Issue - meetings

This item reports progress on the combined rural HGV review and de-cluttering project being carried out in the central area of the Surrey Hills AONB, currently focussed mainly within the Parishes of Shere, Ewhurst and Albury. It was decided to bring a report on the decluttering aspect of this project to this committee to ensure that the momentum of this work as a pilot study is maintained.

The Local Committee (Guildford) agreed:

(i)     the implementation of road signing de-cluttering proposals developed through a risk assessment process trialled by parish councils, subject to appropriate sign off from Surrey Highways and available funding

(ii)    the continuation of a collaborative approach supporting Parish Councils to identify rural HGV and traffic issues and that a further report is brought back to this committee

Reasons:

Parish councils, with their in depth knowledge of their locality, are ideally placed to play a central role in identifying superfluous signing and street furniture and a number have already been trialling the Norfolk risk assessment process.

Much work on de-cluttering audits by parish councils has now taken place and so it would be timely to complete and review the trial assessment process before rolling out the initiative to other areas.

This purpose of this item was to report on progress on the combined rural HGV review and de-cluttering project being carried out in the central area of the Surrey Hills AONB, currently focussed mainly within the Parishes of Shere, Ewhurst and Albury. The Parish Councils agreed to defer a report to this committee on a package of HGV management measures until a later meeting, pending further traffic surveys and consultations with Surrey Police on the feasibility of HGV restrictions.

Mindful of the extensive work already being carried out by Parish Councils in identifying superfluous road signing, and the recent changes in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD, 2016), which gives further legislative support to this work, it was decided to bring a report on the de-cluttering aspect of this project to this committee to ensure that the momentum of this work as a pilot study is maintained.

Members were updated that another working group would be meeting on 14 July to move the work forward.

The Local Committee (Guildford) agreed:

(i)     the implementation of road signing de-cluttering proposals developed through a risk assessment process trialled by parish councils, subject to appropriate sign off from Surrey Highways and available funding

(ii)    the continuation of a collaborative approach supporting Parish Councils to identify rural HGV and traffic issues and that a further report is brought back to this committee

Reasons:

Parish councils, with their in depth knowledge of their locality, are ideally placed to play a central role in identifying superfluous signing and street furniture and a number have already been trialling the Norfolk risk assessment process.

Much work on de-cluttering audits by parish councils has now taken place and so it would be timely to complete and review the trial assessment process before rolling out the initiative to other areas.