Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 612 KBVenue: Community Centre, Cabrera Avenue Virginia Water, GU25 4EY
Contact: Sylvia Carter Surrey County Council, Runnymede Civic Centre, Station Road, Addlestone, KT15 2AH
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
To receive any apologies for absence. Decision: Apologies were received from Councillors Patrick Roberts, Nick Prescot and Nick Wase-Rogers. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Patrick Roberts, Nick Prescot and Nick Wase-Rogers. |
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting as a true record. A copy of the minutes will be available in the room for half an hour prior to the meeting. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2015 were approved, and signed by the chairman. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest.
· Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
· Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register.
· Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.
Minutes: No declarations of interest were made. |
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PETITIONS & LETTERS OF REPRESENTATION
To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 65. An officer response will be provided to each petition. No petitions have been submitted for this meeting. Minutes: No petitions had been submitted for the meeting. |
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WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS
To receive and answer any questions from Surrey County Council electors within the area in accordance with Standing Order 66. Minutes: Question from Mrs Molly Ringwood of Stroude Road Residents Association:
a) What plans are there to introduce traffic calming in Stroude Road?
The chairman gave the following response on behalf of the Local Committee:
Surrey County Council currently has no proposals to introduce traffic calming measures in Stroude Road. It should also be noted that the County Council has received complaints from residents about noise and vibrations at locations where speed humps have been introduced on roads used by large vehicles. Introducing such measures in Stroude Road could therefore potentially increase the problems of vibration already being reported by residents especially given that some properties are located relatively close to the edge of the carriageway.
However, the County Council working in partnership with Surrey Police has implemented the following measures to try and lower vehicles speeds which may in turn help reduce the levels of vibration experienced:
· 3 vehicle-activated signs (which display the “30” symbol when activated) have been erected on lamp columns.
· Surrey County Council and Surrey Police have a partnership called Drive SMART which aims to tackle concerns over speeding and anti-social driving. As part of the initiative local speed management plans have been developed for each District and Borough. These plans identify the sites with the worst speeding problems so they can be targeted for appropriate action.
· Stroude Road is one of the sites included on the Runnymede Speed Management Plan. As a result, the location is targeted for speed enforcement by Surrey Police.
· Surrey Police has previously worked with residents to set up a Community Speed Watch Group as part of an initiative to enable volunteers to work within their community to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding and to help control the problem locally. Unfortunately, this group is no longer active. However, Surrey Police would be very happy to work with the Residents’ Association to establish a new Community Speed Watch Group.
b) Are there any plans to discourage parking on the pavement?
The Chairman gave the following response on behalf of the Local Committee:
At this particular location it is difficult to identify measures that would be effective in discouraging drivers from parking on the footway without prohibiting parking completely (which is likely to be unpopular with some residents). In some circumstances, installing bollards in the footway may be an option. However, they would not be appropriate or effective in this instance for the following reasons:
· The parking takes place over a significant length and therefore a large number of bollards would be required. This would result in substantial costs both in terms of their initial installation as well as ongoing maintenance.
· Bollards have to be set back from the kerb edge when they are installed. They would therefore restrict the available width of footway in a similar manner to the parked vehicles.
· There are a series of vehicular accesses with dropped kerbs along the length of road where the vehicles park. Bollards could not be placed across these accesses.
If parked ... view the full minutes text for item 71/16 |
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WRITTEN MEMBER QUESTIONS
To receive any written questions from Members under Standing Order 47. Minutes: No Member Questions had been submitted. |
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DECISION TRACKER [FOR INFORMATION]
The decision tracker updates members on progress towards implementing decisions taken at previous meetings. Minutes: The Committee noted the contents of the Decision Tracker. |
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HIGHWAYS UPDATE [FOR DECISION]
Andrew Milne (Area Highways Manager, North West) will update the committee on expenditure for local highways work, and recommend the introduction of bus stop clearways adjacent to Salesian School in Guildford Road A320, Chertsey. Additional documents: Decision: The Local Committee agreed to:
i) Note the progress with schemes and revenue funded works for the 2015-16 financial year ii) Note the budgetary position iii) Note that a further Highways Update would be brought to the next meeting of this Committee iv) Agreed the introduction of bus stop clearways in the bus lay-bys on the A320 Guildford Road (Chertsey), either side of the junction with Little Green Lane, as detailed in the plan attached as Annex 1. Minutes: Andrew Milne introduced the report, noting that the revenue budget for 2016-17 remained at the same level as in the preceding year, with a slight reduction in the available capital budget for planned ITS schemes. He highlighted that the parking restrictions which had previously been approved, had been implemented and were being enforced.
Members asked about the traffic signals review, and the scheme to introduce a mechanism in Egham High Street to enforce the pedestrian period. Mr Furey noted that talks were under way with the head of Salesian School in relation to a school bus pull-in within the school grounds, and this was welcomed. It was noted that the signals review may not complete within the current financial year, but any unspent funds would be carried forward for completion.
The Local Committee agreed to:
i) Note the progress with schemes and revenue funded works for the 2015-16 financial year ii) Note the budgetary position iii) Note that a further Highways Update would be brought to the next meeting of this Committee iv) Agreed the introduction of bus stop clearways in the bus lay-bys on the A320 Guildford Road (Chertsey), either side of the junction with Little Green Lane, as detailed in the plan attached as Annex 1. |
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RUNNYMEDE PARKING REVIEW 2016 [FOR DECISION]
This report recommends proceeding to formal consultation on new on-street parking restrictions within the borough, based on requests submitted over the last year which have been evaluated by the Parking Task Group and Surrey County Council’s parking team. See annexes for details at specific locations. Additional documents: Decision: The Local Committee agreed:
(i) the proposed amendments to on-street parking restrictions in Runnymede as described in the report and shown in detail on drawings in annexes A-F.
