Parish Council - Meetings minutes

16 April 2009 - 8pm

HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

8.00 p.m. on 16 April 2009

Village Hall Committee Room

Minutes

Present: Councillors: Ken Huddart (Chairman), Anthony Sheppard, Geoff Herbert, Jimmy Cartwright, David Parks

Co-opted members: Caroline Stevenson, Brian Rhodes

In attendance: Freda Collins- Parish Clerk

Cllr Michael Courtney

3 members of the public

Before the meeting began, Cllr Huddart introduced the subject of the speaker, road safety in Oaken Lane. He has recently been in correspondence with Victoria Lord who is concerned about road safety; as is the manager of Winghams. It seems that the Wingham involvement has been created by the Oaken Lane initiative. He spoke to Maggie Ledwidge, Home Manager of six months standing, at some length. He advised that the pedestrian gate exists, but there is no adequate path on the Wingham side, but she is willing to improve this. For DDA compliance some improvement to the path through the grounds is required. The grass is well trodden on this route, which may be adequate, but it is not known how the route should enter the main building. Currently crossing the car park does not appear to be wheelchair accessible. The current route along the driveway makes no special provision for wheel chairs, but may be acceptable because of the light traffic. Using the pedestrian gate, the Wingham wheel-chair users would have access onto the east Oaken Lane footway, which is the best way to the Old Village, Village Hall and church. There is also a wheelchair-accessible crossing of Oaken Lane into the footpath to Torrington Road and thence through Torrington Close to shops in The Parade, and the railway station (ticket office and down platform).

From the Wingham drive the crossing of Oaken Lane itself is the major hazard, but feasible. The opposite side of Oaken Lane then has a wheelchair-accessible footway to The Avenue. The north side of The Avenue is wheelchair-accessible, and one can cross near Hare Lane, to provide routes to The Parade and railway station (down platform). Wheelchair users should keep away from the complexities of crossing The Avenue/Oaken Lane junction.

Victoria Lord has worked hard to create a presentation from 105 replies to her petition. Cllr Huddart circulated a 33KB text version prior to the meeting. She says that virtually all the comments agree her stance. Those contacting Cllr Huddart have mostly taken the opposite view, wanting Claygate left as it is. Of the points made by Victoria and the petitioners, many, such as speeding traffic, are old complaints about which not much can be done; Michael Courtney has asked Surrey C.C. to re-survey Claygate speeds. New points concern the width of the west footway of Oaken Lane and the footpath through the gardens there. Pressure to curb the vegetation could be useful, to achieve a target width of 1m.

Victoria Lord then presented findings from a petition of Claygate School Parents and residents of Oaken Lane, The Avenue, Woodbourne Drive, Oaken Drive and Wingham Court. These are the people who use Oaken Lane to walk or cycle to the old village, school, village hall, nurseries, day centre and doctors. The issues are:-

· Speeding traffic, with no enforcement.

· The overtaking of cars turning into drives and roads.

· The lack of adequate pavements forcing pedestrians to cross twice travelling north to south up Oaken Lane.

· No crossing point the entire length of the road

· No opposite dropped kerbs, forcing wheelchair users/buggy users to cross diagonally.

All agreed that Oaken Lane is ‘an accident waiting to happen’.

Residents are asking for:-

· Speed cameras

· Traffic calming

· Pavement improvements

· Opposite dropped kerbs

· Chicane

· Crossing point

The desired outcome of the meeting:-

· CPC address and support the issues of traffic speeding and inadequate pavements in Oaken Lane.

· The issues of the road are addressed as the number of signatures to the petition proves there is sufficient concern.

· This is a local issue and of much concern to residents, particularly those with young families, the elderly and those with mobility difficulties.

· A member of CPC to walk to CPS one morning and to walk with a Wingham resident to The Parade to experience the issues.

She produced photos of poor pavements.

The Chairman began the meeting.

Victoria was thanked and congratulated on her excellent presentation.

