for Capital Investment through Promotion and Education

It is essential to supplement the outcomes from transport capital investment by use of 'soft measures'. Such initiatives include training, education and the provision of information. For example, it is a condition that schools should develop a travel plan before capital investment is made on safer routes to school. It is our intention that capital investment in terms of improved infrastructure will be complemented by such 'soft measures'. Available revenue budgets for soft measures will be supplemented by top slicing a small percentage of capital budgets, with the top sliced funding being spent on associated capital schemes.

Benchmarking and Review of Scheme Effectiveness

The County Council commissioned consultants in early 2005 to carry out a review of schemes and initiatives implemented during the first LTP period. The purpose was to assess the effectiveness of different schemes in delivering various outcomes, including modal shift. The results of this study have been used to inform the choice and weighting of measures in the delivery strategy.

It was not possible to assess the effectiveness of specific schemes in detail due to limitations in the way in which funds are allocated and results measured. The results of the review therefore, while useful, need to be seen as indicating broad trends rather than revealing precise information.

The most effective use of funding, in terms of measurable targets, was that invested in school travel initiatives, Quality Bus Corridors and safety programmes. Expenditure in these areas delivered a positive contribution towards the targets that had been set.  Conversely, significant levels of expenditure on measures to encourage walking and cycling, and to tackle congestion, showed little or no benefit in terms of working towards their targets. The theoretical outcomes suggested by research such as that reported in Smarter Choices (Cairns et al, 2004) have not been born out by experience in Warwickshire.

However, the analysis of the effectiveness of measures implemented during the first LTP period has reinforced the justification for monitoring strong programmes to promote sustainable modes for school travel and for schemes to increase the attractiveness of public transport. Warwickshire needs to maintain a balanced programme of measures that will complement each other in order to deliver the Council’s objectives, and it is felt that this still holds true.  Programmes to encourage walking and cycling, to achieve improved traffic management and to support regeneration and pedestrian priority in town centres, will therefore also feature in the delivery strategy for this LTP.

Changes to Safety Camera Funding and Governance

In December 2005, the Government announced that safety camera activities and partnerships are to be integrated into the wider road safety delivery process. The County Council's initial response to these changes are set out in the Road Safety Strategy, which can be found in Part 2 of the LTP.

The County Council's evidence shows that safety cameras save casualties, and as such we expect them to continue to play an important part in our casualty reduction strategy.

The County Council believe that the changes in the funding arrangements will give the Authority opportunities for greater flexibility. Our aim will be to use this flexibility to be more cost effective, in other words to save more casualties per pound spent.

Resources

The main capital resource available for the delivery of improved transport infrastructure will be LTP allocations. In December 2004, Government published provisional planning guideline figures for Local Transport Capital for the period 2006-7 to 2010-11. Changes to the formula funding for Integrated Transport were published by Government in 2005, including a set of revised planning guideline figures.

The final planning guideline figures for Warwickshire over the next five years are given in Table 4.1.

Table 1 LTP Resources

LTP Resources
	2006-07 (£M)	2007-08 (£M)	2008-09 (£M)	2009-10 (£M)	2010-11 (£M)	Total (£M)
Maintenance *Firm maintenance allocations will be given for 2007/08 onwards in Novemeber 2006.	9.080	8.752	9.190	9.649	10.132	46.803
Integrated Transport	4.365	4.711	5.194	5.714	6.273	26.257

Additional funding through Virtual Bank and Prudential borrowing may be available where capital resources are required for projects that will generate an income capable of servicing the debt charges. This could include the construction of Park and Ride facilities. The County Council will also consider using these types of funding to deliver schemes which require revenue support. An example of where this could be applicable is the roll-out of Decriminalisation of Parking Enforcement across Warwickshire.

Opportunities to bid for additional capital resources will be pursued wherever possible. A major bid to Advantage West Midlands (AWM) for some £2.2m towards proposed improvements in Stratford-upon-Avon is planned. Warwickshire has been successful in the past in securing challenge funding from Government for the Urban Mixed Priority Scheme in Leamington Spa (LUMP) and UTMC in Stratford-upon-Avon. We will continue to bid for challenge funding when appropriate.

