Agenda and minutes

None.

RESOLVED: That all items be considered in public.

Councillors John Oswell, Beulah East, Neil Fyfe, Wayne Bridges, Pat Jackson and Alan Chapman attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         The petition was raised by concerned parents.

·         Son attended Abbotsfield School and her daughter was due to start Swakeleys School in September 2015.

·         On 12 September 2014 a child was hit by a bus at the top of Charville Lane.

·         The left hand side bend on Pole Hill was dangerous.

·         The bus stops were positioned near the bend in the road.

·         Had to apply brakes on 3 occasions due to children crossing inappropriately.

·         There was nowhere safe for the children to cross.

·         159 people had signed the petition, which included local police officers, the ward panel members, local parents and even both Headteachers from the local schools.

The police officer in attendance also made the following points:

·         Supported petitioners' request.

·         Was an officer that covered Charville Ward.

·         There were safety issues.

·         The area was like a car park at school closing times.

·         Several damage collisions had been reported.

·         It was dangerous for children.

Ward Councillors for both Charville and Hillingdon East Wards made the following points:

·         Supported petitioners' requests.

·         Glad that both schools supported the petition.

·         Schools should encourage children to get involved with these issues.

·         The petition spoke for itself.

·         Request that Ward Councillors be invited on site with officers to decide positioning of the proposed crossing.

·         Could the school travel plans be adapted to include a 20mph speed limit?

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.

Cllr Burrows sympathised with the views of petitioners and Ward Councillors.  Cllr Burrows advised petitioners that it was important to position a crossing in a safe place, not just for pedestrians but also other road users, as clear visibility was needed.  The Council conducted independent safety audits to ensure that the crossing would be positioned and sited in the appropriate place.

Cllr Burrows highlighted that both himself and officers were aware of the accident that took place involving a young child last year.  It was further explained that the analysis at point 5 of the officers' report only included data from the police relating to those who had been killed or seriously injured (KSI), the Council was not dismissing other collisions that had took place.

Cllr Burrows informed petitioners that Hillingdon Council was one of the only Councils in London that had a budget dedicated to road safety improvements.  Petitioners were invited to indicate on a plan where they would like speed surveys to take place.  Cllr Burrows had explained to petitioners that the speed surveys would collect data regarding the types of vehicles, the speed a vehicle was travelling and the volume of traffic.  

Resolved - That the Cabinet Member:

1.     Met with petitioners and considered their request for a new pedestrian crossing.

2.     Asked officers to add the petitioners’ request to the Council’s Road Safety Programme for further investigation.

3.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Councillors Mohinder Birah and Jagjit Singh attended as a Ward Councillor in support of the petitioners.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         Residents of Blandford Waye were happy that the road had been resurfaced.

·         There were various issues that needed to be addressed.

·         A number of elderly residents lived in the area.

·         A one way system was needed.

·         Double yellow lines were needed on the blind corners.

·         The grassed verges were being ruined.

·         The area was often left in darkness, especially during the winter months, due to lighting columns not working.

·         Mud splattered onto the pavements making them slippery to walk on.

·         The pavement was uneven.

Councillor Birah and Singh spoke in support of the petitioners’ request and raised the following issues:

·         Supported local residents.

·         Had visited the site.

·         Agreed that the lighting was of poor quality.

·         There were 5 blind corners.

·         Had sent a request for 'at any time' waiting restrictions.

·         Vans and Lorries were often mounting the footway and damaging the grass verges.

·         Mud was often left on the road which made it a hazard.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.

Councillor Burrows noted that petitioners had raised a number of issues in their petition.  Councillor Burrows explained to petitioners that there was no mandate to proceed with 'at any time' parking restrictions unless there was support from the majority of those who would be affected by the proposals.  It was explained that any proposals would need to be legally advertised before being implemented, providing there were no objections of any relevant weight.

Additionally Councillor Burrows added a further recommendation to the officers' report and informed petitioners that Council officers would attend the area to inspect the grass verges and pavements.  Ward Councillors were also invited to attend this proposed site visit along with the lead petitioner.

Resolved - That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Discussed with petitioners and listened to their requests for highway improvements in Blandford Waye, Hayes.

2.    Asked officers to add the request for a one way working to the Council's extensive road safety programme and asked officers to informally consult roads in an area agreed with ward Councillors.

3.    Discussed with petitioners the areas of their roads which they believe would benefit from additional "at any time" waiting restrictions and asked officers to investigate these and report back to him.

4.    Noted the request for new street lighting in Blandford Waye and advises the petitioners that their request will be considered in future programmes to be agreed by Members.

5.    Noted residents' satisfaction following their road being resurfaced in December 2014.

6.    Instructed officers to inspect Council owned grass verges and pavements in this area and report back to the Cabinet Member regarding the condition and possible remedial action the Council can take.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and if appropriate add their request to the Council's road safety programme.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillors Carol Melvin attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         The proposal to remove end on parking in favour of parallel parking at the top of Thirlmere Gardens, Northwood was ludicrous.

·         Parking availability had severely reduced which had caused a ripple effect in the rest of the road.

·         End on parking had existed since the estate had been built.

·         There was no logical reason why end on parking could not continue.

·         There was confusion on how residents should park.

·         Residents were not aware that the proposal would be implemented as parallel parking.

·         The issues were causing frustration on a daily basis.

·         Demanded that the spaces remained as they were originally.

·         If the footpath was narrowed there would be enough space for end on parking, which would add 4 additional spaces to the road.

Councillor Carol Melvin spoke in support of the petitioners’ request and raised the following issues.

·         Supported petitioners' request.

·         The parking scheme was implemented to stop people from using Thirlmere Gardens as an overflow car park for the local hospital.

·         Did not want to make it difficult for residents to park.

·         No reason why the path could not be set back to create additional space.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.

Councillor Burrows was aware that residents had previously petitioned for a parking scheme and questioned why the difficulty with parking had increased, and not reduced.  Councillor Burrows explained to petitioners and the Ward Councillor present that it would cost the Council a considerable amount of money to convert grass verges into parking bays and would set a precedent across the Borough and was not Council policy.  As a consequence this did not appear to  be a suitable option.  An additional recommendation was added to the officers' report for officers to conduct a parking stress survey.

Resolved - That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Met and discussed with petitioners their concerns with the proposed layout of the Parking Management Scheme in Thirlmere Gardens.

2.    Instructed officers to conduct a parking stress survey.

1.    Subject to recommendation 2, asked officers to implement the proposed scheme in its current form at the earliest opportunity and to keep it under review.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

Discussions with the petitioners allowed the Cabinet Member to fully understand their concerns.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED / RISK MANAGEMENT

None at this stage.