Agenda item

To receive any questions from Surrey County Council electors within the area in accordance with Standing Order 66.

All written public questions received before the deadline are included in the supplementary agenda, along with the officer response.

Declarations of interest: None

Officers present: Zena Curry, Area Highways Manager, Duncan Knox, Road Safety and Active Travel Team Manager.

The chairman noted that responses to the written questions received were published in the supplementary papers.

Question – Mrs Caroline Salmon – Safer route to school for the Weald School, A24 Beare Green

·         Mrs Salmon was not in attendance.

·         The divisional member for Dorking Rural noted that she had previously asked if the carriageway could be reduced to a single carriageway with a feeder lane, as has been done on the north side. This would provide a feeder lane in and out of Newdigate Road. Could this be looked at?

·         The Area Highway Manager agreed this suggestion could be put forward. The number of accidents at that site is currently low compared to other sites across the county. It would likely therefore be a low priority for design work, but it may be possible to work with the county councillor and with the parish council to see if funding can be identified. The Road Safety and Active Travel Team Manager agreed this was certainly worth looking at.

Question – Mr John Favell – Leatherhead Bypass A245

·         Mr Favell was not in attendance.

·         Members asked for more clarification over the reference to mean speeds –if more than half of people are exceeding the speed limit, how can the response state that there is good compliance? The Road Safety and Active Travel Team Manager acknowledged there is some speeding on that road. However this road has been looked at in some depth and measured with Surrey Police, but it does not meet the criteria for the Police to prioritise, in comparison with other sites. The Chairman noted that the speed figures are variable depending on the time of day as there is heavy congestion at certain times, and therefore not a consistent pattern.

Question from Mrs Louise Buckland – Partnership working and children’s centres

·         Mrs Buckland was not in attendance.

Question from Mrs Helen Sutherland – use of volunteers in children’s centres

·         Mrs Sutherland was in attendance. She stated that children’s centres do use volunteers, but that this is often for the benefit of the volunteer, to build their confidence and employment skills. Volunteers cannot replace staff members. She stated that many organisations are struggling to keep and retain volunteers. While volunteers have a role, she does not agree that recruiting a volunteer workforce will deliver the services residents expect. Will the committee ask Cabinet to remove the plan to use volunteers?

·         Members noted that Mole Valley has historically had proportionately higher levels of funding than other parts of the county. The county council faces dire financial issues. Members urged the public to give their views through the consultation, and to use the ‘free text’ boxes in the questionnaire to reflect their views fully.

·         The divisional member for Ashtead noted that there is a petition on the county council’s website regarding the proposal to close Leatherhead’s children’s centre. Leatherhead has areas of deprivation that need to be taken into account.

·         Members noted that there was no reference to a 58% cut in the budgets for Mole Valley in the consultation material, and noted it is difficult for the public to respond if they are not aware of the consequences. The funding that Mole Valley has had has been well used – Goodwyns children’s centre has an outstanding Ofsted report. Members noted that the decision following the consultation rests with Cabinet and not with the local committee.

·         Members agreed to discuss the family resilience proposals further, with a view to putting a formal local committee response to Cabinet in January.

·         The Leader of the District Council noted that Mole Valley District Council would be providing a more detailed response to the consultations, following the motion to oppose the closures passed at their council meeting. There would be the opportunity for the local committee to determine if it endorses this response.

Question – Mrs Katherine Stranger – Cuts to children’s centre budgets

·         Mrs Stranger was not in attendance.

Question – Mrs Donna Harwood-Duffy – Impact on Dorking children’s centre if Leatherhead closes

·         Mrs Harwood-Duffy was present and asked a supplementary question. As Headteacher of Dorking Nursery Children’s Centre, she would welcome the opportunity to have a discussion with the councils about family resilience. While aware that historically Mole Valley has been better funded, the impact of the cuts is important to consider. There has been a reduction in deprivation statistics, and this is linked to the children’s centres’ work. The main site at Dorking is bursting at the seams. The Leatherhead site is hugely valuable and already a hub – it is used by Banardos and midwives for example. If that site closes, all those partners will be looking for new venues. How can the site accommodate other agencies, such as providing a base for social workers, when it is already full?