It was agreed that:-

i. this subject has been discussed many times and everyone expressed concerns. Hugh Ashton organised the Speed Reduction Group years ago. Suggestions to SCC were made then. The personnel at SCC have changed, but the problem remains the same.

ii. the new path across the Recreation Ground and gate will encourage more parents and children to walk to school, so more people will be walking along this road.

iii. the main issue is the speed of the traffic, the other points are physical. CPC has tried to reduce speed in Oaken Lane with the two VAR signs and the Speedwatch campaign.

iv. installing a pedestrian crossing has been previously discussed but there are technical difficulties. There is a point near the entrance to Torrington Close where there is sufficient visibility and would be wheelchair accessible, but a refuge crossing is not possible as the road is not wide enough, and there are problems with drives.

v. many residents prefer the little rural pathways, but perhaps one pathway could be improved.

Vi. the clientele of Wingham has changed from the elderly to more wheel chair users, so improvements to internal pathways need to be carried out.

vii. opposite dropped kerbs are essential.

viii. the hoops on the Torrington Road cut-through are technically correct, but awkward.

ix. people want to walk along Oaken Lane, but don’t because of the problems.

x. during the summer, more people want to walk to the Scout hut.

It was recommended that

i. she put the same presentation to the Local Committee for the next meeting in July. The Officers will then be asked to prepare a report for the next meeting.

ii. she attends the next Police Panel meeting and asks that the problem of speeding in Oaken Lane be made the priority over the next quarter. If the panels votes to make it happen, then it will.

AP46 Cllr Herbert to give details of the meeting to Victoria

iii. Victoria reports to SCC the hedges that are over growing the footpath. This can be done through Cllr Mike Bennsion.

The 4 ‘desired outcomes’ of the meeting were then looked at and it was agreed that CPC could support the first three. Cllrs Sheppard and Parks agreed to comply with the fourth outcome and walk along Oaken Lane.

AP47 Cllrs Sheppard & Parks to action

Cllr Michael Courtney stated that the Ward Councillors also supported these outcomes.

It was agreed that representatives of both CPC and EBC are there when Victoria presents her paper to the Local Committee.

Victoria Lord was again thanked and congratulation on the presentation; she left the meeting and the usual order of the agenda was resumed.

1. Apologies for absence

Cllr Jehan Master who was on holiday

These were accepted.

2. Declarations of Interest in items on the Agenda

Cllr Parks declared that he is a governor of Claygate Primary School.

Cllr Cartwright declared that he is also a Borough Councillor.

3. Minutes of the last Meeting

The meetings of the previous meeting on the 12 Feb 2009 had been circulated.

The following correction was made:

Item 7a Torrington Road should read Torrington Lodge

They were agreed and signed.

4. To report on the actioning of items from previous minutes.

AP21 -Request raised table at Stevens Lane. No action

AP29 - Lighting maintenance. Councillors met with David Munro 13 Mar 09

AP32 - Horses crossing sign in Red Lane. No response.

AP33 -Anne Woods visit to BW32 and FP31. Anne Woods visited both sites and cleared the BW32 drain under the A3; Caroline Stevenson has volunteered to clear this drain periodically. BW32 is scheduled for refurbishment, but no date or funding. Anne Woods will talk to East Surrey Highways and Elmbridge B.C. about FP31 and the horseride, which do need attention.

AP34 - Notification of David Saunders regarding not proceeding in High Street. This was done, 15 Apr 09, with apology for delay, and with link to current petition for wider pavement in High Street.

AP36 -Steve Wells has not created web item on 20mph. On-going action

AP37 - Cycling volunteer. Cllr Huddart has spoken to David Cowie and invited him to the meeting. He has a past history of cycle racing, currently tends to cycle to work and is a member of the Cyclist’s Touring Club, a well known lobbying organisation.

AP38 -Maintenance of Torrington Lodge car park entrance. Reported to Elmbridge, with recommendation to resurface.

AP39 -Verge damage in Telegraph Lane, duly reported. Repaired promptly apparently by developer at Mike Bennison’s instigation.

AP40 -Fountain light. Since the joint site meeting on 14 Apr 09, eDF have searched for the underground cable and are formulating action to be taken shortly. The service pillar is to be located beside High Street light column. Post meeting note; eDF carried out the work and the light was lit on 16 ~April, with a photo-shoot of Mike Bennison, Anthony White of eDF and Councillor Huddart on 23 April; no new service pillar was needed.