(ii) That the committee allocates funding as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of this report to proceed with the introduction of the parking amendments.
(iii) the intention of the county council to make an order under the relevant parts of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to impose the waiting and on street parking restrictions in Runnymede as shown on the drawings in annexes A-F is advertised and that if no objections are maintained, the orders are made.
(iv) if there are unresolved objections, they will be dealt with in accordance with the county council’s scheme of delegation by the parking strategy and implementation team manager, in consultation with the chairman/vice chairman of this committee and the appropriate county councillor.
Minutes: The chairman suspended standing orders to enable attending members of the public to ask questions. Mr Mackie asked about Woodside Way, opposite Christchurch school in Virginia Water, and it was noted that this was listed as one of the locations assessed but not recommended for lines, as it was deemed to be a residential no-through road. Members commented that the problem of short-term parking around schools was a problem across the county. Mr Osborne asked if enforcement officers allowed for an observation period when a car parked on yellow lines when dropping off at a school. Mr Furey advised that a typical loading grace period would be about ten minutes, but only if there was clearly activity taking place. No further comments were received from the Committee with regard to the proposed restrictions for advertisement.
The Local Committee agreed:
(i) the proposed amendments to on-street parking restrictions in Runnymede as described in the report and shown in detail on drawings in annexes A-F.
(ii) That the committee allocates funding as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of this report to proceed with the introduction of the parking amendments.
(iii) the intention of the county council to make an order under the relevant parts of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to impose the waiting and on street parking restrictions in Runnymede as shown on the drawings in annexes A-F is advertised and that if no objections are maintained, the orders are made.
(iv) if there are unresolved objections, they will be dealt with in accordance with the county council’s scheme of delegation by the parking strategy and implementation team manager, in consultation with the chairman/vice chairman of this committee and the appropriate county councillor.
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THE CIVILIAN-MILITARY PARTNERSHIP IN RUNNYMEDE [FOR INFORMATION]
Runnymede Borough Council’s Armed Forces Champion Cllr Shannon Saise-Marshall and Major James Aldridge of the Welsh Guards, accompanied by Canon Peter Bruinvels, will outline the links between councils in Surrey and the armed forces, to support veterans and service families as part of the Civilian-Military Partnership. Presentation, no report attached. Minutes: Runnymede borough councillor Shannon Saise-Marshall, the council’s Armed Forces Champion, explained that the Military Covenant had been signed by the Council as a commitment or promise from the community to support and give equal treatment to those who had served. She informed members of past remembrance events, as well as key activities such as ensuring that those who applied to the Housing register could tick a box to notify their veteran status (which affects their ability to build up a recognised local connection). She then introduced Major James Aldridge, who commands the Prince of Wales’s company of the Welsh Guards at Pirbright, as the official link with the military for the area. He said that a key objective was to engage with the local community including especially young people and employers, and that he would welcome ideas for one or two activities over the coming year to enable this. Finally Canon Peter Bruinvels, advisor to Surrey County Council and its Military-Civilian Partnership Board, summarised the work of the Board and noted that there are over 2000 army cadets and at least 900 service families in the county.
Members welcomed the ongoing contact with the military, following its support during the 2014 Floods, and any opportunities to support those who had served and inform young people about future careers. |
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TRADING STANDARDS UPDATE [FOR INFORMATION]
Amir Ali (representing Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards) will update members on the work of Trading Standards in the area within the past year. Minutes: The chairman introduced Amir Ali of Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards, congratulating him and the service for their recent Silver Awards from the national Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise 2016 awards.
Members asked about work with older people to prevent crimes of fraud and misrepresentation, safeguards in place for their Buy with Confidence/Checkatrade traders, local promotion of the Eat Out Eat Well initiative, and Under-Age alcohol testing. |
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SCHOOL TRAVEL PLANNING [FOR INFORMATION]
Luke Forshaw (School Travel Planning officer) will update members on the work of his team with local schools to develop travel plans for their school community. Minutes: Luke Forshaw of the School Travel Planning team introduced himself as the School Expansion Programme project officer, and explained that this was his first report to a local committee on the work of the team. He advised that when schools are given permission to expand their numbers, it is normally a planning condition that they will include measures to encourage sustainable travel to school by existing students, and set targets for sustainable travel after expansion. He said that currently, the first tranche of primary schools which expanded were submitting monitoring data. He also noted the omission of Hythe Primary School from the data for this report (pp78-80).
Members noted the report, and Councillor Waddell requested that an update, to include Yellow Bus liaison with Runnymede BC, be passed to the borough council’s Community Services, Environment and Sustainability committee. |
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MEMBER ALLOCATIONS [FOR INFORMATION]
Additional documents: Minutes: Members noted the report, and the chairman asked that a vote of thanks be recorded for the work of Adele Seex, Local Support Assistant over the past eight years in administering the local member allocations funding. A bouquet was presented and members wished her every success in her new role at County Hall. |
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FORWARD PLAN [FOR INFORMATION]
The purpose of the Forward Plan is to give members an opportunity to comment on items for consideration at the next meeting. Minutes: The report was noted. |
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LOCAL CONSULTATIONS [FOR INFORMATION]
This item is for information and there is no report attached.
· The annual consultation on community safety will run until 22 March, and residents can complete a survey on crime and anti-social behaviour in the area:
https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/article/11285/Community-Safety-Survey
· Surrey County Council is consulting on changes to bus services in the county (with effect from September 2016) until Monday 14 March: for more details see: www.surreycc.gov.uk/transportreview
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