Agenda item

The full wording of this petition along with the officer comment will be provided within the supplementary agenda.

The Local Committee noted:

1)    That the petition to introduce  a 20mph speed limit on all of the requested roads in Ashtead and response.

2)    To continue to support the introduction of self-enforcing 20mph speed limits outside schools in Ashtead.

The Local Committee agreed:

i)    That officers could should work with the divisional member, the petitioner and Ashtead Residents’ Association to explore whether the Residents’ Association are in support of this request. If supported then the Residents’ Association could support any work to assess the feasibility of this request, for example funding a feasibility study or identifying match funding.

Reason for decision:

The above decision was made to enable the exploration of introducing a 20 mph speed limit in Ashtead if this was in agreement with what the Residents’ Association and divisional member wanted.

Declarations of Interest: None

Officers attending: Zena Curry, Area Highways Manager (AHM), SCC

Petitions, Public Questions, Statements: The full wording of the petition and officer response was provided within the supplementary agenda.

The lead petitioner, Dr Rita Antonelli attended the meeting and addressed the committee with her concerns. She stated she was concerned about the speeds that vehicles were travelling around Ashtead. She showed concern for the safety of the children, especially as there were many schools in the area. She argued that the SCC speed policy was outdated as it was written in 2014.

Key points from the discussion:

·         It was noted that the divisional member, who was not present at the meeting, had been keen to pursue the introduction of 20 mph speed limits outside schools. There were a number of schools in the district that had already had 20 mph speed limits piloted outside them.

·         It was acknowledged that the idea was a good one but it was noted that on some of the roads in Ashtead it would not be possible to reach 30mph anyway. Members therefore may not be supportive of the 20mph introduction across the whole of Ashtead.

·         The cost for such changes needed to be considered. It wasn’t as simple as erected some signs. In certain areas, where speed was excessive, additional measures would be required that could be unpopular with residents and lead to traffic seeking an alternative route.

·         It was queried when the Cabinet ‘Setting Speed Limit Policy’ was last reviewed. The AHM confirmed the last review was about 6 months ago and therefore it was unlikely it would be reviewed again so soon.

·         Members noted that other areas, such as Kingston, which was outside surrey, had 20 mph speed limits in residential areas. They queried what the difference was here and whether anything like that had been done within Surrey. They asked whether they needed to do more work or ask the Cabinet Member to look at what could be possible, for example a zoned area rather than individual roads to help with costs.

·         The AHM confirmed it wouldn’t be possible to have blanket zoned area as the roads with the 20 mph limit needed to be connected. As the A24 ran through the middle, all roads being considered would need to be looked at separately. She added that London Boroughs received more funding for such things but officers could look at the locations that would make the biggest difference. This was outside schools.

·         Members noted that there appeared to be strong support in Ashtead for the 20 mph speed limit. They acknowledged however that if an area such as Ashtead had this implemented there would likely be pressure from other areas such as Dorking to do the same.

·         The recommendations in the report mentioned involvement from Ashtead Residents’ Association. Whilst the Residents’ Association might have had funding available they had yet to be party to any conversations on the matter.

·         Mrs Helyn Clack seconded by Mr Tim Hall proposed an amendment to the third recommendation as felt it should appear more urgent as opposed to a suggestion and should also include the petitioner. The proposed amendment read:

The Mole Valley Local Committee are asked to agree:

i)              That officers should work with the divisional member, the petitioner and Ashtead Residents’ Association to explore whether the Residents’ Association are in support of this request. If supported then the Residents’ Association could support any work to assess the feasibility of this request, for example funding a feasibility study or identifying match funding.

Resolution:

The Local Committee noted:

i)      That the petition to introduce  a 20mph speed limit on all of the requested roads in Ashtead and response.

ii)     To continue to support the introduction of self-enforcing 20mph speed limits outside schools in Ashtead.

The Local Committee agreed:

i)    That officers could should work with the divisional member, the petitioner and Ashtead Residents’ Association to explore whether the Residents’ Association were in support of this request. If supported then the Residents’ Association could support any work to assess the feasibility of this request, for example funding a feasibility study or identifying match funding.

Reason for decision:

The above decision was made to enable the exploration of introducing a 20 mph speed limit in Ashtead if this was in agreement with what the Residents’ Association and divisional member wanted.