AP41 - Cllr Anthony Sheppard to put maintenance question to Local Committee. Done and this was also raised at David Munro meeting 13 Mar

AP42 - Cobham VDS to Geoff Herbert. Not an H&T action.

AP43 -Parking, Cllr Huddart to chase Roger Evans re. Surrey parking actions. Ongoing action. Post meeting note; meeting held with Elmbridge B.C.’s and Surrey C.C.’s officers on 22 April; see item 9 below.

AP44 - Enforcement compliance consultation. KWH submitted direct to DfT.

AP45 - Damaged street nameplates at Hare Lane Green. The Raleigh Drive sign has been restored, the one at Hare Lane Green has not, but EBC does this work in batches, so it may well be done shortly. Post meeting note; the two signs were in robust condition on 22 April.

5. Constitution of the Committee

5.1 David Cowie attended the meeting and introduced himself. He has lived in Claygate for 2.5 years and commutes daily to work by cycle. He is a member of many cycling clubs and used to race. It was noted that there is a need for expansion of the highways element in the VDS and inclusion of cycling needs would be useful. Practically, it will be difficult to make Claygate cycle friendly because of the limited road width. But options such as cycle provision in any new road or shared pavements could be explored. It was agreed to co-opt David onto the Committee and any ideas for improving cycling will be passed to him. He will also input into the VDS.

5.2 Howard Mallinson has resigned from the Committee due to ill-health. He was thanked by the Committee for his support, vigorous debate and great knowledge of local history and railway matters. He also helped with Communications and other Parish Council projects. It was agreed to write a letter of thanks.

AP48 Cllrs Huddart and Parks to action the letter. Post meeting note; letter posted 23 April

6. Public Transport

a. Bus shelters & Routes

Cllr Cartwright reported on a meeting of the Ward Councillors with Peter Bradley of TfL and Laurie James of SCC. The meeting was to explore the possibility of extending the K3 service into Coverts Road. Cllr Michael Courtney gave the presentation; it was agreed the case was well made. The K3 is run by TfL which has higher subsidies than those of Surrey buses. They stated that the route cost did not exceed its subsidy, has good time-keeping and there was no threat of withdrawing it. They will consider the proposal. Cllr Cartwright has the impression that it will not be possible to achieve the extension to the route, as it may damage the reliability of the service. There may be a possibility of an extra bus route from Esher to Kingston. It was noted that Kingston Local Planning Guidance, which is currently on circulation, revealed the desirability of good public transport from Surrey districts to support town centre activity. This is good news in showing why TfL should continue to support the K3 through Claygate.

b. Trains

c. Claygate Station

SWT renewed the signs for the car park. These do not mention the agreement to allow free weekend parking. SWT have declined to change the car park signs but have agreed that residents need not pay to park at weekends. The ticket office clerk has been notified of this so should not charge and will refund erroneous charges. There is a sign in the window of the ticket office about the free parking (Post meeting note; Cllr Huddart checked and there is not, which is a matter for AP49 below) . It was suggested that CPC could arrange for an addition to the SWT signs in the car park announcing something in the order of:-

CPC thanks SW Trains for providing free parking to residents over the weekend.

AP49 Cllr Huddart to speak to SWT about this.

7. Liaison with SCC

a. Road maintenance & footpaths

i. David Munro, Executive Member for Highways at SCC met with Cllrs Anthony Sheppard, David Parks, Ken Huddart and Mike Bennison on 13 Mar in Claygate. He said he was primarily interested in process rather than technicalities, which is relevant to the question put by Cllr Sheppard to the Elmbridge Local Committee.

He noted that, statistically, SCC was just keeping pace with highway repairs. He was particularly concerned with problems with the process of reporting and repair. Although reported potholes, lighting and other problems may be repaired promptly following a report, a significant proportion of them may go unrepaired for typically a year. He was told of various problems in Claygate and walked to see those between St. Leonards Road and the High Street. He said he already knew of the situation in Woodstock Lane South, at and north of Clayton Road. Nothing immediate has resulted.

