Councillors and committees

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Elmbridge Civic Centre, High Street, Esher KT10 9SD. Please note - there are a max. of 25 public spaces available; please contact the Committee Officer if you wish to attend.

Contact: Gregory Yeoman, Partnership Committee Officer  Community Partnerships & Engagement Team, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Woodhatch, Reigate, RH2 8EF

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Items
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27/21

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    To receive any apologies for absence and notices of substitutions from Borough members under Standing Order 39.

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    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Cllr Cope and Cllr Harman. Cllr Sood substituted for Cllr Cope.

28/21

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter

    (i)            Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

    (ii)           Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

    NOTES:

    • Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest
    • As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)
    • Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Cllr Sugden declared his role as a Claygate Parish Councillor in relation to Item 9.

29/21

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 302 KB

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    To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

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    Minutes:

    The minutes of the meeting held on 14th July 2021 were agreed with an amendment to the record of the discussion of the Highways Update report. Cllr Lewis proposed adding the following wording to the paragraph relating to recommendation (viii) and the proposed overnight weight restriction in Oxshott Village: “the A245 and roads in and around Cobham”; Cllr Burley seconded and committee agreed the amendment.

     

30/21

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

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    To receive any Chairman’s announcements.

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    Minutes:

    The Chairman announced that on Friday 26th November the ground breaking ceremony had taken place at the site of the new Walton Heathside Free School.

31/21

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS

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    To answer any questions or receive a statement from any member of the public who lives, works or studies in the Elmbridge Borough area in accordance with Standing Order 69. Notice should be given in writing or by email to the Partnership Committee Officer at least by 12 noon four working days before the meeting.

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    Minutes:

    No questions were received.

32/21

PETITIONS pdf icon PDF 287 KB

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    To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 68. Notice should be given in writing or by e-mail to the Partnership Committee Officer at least 14 days before the meeting. Alternatively, the petition can be submitted on-line through Surrey County Council’s e-petitions website as long as the minimum number of signatures (30) has been reached 14 days before the meeting.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest: None

     

    Officers Attending: Zena Curry, Engagement and Commissioning Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions and Statements:

    Two petitions were received. The petitions and officer responses were available to view within the agenda and supplementary agenda.

     

    Petition 1 – to introduce a 20mph limit in Long Ditton. The lead petitioner did not attend the meeting and there was no other public spokesperson.

     

    Petition 2 – to provide a pedestrian crossing outside Walton Oak primary school. The lead petitioner, Ms Hollie Park, addressed the meeting and made the following points:

    ·         Pupils as young as three attended the school, and they needed parents to travel with them.

    ·         The school had been advertising for a crossing patrol for some time through a wide variety of channels and it was felt that the county council was not being as supportive as it could be.

    ·         Officers visited the school on 6th October but there had been no contact since then.

    ·         The school has been paying for its own caretaker to fulfil the role of crossing patrol since March, but his rates were double what SCC would pay for an official patrol; in addition, he did not work every day.

    ·         The school has been using its own resources and finances – for example to finance Bikeability and Pedals courses - with no support from SCC and this is not sustainable.

     

    Key points from discussion:

    Petition 1 – Long Ditton

    Local member Cllr Darby supported the petition. He acknowledged the traffic calming measures that had been put in over the last few years and felt that introducing a 20mph limit would be the culmination of this process. The roads in question had seen traffic accidents and near misses that would not result in personal injuries, so they would not be included in the relevant statistics but nonetheless should be taken into consideration. Traffic speeds down Ditton Hill Road and the layout of roads such as Sugden Road that encourage speeding were also highlighted, along with the volume of traffic coming off the A309.

    Community Speed Watch groups or police patrols with handheld cameras could be encouraged, to carry out more monitoring of average speeds.

     

    Members agreed with the Chairman’s recommendation to add the proposal to introduce a 20mph limit in Long Ditton to the highways schemes prioritisation list.

     

    Petition 2 – Walton Oak

    The Chairman stated that SCC had been working to resolve the lack of a crossing patrol but that these were difficult vacancies to fill because of the limited working hours involved. She acknowledged the situation that existed outside the school, and how it had changed since the school had been built.

     

    There was a feeling among members that SCC was paying below the market rate for the work.

     

    Committee was reminded that the petition was for the installation of a pedestrian crossing rather than funding a permanent crossing patrol. The Chairman recommended adding the proposal to the highways schemes prioritisation list for review and members agreed.

     

    Cllr Samuels left the meeting.

33/21

MEMBER QUESTION TIME

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    To receive any written questions from Members under Standing Order 47. Notice should be given in writing to the Partnership Committee Officer by 12.00 noon four working days before the meeting.

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    Minutes:

    No questions were received.