We will continue to require that developers fund improvements necessary to mitigate the impact of new development on the transport network. The level of investment from this source will vary depending on development activity. Over the three years 2002/03 to 2004/05 the average investment from developer funding was just over £3m per year.

Revenue funding is an important resource for transport expenditure. It is a key element of maintenance expenditure with just under £14m spent from revenue in 2004-05.  There is also around £3m per year of revenue expenditure on transport education, training and publicity, traffic management including traffic signs and signals, traffic safety, transport planning and data collection and analysis. Revenue surpluses from decriminalisation of parking and on-street charging for parking will be utilised to support transport projects.

Warwickshire has been very successful in securing Major Scheme funding over the last five years. There are two Major Schemes with full approval, the Nuneaton Development Project and Barford Bypass, and two with provisional approval, the Rugby Western Relief Road and Coleshill Parkway. Further details of existing and proposed Major Scheme submissions can be found later in this section of the LTP.

Delivery to meet LTP Objectives and Priorities

This LTP sets out objectives for improvements to transport that will guide investment priorities over the next five years. Investment will be directed to schemes aimed at supporting the four shared priorities for transport and also to some specific objectives set out in the area chapters of the LTP.

Delivery of the shared priorities will be achieved through a variety of transport initiatives. Table 4.2 sets out a subjective assessment of the relative importance of different transport initiatives to each of the shared priorities.

Table 2 Contribution of integrated transport schemes to the shared priorities

Contribution of Integrated Transport Schemes to the Shared Priorities
Contribution of Integrated Transport Schemes to Shared Priorities
	Safety	Accessibility	Congestion	Air Quality
Public Transport	YY	YYY	YY	YY
Community Transport	Y	YYY
Park and Ride		Y	YY	YY
Road Safety - Casualty Reduction Schemes	YYY
Cycle Infrastructure	YY	Y	Y	Y
Walking Infrastructure	YY	YY	Y	Y
Traffic Management and Road Improvement schemes	Y		YY	Y
Intelligent Transport Systems	Y		YY	YY
Safer Routes to School	YY	YY	YY	Y
Parking including Decriminalisation of Parking		Y	YYY	YY
Barford Bypass	YY	Y	YYY	YYY

Outline Allocation of Resources

The outline allocations of resources for the next five years is set out in Table 4.3 below. These assume that the LTP resources available are in line with the planning guidelines issued to date by DfT. Additional resources such as developer resources and unsupported Prudential Borrowing are included where these have been secured.

The ability of the County Council to allocate resources as set out below is dependent on the extent to which it can fund borrowing costs incurred in delivering investment in transport infrastructure at these levels. The County Council therefore reserve the right to vary the level of investment to take into account the potential financial impact on Warwickshire council taxpayers.