He was particularly concerned about the process of maintenance. He was informed that Anthony Sheppard had asked a Public Question at the Elmbridge Local Committee, requesting details of improvements to street light fault handling processes and that information on back office liaison with contractors was outstanding. David Munro stated in this context that SCC needed to be able to monitor the end to end provision and maintenance process, despite the evident shortcomings of their contractors.

He recommended reporting faults to the web site rather than the contact centre, contact.centre@surreycc.gov.uk

or eastsurreyhighways@surreycc.gov.uk, so that the contractor can act promptly, without intervention by Surrey C.C. Cllr Huddart did this and eventually received replies with reference numbers; on this occasion slower than recent experience with the contact centre. Using the web means that the reporter does not have a searchable report. Cllr Huddart will revert to emailing the contact centre, copy to East Surrey Highways. At the meeting, CPC Councillors referred to several long-standing current defects, and provided email correspondence with East Surrey Highways. David Munro already knew about, or made notes, regarding:

· Street lamp opposite 25 Ruxley Ridge, Claygate, replacement in lighting, but damaged column still remains

· Resurfacing of Cornwall Avenue incomplete, in that the road markings at the junction with The Causeway have not been replaced and are worn out.

· Ten street lights and sign lights in Woodstock Lane South, at and north of the junction with Clayton Road, are out creating darkness in an accident-prone area.

· Albany Crescent, W&L AM peak restriction wrongly removed in Jan 2008 (Order made and installed in 2002); new Order advertised, replacement still awaited.

After the meeting, the Councillors and David Munro walked round the immediate area and observed:-

· Gully at 7 St. Leonards Road, so deeply blocked as to be difficult to identify (yellow markings have been painted on a couple of times).

· Sign column (No Entry) in Woodward Close, at St. Leonards Road), electrical cover taped on, within 24 hours of being reported, by email.

· Streetlight in Elm Road at the Youth Club (Surrey C.C. operation), repeatedly out.

· Sign light (Humps) in The Green, out for some years, despite repeated reporting (by email).

· W&L sign in The Green, knocked crooked, and reported a year ago.

· Sign light (Humps) in Church Road, at the Village Hall, out for some years, despite repeated reporting (by email).

· The historic fountain, for which eDF has offered to replace the lighting, following Mike Bennison's contact.

· Street light out (for the last month) at 8 High Street

· Bollards outside Champions at High Street/Hare Lane junction; Mike Bennison had arranged for one, repeatedly knocked down, not to be replaced.

· Lit pedestrian refuge in Hare Lane near junction with High Street/Oaken Lane knocked down and taped up for over a year.

It was AGREED to keep on reporting faults and keep up the pressure. There are elections in July; if David Munro is not re-elected then we need to make contact with his successor.

ii. It was agreed that there would be benefit in advising David Munro of a few sections of road requiring resurfacing, rather than patching; this has been done, our current list being:

· The prime candidate must be Hare Lane, between Dalmore Avenue and some 10m beyond (north of) Torrington Lodge car park. The difficulty with this site is interaction with the Parish Council's requirement to introduce traffic calming, including raised junctions in Hare Lane at The Parade and Foley Road. Re-surfacing is likely to increase speeds and exacerbate the problem, so there is much to be said for tackling the two together.

· Hare Lane, at Foley Road

· Albany Crescent, some 40m at The Parade

· Woodstock Lane South, from its junction with Red Lane, past the pond to the northern entrance to Elm Farm

· Woodstock Lane South, whole length north of Clayton Road to A309 Kingston Bypass

· Red Lane, particularly the bends west of Old Claygate Lane

· Claremont Road, at junction with Beaconsfield Road

· Torrington Road, from junction with Meadow Road eastwards

iii. Cllr Mike Bennison referred to his recent action in chasing up street lights in The Parade, which came back into lighting last week after a long time (9 months in respect of 14 The Parade).