34/21

HIGHWAYS REPORT (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION FOR DECISION) pdf icon PDF 146 KB

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    Additional documents:

    Decision:

    The Local Committee (Elmbridge):

     

    (i)      Delegated authority to the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Divisional Member and residents of New Road Esher, to agree a scheme of traffic calming for New Road, to include a reduction in speed limit to 20mph, and to undertake any necessary legal procedures for the implementation of the agreed scheme, and to facilitate implementation of the scheme at the expense of the residents of New Road (paragraphs 2.1 to 2.3 and Annex A refer);

     

    (ii)      Delegated authority to the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Divisional Member and local stakeholders, to agree the extent of a new 20mph limit for Oxshott Village centre, and subject to funding being identified for implementation promote the necessary legal order for the new limit, and implement the scheme (paragraphs 2.4 to 2.6 and Annex B refer);

     

    (iii)     Authorised the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes.

     

    Reasons for recommendations:

     

    New Road, Esher, is a privately owned and maintained road, which has a full Public Highway right.  This means that while the residents, who are also the owners of this road, are responsible for the upkeep and any improvements to the road, only Surrey County Council as Highway Authority can approve changes that require a traffic regulation order to be made.

     

    Traffic survey results from Oxshott indicate that a 20mph limit may be feasible in the centre of the village with signs alone – without any supporting engineering measures.  Authorisation is sought to move forwards with this in consultation with relevant members and local stakeholders.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest: None

     

    Officers Attending: Nick Healey, Highway Scheme Design Manager; Zena Curry, Engagement and Commissioning Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions and Statements: None

     

    Key points from discussion:

    The officer introduced his report, which covered three separate issues:

    ·         a request by residents of the private New Road in Esher to install measures to slow traffic.

    ·         progress with the Oxshott Village 20mph limit

    ·         the impacts of recently introduced speed-reducing measures on the approaches to Esher Green.

    The Vice-Chairman outlined the situation that residents of New Road find themselves in, where they are liable for the maintenance of the road but have no say over who can drive along it (the road has full access to the public since rights were acquired after 1945). He and the officer had visited the road and spoken to residents, and he supported the recommendation as it would provide the fastest way to introduce changes.

     

    Cllr Sugden welcomed the results of the Oxshott speed surveys and the conclusion that it would appear to be possible to introduce a 20mph limit on the village high street without the need for engineering interventions. He added that there were other sections further out along the A244 that would need expensive work and suggested the use of average speed cameras especially in the areas leading to a new 20mph stretch. He also mentioned the need for measures to be taken on Steel’s Lane.

     

    Esher Green had been the county’s second-worst accident location; following works such as the installation of raised pedestrian crossings this situation had improved. Members recognised that while the junction has not been completely sorted out there is little more that can realistically be done to it (for example, installation of a roundabout would not be feasible because of constraints to do with the nearby common land).

     

    Resolved:

     

    The Local Committee (Elmbridge):

     

    (i)      Delegated authority to the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Divisional Member and residents of New Road Esher, to agree a scheme of traffic calming for New Road, to include a reduction in speed limit to 20mph, and to undertake any necessary legal procedures for the implementation of the agreed scheme, and to facilitate implementation of the scheme at the expense of the residents of New Road (paragraphs 2.1 to 2.3 and Annex A refer);

     

    (ii)      Delegated authority to the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Divisional Member and local stakeholders, to agree the extent of a new 20mph limit for Oxshott Village centre, and subject to funding being identified for implementation promote the necessary legal order for the new limit, and implement the scheme (paragraphs 2.4 to 2.6 and Annex B refer);

     

    (iii)     Authorised the Engagement and Commissioning Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes.

     

    Reasons for recommendations:

     

    New Road, Esher, is a privately owned and maintained road, which has a full Public Highway right.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34/21

35/21

LOCAL COMMITTEE DECISION TRACKER [FOR DECISION] pdf icon PDF 375 KB

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    This item provides an update on previous decisions and actions agreed by the Committee. The Committee is asked to agree that the items marked as complete are removed from the tracker.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Committee noted the contents of the tracker and agreed to remove the closed items, with the following comments:

     

    Item 1 – Cllr Sugden asked for this to be kept on the list and would have further discussions with highways officers outside the meeting.

     

    Item 13 – Cllr Lewis asked for the wording relating to the proposed overnight weight restriction in Oxshott to reflect the amendment to the previous meeting’s minutes as noted under agenda item 3 above.

36/21

FORWARD PLAN [FOR INFORMATION] pdf icon PDF 104 KB

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    The Committee is asked to note the forward plan for the Committee and propose any items which they would like to see added.

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    Minutes:

    The forward plan was noted.

37/21

DATE OF NEXT MEETING [FOR INFORMATION]

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    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 7th March 2022 at 4pm.