Agenda item

This report summarises progress with the Local Committee’s programme of Highways works for the current Financial Year 2017-18.

Members are encouraged to start considering the strategy and priorities for next Financial Year, 2018-19.

That the Local Committee Epsom & Ewell agreed:

(i)         To introduce double yellow lines in Temple Road between the parking bays between numbers 46 and 70 Temple Road, to discourage vehicles overhanging the bays and give residents increased forward visibility whilst leaving their driveways as set out in the report;

(ii)        To extend the double yellow lines on the western side of Temple Road from Pound Lane, southwards to encompass the entire length of the hatching and prevent any obstructive parking on the approach to the pedestrian refuge;

(iii)       To implement double yellow lines in Temple Road in the chicane area outside St Barnabas’ Church, to prevent obstruction of this area by parked vehicles;

(iv)      To include a single yellow line restriction in Gibraltar Crescent operational between 10.00-11.00am and 15.00-16.00, the detailed plan to be agreed by the Parking Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and divisional member;

(v)       That the proposals in (i) to (iv) above be advertised as part of the Phase 10 parking review and follow the procedures as agreed at the March 2017 meeting to complete that review;

(vi)      To defer consideration of the construction of a new cycle route in Waterloo Road, connecting Epsom railway station to the extensive network of cycle routes to the north of the Borough, to the next meeting, pending a reply from the developer indicating whether an alternative use for the funding would be acceptable to them within the terms of the 106 agreement;

(vii)     To introduce new bus stop clearways in five locations in Hook Road, Epsom as detailed in Annexes F, G, and H of the report;

(viii)    To transfer £12,000 currently allocated to the construction of a cycle way from Stoneleigh Park Road to Bradford Drive to fund maintenance work on Highfield Drive where the road surface has sunk;
 

(ix)      Authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes outlined in the report as amended above.

(x)       That the Chairman be asked to write to the Cabinet member for Environment & Transport expressing the Committee’s opposition to the 78% cut in local highways funding in 2017/2018 on the grounds that the decision was made six weeks after the agreement of the County Council budget, without consultation with members, when the Committees draft programme for the year had already been agreed and that different choices could have been made to enable this area of work to continue to be funded adequately.

Reasons: Programmes of work have been agreed in consultation with the Committee.  Committee is asked to provide the necessary authorisation to deliver those programmes of work in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member without the need to revert to the Committee as a whole.

A number of new lengths of double yellow lines are recommended for Temple Road to ensure the continued safe travel of drivers using Temple Road and to resolve, as much as is reasonable, access issues for residents on the north-eastern side of Hook Road.

Residents have requested the implementation of parking restrictions in Gibralatar Crescent to limit anti-social parking.

Declarations of Interest: Mrs Bernie Muir declared a personal interest in Temple Road

Officers attending: Nick Healey, Area Highways Team Manager; Steve Howard, Transport Policy Project Manager

Petitions, Public Questions/Statements: None

Member Discussion – key points

Members requested that they should be informed of the outcome of the analysis of the underspend of the Committees revenue funding in 2016/17, as soon as this has been completed, rather than waiting for a report to a future meeting.

Mr Eber Kington expressed concern at the 78% reduction in the highways budget for the Local Committee in 2017/18.  The decision was taken in March, by the Cabinet, six weeks after the County Council Budget Meeting and without consultation with Members or post-decision scrutiny.  This has resulted in the Committee having to abandon the plans which it had made based on the anticipated budget and has seriously curtailed the Committee’s ability to respond to residents requests which are not deemed to be safety related.  Whilst he agreed with the Local Committee chairmen’s decision not to borrow to fund this budget, he did not accept that savings could not have been made within other Surrey services to release funding to meet this important area of work for residents.  He proposed that the Chairman be asked to write to the Cabinet member expressing these views on behalf of the Committee.  The proposal was seconded by Cllr Neil Dallen.

Mr Eber Kington proposed that the £12,000 in Table 3 of the report allocated to the Stoneleigh Park Road to Bradford Drive cycle link should be reallocated to fund maintenance work in Highfield Drive, as he did not feel that the construction of a cycle way was the highest priority for residents in his area.  The Area Highway Manager indicated that there was a risk that £12,000 would not be sufficient to cover the works required in Highfield Drive once an investigation had been completed and it may then be too late for the cycle link scheme to be delivered this financial year.  Mr Kington accepted that there was a risk and that the money may have to be spent in a different division.  Mrs Mason seconded the proposal which was unanimously agreed.

Cllr Dallen queried the proves of bid submission to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).  The Project Manager reported that the resilience scheme bid has already been submitted and assessed, formal submission of bids should take place in July for a decision later in the year.  The County Council have asked for the bid to be accelerated.  Cllr Dallen asked for clarification of the process as this did not accord with his experience of LEP processes.  The Project Manager undertook to check when the Horizon schemes in paragraph 2.16 will go ahead.

Members asked for clarification of the nature of the structure is at Tolworth Court on Page 32 of the report.

Members discussed the potential cycle route funded as part of a S106 agreement with the Epsom Station developers on page 15 of the report.