He noted that there was no contractual relationship between eDF and Surrey C.C., which makes it difficult to monitor maintenance. Mike Bennison noted that he had meetings with the Officers and mentioned many things for Claygate, including David Parks’ comments on white lines after road works. The grass has been patched at the junction of Telegraph/Red Lane, also outside of the Day Centre but not a good job, they were asked to put a post in but nothing so far.

iv. CPC Councillors noted that a CHO at East Surrey Highways has changed role, without giving an alternative email address. We noted that he has been helpful in 2008, including providing contact information for Statutory Undertakers, to permit Claygate Parish Council to carry out underground plant searches, which should be done by Surrey C.C.. These are required for CPC planting of highway trees and for the Highway Garden Sites, maintained by Claygate P.C. on behalf of Elmbridge B.C

v. It was noted that a theory has been put forward that potholes are desirable as they slow traffic. They are dangerous; however. It is known that the SCC has already had to pay compensation regarding the pothole in Hare Lane. There is a website called fillthathole.org.uk which can pinpoint a pothole on a Google map; giving the exact grid reference. The site then reports automatically to the relevant authority. The site has been used in legal case where an authority has not repaired a hole. The site even sends a reminder after a certain length of time to the reporter asking if the hole has been fixed.

SCC has its own pothole website. This defines a pothole as min 40mm deep, and min 30cm across and in a dangerous position.

vi. Caroline Stevenson asked why cats eyes were no longer used on roads. Cats eyes are only found on motorways now, other roads have reflective white paint used instead.

vii. It was noted that the 40mph signage in Woodstock Lane South is poor; one pole has been knocked over and removed.

AP50 Cllr Huddart to include on reports to SCC.

viii. It was noted that some repairs have been carried out in Albany Crescent but they are poor and other potholes nearby were not repaired. This cannot be cost efficient. The Parade is still in a poor state and the kerbs have not been done. It was noted that, however poor we think the roads in Claygate, many roads elsewhere in the Borough are much worse.

SCC only inspects a sample of the roads that have been repaired. The only way they know that a road has been poorly repaired is if it is reported as defective again.

b. Highway tree replacement and maintenance, underground searches.

i. This year’s verge planting programme is complete, with the majority of trees contributed by frontagers. It was agreed that this is good value and necessary to preserve the character of the village, but CPC and residents are paying for a service that we have already paid SCC to do. Planting has taken place at new sites in Oaken Drive.

New sites are required for 2009/10 planting. We are now planting in new sites, since this avoids conflict with remaining stumps. Please encourage suggestions, particularly if frontage funding is offered.

It was agreed to look at roads where trees are being felled and not replaced such as The Avenue, Hare Lane and Foley Road at the Coverts Road end. Also, roads where the trees have already gone, such as Coverts Road can be considered.

No tarmac sites have yet been tackled, but will be possible now that Cllr Huddart can carry out underground searches. Cllr Huddart remains in contact with Graham Banks and is grateful to him for suggesting the tree supplier, which CPC now uses.

ii. It was noted that a tree in Woodstock Lane South has fallen over and is resting on another tree. David Cowie will contact SCC at contact.centre@surreycc.gov.uk to report this.

AP51 David Cowie to action.

c. Safe routes to school.

Cllr Parks met with the Head teacher, Mr Taylor and informed him that CPC had agreed to increase the funding of the new pathway into the school. Cllr Parks also informed Mr Taylor that this was a once-only offer and subject to the new pathway and gate being opened by the start of the next academic year.

d. Street lighting

i. The two bollards at Woodstock Land South/Clayton Road are now lit, but the battery operated light at this site has not yet been removed. The defective light on the twin column at Red Lane/Woodstock Lane South comes and goes intermittently; eight street lights and sign lights are still out in Woodstock Lane South, at and north of Clayton Road.

AP52 Cllr Huddart to repeat the report to SCC.

Lights at 14 and 39 The Parade, the zebra crossing spot light, and at the Youth Club are now on. The vandalised luminaire at Torrington Close is now repaired. Post meeting note; 14 The Parade, zebra crossing spotlight and Youth Club are out again.

ii. The light on the fountain is Mike Bennison’s much appreciated initiative. eDF engineers met Cllrs Huddart and Manley on The Green on 14 Apr. . The engineers seemed to know what they were doing. They have undertaken to reinstate the grass and bricks properly. They have located the cable and are now sorting the control gear. A photo-shoot will be arranged once the project is complete. Post meeting note; all complete, photo report in Surrey Advertiser 24 April.