·         The chairman agreed to provide a response following the meeting.

Question  - Mr Ron Billard – Give-way signs on the cycle track between Dorking and Leatherhead

·         Mr Billard was not present.

Question - Mr Meudell – Dorking Sustainable Transport Project

·         Mr Meudell was present. Mr Meudell indicated his concern that a meeting with the Dorking Town Forum to discuss lessons learned from the Dorking Sustainable Transport Package phase one, as agreed at the local committee’s meeting in June 2018. Mr Meudell stated that the meeting had not taken place, and that the chairman of the Dorking Town Forum had messaged officers asking for a date but received no reply. The forum had valid reasons for pursuing the complaint to the LEP in the way they did, and wish to discuss the lessons learned, as well as the Access for All Network Rail programme, and the condition of Deepdene station, with members of the committee. Mr Meudell stated that the response provided was factually incorrect, and should be withdrawn. A separate meeting should be held to go through the issues.

·         The Area Highway Manager agreed to take the points raised back to the Transport Policy Team, and stated that the response provided indicated a meeting was scheduled for January 2019. In response, Mr Meudell stated that the Dorking Town Forum was asked to submit a bid for Dorking Deepdene and that the January meeting is being coordinated by the town forum, with the county council being the last body to respond to the invitation. The forum were not invited to the meeting in November as a whole, just a selected number of individuals.

·         Members said that the appropriate councillors and officers need to meet with the Dorking Town Forum to resolve this long-running issue. The chairman agreed to take this back to the relevant team. 

Question – John M – Randalls Road, A245, pavement width.

·         The resident was not present.

·         Councillor Dickson stated that following discussion with officers at the district council, she is informed that the funds are being gathered from both Queen Elizabeth and Beechcroft for the work to be done on this pavement, and also on the shuttle bus for Beechcroft, to fulfil the S106 agreement.

Question – Ockley Parish Council – road safety study in Ockley

·         No representative from Ockley Parish Council was present.

·         The divisional member for Dorking Rural noted that the parish has done a lot of work to understand the issues in the village, as a number of parishes have done, and they want to know how best to raise this and take it forward with the county council. They have already commissioned and paid for traffic surveys. Will officers meet with the parish to discuss in more detail and agree a way forward? The parish has a strong desire to take forward, and this is a good example of localism.

·         The Area Highway Manager stated that when setting a new speed limit, it has to comply with the county council’s ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’ policy. Part of the policy involves undertaking a speed survey in collaboration with the Police. For gateways, there needs to be sufficient road width, and any underground apparatus need to be considered. To be added to the Integrated Transport Schemes list, a scheme needs to be assessed as feasible in broad terms, to be taken forward to the next step. Further assessment is needed. The Area Highway Manager agreed to discuss further with the divisional member.

Question – Councillor Elizabeth Daly – pedestrian safety in South Bookham and Bookham Youth and Community Centre

·         Councillor Daly was not present at the meeting. Councillor Kennedy asked supplementary questions on behalf of councillor Daly: is there any scope for obtaining funding from the expansion of the Howard of Effingham school and associated new housing development?

·         The Area Highway Manager agreed to look into this, and into potential CIL, but felt it was perhaps unlikely. 

·         Councillor Kennedy also stated on Councillor Daly’s behalf, that the response on Bookham Youth and Community Centre is disappointing for Bookham and Fetcham families considering that the impending closure of the centre has been known for some time and 617 people have signed a petition on the Surrey County Council website requesting a permanent centre. When will the Council be in a position to give a definitive answer on the future of the centre?

·         The divisional member for Bookham and Fetcham West responded that she had been very actively involved in the plans evaluating the future of this site, which also involves discussions with Planning Officers at the district council. There is no definitive date at this point, but she hopes that it will be sooner rather than later. The Chairman noted that various voluntary organisations who use the centre have been involved in discussions with the county council’s Property Team about what facilities are  needed. Once there is a plan in place, then it will need to go through the planning process.

Tabled question – Caroline Salmon – Average speed cameras A24

·         The Chairman noted that a public question and response had been tabled at the meeting, owing to a misunderstanding with officers. The response had been provided to the resident.