The Area Highways Manager reported that whilst an alternative proposal for a zebra crossing in Waterloo Road may fall within the remit of the s106 agreement he did not feel that this was what was intended when the agreement was drawn up.  The Transport Planning Development Officer has written to the developer to seek their views on alternative schemes, but a response has not yet been received.  In addition it was not possible to say without a feasibility study whether a zebra crossing could safely be provided at this location and what affect it would have on the parking spaces outside the shops.  A feasibility study could not be funded from the s106 money and an alternative source of funding would need to be identified by the Committee.

The latest estimate for the original scheme is £34,000 plus £15,000 for the lighting under the bridge.  The bus stop in Waterloo road could be relocated to Station Approach but a larger bus stop would be required.  Members queried why more space would be required and the Area Highways Manager agreed to ask the Passenger Transport Team for more information.  Noted that the potential sites for new cycle stands had been suggested to the Borough Planning Officer.  Members agreed to defer a decision until the next meeting pending a reply from the developer and asked that they should be notified as soon as a reply has been received.  They also asked that the developer should be consulted on whether the time limit for spending the money could be extended.

Mrs Mason asked in relation to the parking update whether in view of the additions made to the Phase 10 proposals earlier in the meeting her request for restrictions in Gibraltar Crescent could be added to the review.  The Parking Engineer had indicated that he could take this forward, subject to the agreement of the Committee and of him agreeing a plan with Mrs Mason.

In relation to Annexe D, a member asked how bus drivers would access the Ashley Centre from the bus stand as there is a barrier around it.  The Project Manager reported that they would alight into the red hatched area and walk round in view of oncoming vehicles.  A gate had been considered but this would allow other pedestrians to access the stand which was not considered to be safe.  A meeting had taken place with the bus companies and a safety audit had been carried out.  A user guide will be prepared for bus drivers.  There has been a loss of 3 vehicle queuing spaces for the Ashley Centre car park, but traffic modelling indicates that the queue length will be reduced when South Street becomes two way as more vehicles will be able to access the car park from this direction rather than using the current one way system around the town centre.

Members expressed concern at the communication with residents and businesses around the progress and plans for the Plan E scheme.  The website had not been updated for several months and residents had lost faith in the information provided.  The Project Manager acknowledged that the website should be updated and undertook to ensure that this is done.  Noted that the next phase of work would not now begin until August, although there may be some advance work taking place.  When dates are finalised they will be communicated

[Kate Chinn left the meeting at 9.35pm]

A member queried whether the loss of parking spaces associated with the proposed bus stop clearways had been quantified.  It was noted that a bus cage is approximately 13m equivalent to 3 spaces.  However loss of parking is not taken into account in relation to bus stop clearway proposals as they are considered to be needed to address a safety issue.

Resolved:

(i)         To introduce double yellow lines in Temple Road between the parking bays between numbers 46 and 70 Temple Road, to discourage vehicles overhanging the bays and give residents increased forward visibility whilst leaving their driveways as set out in the report;

(ii)        To extend the double yellow lines on the western side of Temple Road from Pound Lane, southwards to encompass the entire length of the hatching and prevent any obstructive parking on the approach to the pedestrian refuge;

(iii)       To implement double yellow lines in Temple Road in the chicane area outside St Barnabas’ Church, to prevent obstruction of this area by parked vehicles;

(iv)      To include a single yellow line restriction in Gibraltar Crescent operational between 10.00-11.00am and 15.00-16.00, the detailed plan to be agreed by the Parking Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and divisional member;

(v)       That the proposals in (i) to (iv) above be advertised as part of the Phase 10 parking review and follow the procedures as agreed at the March 2017 meeting to complete that review;

(vi)      To defer consideration of the construction of a new cycle route in Waterloo Road, connecting Epsom railway station to the extensive network of cycle routes to the north of the Borough, to the next meeting, pending a reply from the developer indicating whether an alternative use for the funding would be acceptable to them within the terms of the 106 agreement;

(vii)     [On a vote 6 votes FOR, 1 AGAINST and 1 ABSTENTION] To introduce new bus stop clearways in five locations in Hook Road, Epsom as detailed in Annexes F, G, and H of the report;

(viii)    To transfer £12,000 currently allocated to the construction of a cycle way from Stoneleigh Park Road to Bradford Drive to fund maintenance work on Highfield Drive where the road surface has sunk;
 

(ix)      Authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes outlined in the report as amended above.

(x)       [On a vote by 7 votes FOR to 2 AGAINST] That the Chairman be asked to write to the Cabinet member for Environment & Transport expressing the Committee’s opposition to the 78% cut in local highways funding in 2017/2018 on the grounds that the decision was made six weeks after the agreement of the County Council budget, without consultation with members, when the Committees draft programme for the year had already been agreed and that different choices could have been made to enable this area of work to continue to be funded adequately.

Reasons: Programmes of work have been agreed in consultation with the Committee.  Committee is asked to provide the necessary authorisation to deliver those programmes of work in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member without the need to revert to the Committee as a whole.

A number of new lengths of double yellow lines are recommended for Temple Road to ensure the continued safe travel of drivers using Temple Road and to resolve, as much as is reasonable, access issues for residents on the north-eastern side of Hook Road.

Residents have requested the implementation of parking restrictions in Gibralatar Crescent to limit anti-social parking.