It was noted that the water supply to the fountain seems to be intact. The water would need to be turned on again for the fountain to work.

AP53 Cllr Huddart to look at this.

It was noted that there is a metal cover plate which is unattractive. It was suggested that this could be covered with a brass plaque; ensuring that access remains easy. An inscription to the late Hugh Ashton could be inscribed on the brass plaque.

AP54 Cllr Herbert to action.

iii. Cllr Huddart recently contacted SCC about the proposed PFI project to refurbish SCC's street lighting at a cost of some £60m. Claygate Parish Council believes this scheme to be inappropriate.

Primarily, this is because it is waste of public money to spend £60m to redress a political/administrative problem of acquiring the money required, say £2m per year, to carry out the street lighting maintenance effectively. Although it is a government PFI project, the money does eventually have to be paid back, leaving Surrey C.C. further in debt. Cllr Huddart is also concerned that the change will not provide better quality, with some reasons given below. He has been unable to obtain the technical reports or business case which might persuade him otherwise.

We are told that the new replacement lights will be much more efficient and environmentally friendly, but this fails to stack up with information obtained. "Modern" lights are said to be more efficient, but this is wrong. Of relevant lamp types, the most efficient (100-200 lumens/watt) is clearly low pressure Sodium (SOX, yellow), which we have on most of our roads, and which are now regarded as out-of-date. One favoured replacement is high pressure Sodium (SON, pink) with lower efficiency (85-150 lumens/watt). But an eDF engineer said that the trend was towards halides (whiter), which are still less efficient (65-115 lumens/watt). So the change brings us higher consumption (or less light).

With regard to the effectiveness of the new lights. Our yellow street lights have been designed traditionally so that the light is sent out mostly horizontally (70degrees to the vertical) along the road, which lights up the road surface so that pedestrians and other objects are shown up in silhouette. Driving these roads they appear nicely uniformly illuminated. Not so with the modern lights, which are designed to throw the light downwards so one has a small puddle of light in surrounding darkness. Examples of this can be seen in Claygate at 131 Hare Lane, towards the south end of Stevens Lane; where the darkness seriously inconveniences motorists, and even in the Conservation Area at 57 Foley Road, making it less easy for pedestrians to navigate.

It has also been stated that five new lights would do the job of six existing ones; but this would mean renegotiating with frontagers on the repositioning of 80% of the lights.

Locally, the first, and still unresolved, issue relates to traditionally shaped lamp columns. The Surrey C.C. proposal is apparently that others such as local councils, Elmbridge Borough Council, or those wanting to preserve decent standards, should pick up the cost of some £1000 per site of installing anything other than the standard utility column prescribed by the project. Happily, in Claygate, we are told that the lights in The Parade, which are of a sympathetic design paid for by the Claygate Village Residents' Association, are sufficiently modern to be retained. Recently we have heard that this will happen only if Cllr Mike Bennison fights for it.

Iv It was noted that eDF will opt put of street lighting at the end of the month. eDF is a monopoly, so will still have to carry out the supply. But there could be problems as eDF will have no contract. If there are any complaints, they will have to go straight to Ofgem, the regulator.

8. Village Design Statement

8.1 The results of all the exhibitions have been collated and will be circulated soon.

8.2 The Highways part of the VDS needs expanding to include cycling, horse riding and a wish list. Cllr Herbert invited Councillors to put in forward thinking projects such as charging points for electric cars in the local car parks. If thought unsuitable, these projects need not be included.

8.3 It was noted that 40% of traffic in Claygate is through traffic, but the solutions to prevent this would be unacceptable to residents.

8.4 It was noted that there have been about 5 thousand new homes in Elmbridge during the last 10 years. Many of these new homes are not designed for the car. This is in accordance with Government policy which believes that if there is no room for a car, a resident will use public transport.

