TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT (15/08/06)
By J. Brock (FINN)
A meeting of the Transport Advisory Committee took place at1330hrs on Tuesday, 15 August 2006 in the Liberation Room of the Secretariat. Present were Councillors Rendell (Chair) and Hansen, Fraser Wallace (Civil Aviation), Bob Hancox (Roads Engineer), Ros Cheek (Crown Council), Raymond Evans and Marshall Barnes. Trudy Lee took the minutes.
After the minutes from 08 June 2006 were confirmed, matters arising from those minutes were discussed. These included: Road Haulage and Capping, which were up for discussion at this meeting.
The contract to complete the link road to
Bob Hancox gave an oral update about the Road Programme and said that capping the
Mr. Hancox expressed a concern about staff shortages. At present there is a need for 22 operators and 2 cooks. Twelve operators have applied as well as two cooks but 10 more operators are needed for a full complement of workers. Cllr. Hansen asked about why there was a shortfall and Mr. Hancox explained that his main foreman was the new foreman for the wind farm. He has lost one to FIGAS and one to a building company in the Private sector. The other factor is that people must be 19 before they can get an HGV licence, though some who are younger are capable. Insurance, however, won’t cover them. It is hoped that a discussion with Peter King will resolve things but he is on holiday at the moment. Marshall Barnes said that the private sector had the appropriate insurance cover and Mr. Hancox said he would be trying to get the same cover as does the private sector.
The roads programme was continuing with the upgrading of ones that would be associated with the ferry. These were on hold due to an awaited EXCO decision. Roads to shearing sheds were difficult because some farms had changed hands and when one farmer may not have wanted a road to the shed, a farmer taking over may need one. This was expensive and needed to be well planned. It would save money if a request for additional road extensions could be made when machinery was in the vicinity. It would save money. All the farms needing a road to the shearing sheds would take 16 working weeks to complete at a cost of £150,000.00. In
This needed to be done because the scope of transport has changed. Where a farmer would make several trips with several sheep in a trailer, Mike Triggs with a 40ft articulated lorry can do it in one trip. However, he will not take his vehicle overland. Haulers needed to be consulted as well as farmers if these roads are to be successful. The thought is that all farms would have to acquire roads in a programmed schedule in order to save money. Bob Hancox mentioned that the programme could be co-ordinated with the ferry so that it can take 40ft articulated lorries. Finally, Road maintenance would be more affective in the late spring when everything dries out.
A paper on the Road Programme beyond 2008 is not available at present but it should be discussed at the next meeting. At present there is no fixed date for that meeting.