Table 3 Outline allocation of resources

	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	Total
Integrated Transport Expenditure
Quality Bus Corridors	780	680	700	600	800	3,620
Contribution to Coleshill Parkway	420	0	0	0	0	360
Warwickshire Quality Rail Partnership	140	150	150	110	110	660
Rugby Station Bus/Rail Interchange	0	0	0	100	0	100
Community Transport and Other Improvements to Public Transport	125	370	250	190	190	1,125
Bishopton Park and Ride, Stratford	25	0	0	0	0	25
Warwick Town Centre Interim Traffic Management	440	590	0	0	0	1,030
Cycle/Shared Use Routes and Cycle Parking Facilities (see note 1)	838	600	600	600	600	3,238
Pedestrian Routes (see note 1)	80	130	130	130	100	480
Signalled pedestrian / cycle crossing facilities	355	200	200	200	150	1,105
Unsignalled pedestrian crossing facilities	120	100	40	40	40	340
Safer Routes to School (cycle & pedestrian facilities) (see note 1)	895	670	670	660	620	3,605
School  and Other Travel Plans	0	10	10	20	20	60
Minor Casualty Reduction Schemes	620	700	700	900	1000	3,920
Village Speed Reviews and Traffic Calming	240	200	200	200	200	1,040
Quality of Street Scene & Perceived Safety	0	50	50	50	50	200
Stratford-upon-Avon Transport Strategy	0	100	210	150	0	460
Decriminalisation of Parking	1,055	1,200	0	0	0	2,255
Nuneaton Town Centre Improvements	0	55	343	204	243	845
Rugby Town Centre and Pedestrian Priority	0	0	50	350	400	800
Bedworth Town Centre Pedestrian Priority	0	0	0	100	400	500
Junction Improvement Schemes Delivering Multiple Shared Priorities (see note 2)	40	390	515	460	500	1,905
Traffic Management for Air Quality Management Areas	0	100	150	500	400	1,150
Traffic Management and Signal Upgrading (VMS)	65	106	76	0	200	447
Leamington Mixed Priority Project Phase 2	705	0	0	0	0	705
Heathcote Junctions	700	300	0	0	0	1,000
Minor Junction and Network Improvements	162	300	150	150	250	1,012
Footway Maintenance schemes	1,230	1,095	1,318	6465	6788	30,273
Carriageway Maintenance schemes	4,519	4,019	4,839
Bridge Strengthening Schemes	850	250	750	3184	3344	16,030
Portobello Bridge Strengthening	50	2,000	0
Maintenance and Enhancement of Highway Structures	1,931	1,388	2,283
Total Expenditure	16,385	15,753	14,384	15,363	16,405	78,290
Income
LTP Integrated Transport Allocation	4,365	4,711	5,194	5,714	6,273	26,257
Virtual Bank/Prudential Borrowing for Decriminalisation of Parking Enforcement	1,055	1,200	0	0	0	2,255
County Capital Resources for Leamington Mixed Priority Project Phase 2	705	0	0	0	0	705
SW Warwick (S106)	440	590	0	0	0	1,030
Heathcote Junctions (S106)	700	300	0	0	0	1,000
Stratford upon Avon S106	40	200	0	0	0	240
LTP Maintenance Allocation	9,080	8,752	9,190	9,649	10,132	46,803
Total Income	16,385	15,753	14,384	15,363	16,405	78,290
Summary - Integrated Expenditure
Public Transport	1,465	1,200	1,100	1,000	1,100	5,865
Traffic Management (inc. Park and Ride)	1,585	1,996	226	500	600	4,907
Cycling and Walking	1,393	1,000	940	940	890	5,163
Safer Routes to School	895	710	710	710	640	3,665
Casualty Reduction Schemes and Junction Improvement Schemes Delivering Multiple Shared Priorities	660	1,090	1,215	1,360	1,500	5,825
Improvements to Transport for Quality of Scene in Towns and Villages	945	405	853	1,054	1,293	4,550
Minor Junction and Network Improvements	862	600	150	150	250	2,012
Total	7,805	7,001	5,194	5,714	6,273	31,987
Note 1: Includes funding towards Countryside Access and Rights of Way improvements
Note 2: These schemes are primarily aimed at achieving casualty reduction. However, schemes will be prioritised also on the basis of the extent to which they also deliver benefits for congestion, accessibility and air quality

Monitoring of Expenditure

The County Council recognises the importance of monitoring the implementation of the LTP to ensure delivery is made against committed programmes and budgets. Prior to the start of each financial year, meetings are held with all County Council Members in order to agree spending priorities within the framework of the LTP for the forthcoming year. The programme is formalised in April and reviewed by the Cabinet on a quarterly basis.

Progress towards achieving planned project timescales is closely monitored. If an integrated transport scheme is delayed, for example, because consultation takes longer than planned, a similar scheme is brought forward into the programme to ensure all resources are used to maximum benefit. This is managed by progressing to design stage some schemes that are programmed for funding in the following financial year, in order to provide a pool of schemes available for implementation.

LTP Finance Forms

Finance Forms F11 and F12 can be found in Annex 1 of this document.  In accordance with guidance from DfT, Forms F1 to F5 will be included in the 2006 LTP Delivery Report .