AP55 All Councillors asked for input to Cllr Herbert

9. Parking

9.1 Cllr Steve Wells has arranged a meeting with Anthony Jeziorski and John Strachan in the Civic Centre, with Paul Smith of SCC, on 21 Apr; Cllr Huddart plans to attend. It is CPC policy to request reduction of the £4/day parking charge, and a free initial period; we shall be resisting stronger on-street controls. It was agreed that all points of concern are documented prior to the meeting. Cllr Huddart created a document on parking concerns; this now needs to be updated with Loseberry Road and The Avenue. Post meeting note; the meeting occurred and the issues were noted; on-street issues have been noted by Surrey C.C. for consideration this summer for a revised Traffic Order; these include yellow lines on the corners of Loseberry Road/Hare Lane and The Avenue/Hare Lane. Surrey C.C. advises that obstructive parking across dropped kerbs is still a criminal offence which should be reported to police to issue a crime reference number; two of these could lead Surrey C.C. to apply white Access Protection Markings.

AP56 Cllr Huddart to update the list and recirculate.

9.2 Cllr Sheppard has been approached by a resident in Loseberry Road about the problem of commuter parking. The commuters park right up to the corner, which is dangerous. It was agreed to ask for double yellow lines on the corner.

AP57 Cllr Huddart to action.

9.3 It was noted that the CPZ in Esher has resulted in parking in Claremont Lane. This is the problem with a CPZ; it pushes commuter parking further out, then the CPZ has to be made bigger, so it becomes difficult to limit the area of the CPZ once started. Residents in Claygate with no off-street parking will have problems with a CPZ.

10. Traffic Calming

10.1 Oaken Lane

Already dealt with

10.2 Loseberry Road

Cllr Sheppard has ongoing expressions of concern at the turning out of Loseberry Road into Hare Lane. The sightlines are poor and improving them would be difficult. A suggestion of a mirror has been made. Highway engineers, on road safety grounds, do not normally like such mirrors. They usually cite the night-time problem, that traffic on the main road is confused by seeing side road headlights in the mirror. Cllr Huddart is concerned at the possible reaction of the side road drivers at all times of day; they will think that the mirror tells them the correct story, but in fact occasionally get confused and drive out unsafely; it is normal traffic engineering guidance in such circumstances to deprive drivers of such additional information and instead advise and force them to concentrate on viewing the conflicting traffic directly. Mirrors may be installed at individual property accesses in which case all the likely users can get experienced in their use. It was noted that a mirror was placed at the junction when there were road works there and Cllr Cartwright noted that it was confusing.

It was also suggested that traffic lights could be installed, but this would be very costly.

A ‘no right turn’ sign in Loseberry Road could not be used as there is a 7.5ton limit on the bridge in Raleigh Drive, so lorries would not be able to exit out of the Loseberry Road area unless they turned left and then executed a U –turn. It is not known whether lorries are able to see to turn right due to their height.

Permission would be needed from SCC for any measures taken. It was agreed to put the danger of turning right out of Loseberry Road to SCC and propose a mirror or ‘no right turn’.

AP58 Cllr Huddart to action.

11. Bridleway Proposals & Rights of Way

Nothing to report.

12. Street Signage

The damaged signs at Hare Lane Green and Raleigh Drive –already dealt with.

13. Website

13.1 The piece about the new advisory 20mph signs in Telegraph Lane should be put on the website. It was agreed that Cllrs Huddart and Wells should collaborate on this article.

AP36 Cllrs Wells & Huddart- previous action ongoing

13.2 It was agreed that a warning about the dangers of turning out of Loseberry Road onto Hare Lane should be put on the front page with the full story linked.

13.3 It was agreed to include the link to reporting potholes. It is fillthathole.org.uk.

14. Matters for Information Only

14.1 The underpass under the A309 was recently left very muddy after Thames Water carried out work there. The traffic bollards were not restored, so fly-tipping occurred. These matters were reported by David Cowie and the fly-tipping has been removed, the mud cleaned up and the bollards reinstated. There is still a patch of temporary tarmac remaining. Post meeting note; Councillor Huddart has circulated an illustrated note showing that the site is tidy; he has reported the need for a drain cover to be reinstated, and advised Anthony Jeziorski (Elmbridge B.C.) of the temporary tarmac.

14.2 Some gully cleaning took place recently.

15. Date and place of the next meeting

The next meeting will be at 8.00pm on 25 June 2009 in the Village Hall Committee Room.

Signed…………………………………………………..……..as a true and fair record of the meeting. Date…………….…

Back