This report provides an update on the petition heard by the local committee on 5 September 2018, following the agreement by the Local Committee (Mole Valley) to ask officers to reconsider the proposal, and in discussion with the Chairman and the petitioners, what the way forward might be, in light of the strong views expressed by the committee, to introduce a trial period.
Decision:
The Local Committee (Mole Valley) AGREED to:
(i) Note the joint statement from Surrey County Council (SCC) Local Committee Chairman Mr Tim Hall and Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) Cabinet Member for Prosperity Councillor Simon Edge, as an update on the Petition (Annex 1). In particular to note the actions going forward.
(ii) Note that a safety review, which considers all High Street users, to assess the risk of conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, particularly for children, is to be carried out by SCC and is scheduled to be completed by March 2019.
(iii) Note that SCC has commissioned a repair of the walling to the ramps at the foot of the High Street, to improve the visual impact of this feature. This will be the removal of the damaged tiles and replacing this tiling with new rendering. This will be funded 50:50 by SCC and MVDC, with MVDC applying public realm planning contributions, and is scheduled to be carried out in February 2019, subject to normal construction delays, weather conditions and reducing inconvenience to traders and High Street users. The timing of the works was the result of consultation with
the market operator, Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce.
(iv) Note that a further petition about Leatherhead High Street has been submitted to the 12 December 2018 Local Committee (Mole Valley) for consideration.
(v) Agree that, following a review of the signs in Leatherhead, that SCC and MVDC will work together to put forward proposals for a new car park signing scheme, and existing direction signs in the town centre. Also, that MVDC and SCC will review existing Leatherhead gateway signs, identify approaches where no existing signs are, and to agree appropriate type, location and wording for any possible new signs. The Task Group and Committee will be updated following discussions between MVDC and SCC regarding the detailed proposals, funding streams and timings.
Reasons for Decision
To propose measures to work with representatives of the Leatherhead Residents’
Association and the Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce, in advance
and alongside the Transform Leatherhead project.
Minutes:
Declarations of interest: None
Officers present: Zena Curry, Area Highways Manager
The report was published with the supplementary papers. It was accompanied by a petition and response. To facilitate the discussion, the petition and Item 13 were heard together, after Item 4b and with Item 5.
A petition had been received from Mrs Susan Leveritt, with regards to Leatherhead High Street. The petition was sponsored by the Leatherhead Residents Association and the Leatherhead & District Chamber of Commerce. It is a request for the return of free parking to Leatherhead High Street at 3.30pm, with the Pedestrian Zone finishing an hour earlier than the current end time of 4.30pm. This petition follows on from the discussion the local committee had in September 2018 when Mrs Leveritt also presented a petition on this matter. At that meeting, members asked for officers to reconsider their response, and so officers have provided this update report to the local committee.
Mrs Leveritt spoke on the petition and her statement included the following points:
Mr John Howarth, on behalf of Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce also spoke on the petition, and his statement included the following points:
Councillor Simon Edge, Cabinet Member for Prosperity at Mole Valley District Council spoke in response and his statement included the following points:
Member discussion – key points:
· Members noted this is a difficult issue to balance. It is demoralising to see the empty shops. It takes time to do anything because of the legal requirements that councils have to follow.
· Could free parking be provided in the Swan Centre instead? It was noted that the cost of this would be about £18,000 for a three month trial, and could also lead to calls for the same from the other towns in the district.
· Has the free parking on Saturdays made a difference to businesses? Could the district’s own car parks become free from 3pm? Members noted that the free parking has made a big difference.
· Members asked if a shorter trial could be held to reduce the cost? Members noted the need to listen to officer advice because there are statutory requirements around implementing Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) even on a short-term basis.
· Introducing free parking in Mole Valley car parks would carry a significant cost implication. The district council made changes to its car park charges last year and at this point looked carefully at different models, including free parking at certain times of the day. A full parking review and strategy is underway. Traffic modelling is due to report in February 2019, so by the time a trial was able to start, the results of the traffic modelling should be known. . The high street viability study is due to report in June/July.
· Why was the opportunity missed not to do the feasibility study earlier? High streets are dying and traders having to close. The council should be helping, and putting them first. Parking right outside is much more convenient for shoppers.
· The chairman acknowledged the need for urgency, and the feeling of neglect from the town. There is a feeling of decline. The studies need to be sped up if possible. The improvements to the Swan Centre car park need to be promoted. The problem of increasing parking in the Swan Centre is that customers would just use Sainsburys and leave.
· Given that the county council is looking for a new Headquarters, could Leatherhead be considered, as this would give a boost to local traders. It was noted a number of options in Mole Valley were being looked at.
The Area Highway Manager made the following points in response:
· There will be a full parking review across Mole Valley next financial year. But there are things that officers are proposing to do before that, in consultation with the district council and the Transform Leatherhead team, as set out in the recommendations.
· In terms of timing, a TRO has to follow a statutory process, including an assessment of safety. A statutory consultation period is also required, during which time people can raise objections. It is a long and expensive process. At present, there is no funding to start this process. However, the proposal remains on the table, but needs to be fed into the Transform Leatherhead programme. Officers cannot justify trying to find that level of funding only to find out a few months down the line, that it was not the right solution.
· Parking in the Swan Centre is the responsibility of the district council, and therefore not within the remit of the local committee.
· Since September, officers have been looking at the TRO processes, and commissioning the safety review, which will be undertaken in January. This will feed into the wider economic review and transport review.
Resolution:
The Local Committee (Mole Valley) AGREED to:
(i) Note the joint statement from Surrey County Council (SCC) Local Committee Chairman Mr Tim Hall and Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) Cabinet Member for Prosperity Councillor Simon Edge, as an update on the Petition (Annex 1). In particular to note the actions going forward.
(ii) Note that a safety review, which considers all High Street users, to assess the risk of conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, particularly for children, is to be carried out by SCC and is scheduled to be completed by March 2019.
(iii) Note that SCC has commissioned a repair of the walling to the ramps at the foot of the High Street, to improve the visual impact of this feature. This will be the removal of the damaged tiles and replacing this tiling with new rendering. This will be funded 50:50 by SCC and MVDC, with MVDC applying public realm planning contributions, and is scheduled to be carried out in February 2019, subject to normal construction delays, weather conditions and reducing inconvenience to traders and High Street users. The timing of the works was the result of consultation with
the market operator, Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce.
(iv) Note that a further petition about Leatherhead High Street has been submitted to the 12 December 2018 Local Committee (Mole Valley) for consideration.
(v) Agree that, following a review of the signs in Leatherhead, that SCC and MVDC will work together to put forward proposals for a new car park signing scheme, and existing direction signs in the town centre. Also, that MVDC and SCC will review existing Leatherhead gateway signs, identify approaches where no existing signs are, and to agree appropriate type, location and wording for any possible new signs. The Task Group and Committee will be updated following discussions between MVDC and SCC regarding the detailed proposals, funding streams and timings.
Reasons for Decision
To propose measures to work with representatives of the Leatherhead Residents’
Association and the Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce, in advance
and alongside the Transform Leatherhead project.
Supporting documents: