Councillor Jem
Duducu attended the meeting and spoke
as Ward Councillor in support of the petition. Councillors Teji
Barnes and Michael White were present as Field End Road also ran
through Cavendish Ward. Councillor
Allan Kauffman had emailed comments in support of the petition
which were read out at the meeting.
Concerns and
suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:
- The size,
weight and speed of HGV lorries
(particularly Ocado vehicles)
travelling along Field End Road were causing residents' doors and
windows to rattle and were detrimental to the properties and
road;
- The noise
and vibrations meant that some residents were experiencing
difficulty sleeping;
- Petitioners had recorded Ocado
vehicles travelling along Field End Road at 2.57am, 3.09am,
3.30am and 4.20am on one day and it appeared that Ocado was not adhering to its vehicular movement
schedule;
- There had
been an incident involving an Ocado
lorry which had collided with the central island in Field End
Road;
- Many
children attending Field End School and individuals using the
recreation ground increased the volume of traffic and parked
vehicles along Field End Road. Although
the parked cars caused traffic to slow, by the time that the
HGVs reached Field End School the road
was straight, there were no real obstacles and their speed
generally increased;
- It was
noted that residents from one side of Field End Road were not as
affected by the HGVs as the vehicles
were returning empty on that side of the road so therefore placing
less pressure on the road and properties;
- It was
suggested that it would be unfair to divert the HGVs to another area and therefore petitioners were
requesting that the ban on lorries at certain times of night be
retained and enforced;
- Councillor Kauffman had stated in his written submission that
the route taken by Ocado lorries was contrary to the planned route for
HGV transport which therefore gave rise
to noise complaints. As she would be
absent, Councillor Kelly had echoed Councillor Kauffman's comments
and support of the petitioners;
- Councillor White expressed sympathy with residents from Field
End Road and other areas of the Borough with similar
experience. He suggested that
consideration be given to the provision of sound barriers and a
slight change to the road layout to reduce traffic
speed. However, residents advised that
there was already a service road with trees in place but that these
had offered little protection, particularly in relation to the
vibrations;
- Councillor Barnes agreed with the suggestion to review the road
layout to reduce the speed of traffic; and
- Although
Councillor Duducu suggested that
consideration be given to the use of speed guns, residents had
contacted the police but no further action had been taken.
Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of
the petitioners and responded to the points raised. He noted that Ocado
did not appear to be sticking to its agreed schedule. Undertaking a speed survey would provide the
Council with data in relation to the types of vehicles travelling
along Field End Road as well as the time and speed of the
movement. These surveys were undertaken
by an independent contractor.
Councillor Burrows advised that a speed survey
would be commissioned in Field End Road and was likely to be
undertaken in the next couple of months and the results discussed
with Ocado.
Ward Councillors would be advised of the timing for the survey so
that they could liaise with residents.
When talking about resurfacing the road with a
quiet surface, it was noted that a stretch of the road had already
been resurfaced. Consideration could be
given to resurfacing the rest of the road.
RESOLVED: Meeting with the
petitioners, the Cabinet Member:
1.
listened
to their concerns regarding the social problems
being created by the passage of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) during the night and their request to
restrict or ban this LGV traffic during
night-time hours.
2.
asked
officers to undertake a 24/7 traffic volume and
speed survey, with the location of the survey to be agreed with
petitioners.
3.
asked officers to consider the petitioners'
suggestions, undertake further considerations and report back to
him.
REASONS FOR
RECOMMENDATIONS
To give the Cabinet Member the
opportunity to discuss in detail the
petitioners' concerns. To investigate in further detail the request by
petitioners.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
CONSIDERED
Options were discussed with the
petitioners.