Agenda item

Councillors Dhillon, Lakhmana and Morse were in attendance as Ward Councillors for Pinkwell.

Councillor Burrows welcomed the petitioners and attendees to the meeting, and asked the attendees to stand for a minute's silence to remember the lives of Harry Rice, George Wilkinson and Josh McGuinness, who were recently killed in an accident on Shepiston Lane.

At the invitation of the Cabinet Member, the Borough Solicitor issued a statement regarding the sensitivity of the situation, and requested that any comments or discussions be strictly confined to the issue of road safety on Shepiston Lane. The reasons for this being that one individual had already been charged by the police and he is before the criminal courts. There is also an ongoing police investigation and therefore nothing should be said or done which would, in any way, prejudice either the court proceedings or the police investigation.

The Cabinet Member offered his personal condolences to the family and friends of Harry, George and Josh. Councillor Burrows also noted that during his tenure as Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling, this was the most difficult petition that had been considered, due to the tragic circumstances and level of passion surrounding the petition, but commended the petitioners for their efforts raising the petition, that had received over 27,000 signatures.

Councillor Burrows confirmed that, due to the conditions under which the petition was being heard, the usual speaking times and procedures would not be upheld at the meeting, and the petitioners were able to speak for as long as they wished.

Mr Jake Webb, the lead petitioner, then addressed the Cabinet Member, and thanked everyone for taking the time to listen to the petitioners' concerns. Mr Webb commented that the petition started due to the unsafe nature of Shepiston Lane, Hayes, as there were not enough traffic calming measurements in place and the speed limit was too high. Mr Webb noted that over the last week, the speed limit had been changed to 40mph, the streets were better lit and the pavements widened, while the Council continued to work with the Police, the Fire Service and Transport for London (TfL) to further improve the safety of the road.

The Cabinet Member heard that the petitioners believed a lot had been achieved already, but they still supported the addition of one final speed calming measure, either in the form of a crossing, speed cameras or speed humps. Mr Webb commented that there was only one crossing on a very long road, and with the Sports Centre, graveyard, and a number of bus stops, it was important to protect pedestrians in the area, especially vulnerable people at busy times.

Melissa Blackwell, the sister of Josh McGuinness, addressed the Cabinet Member and noted that she had spoken to someone whose son was seriously injured in an accident on Shepiston Lane, and commented that the road was very dangerous. The Cabinet Member heard that speed limit signs did not slow down the traffic, and speed calming measures, such as a speed camera, must be put in place to prevent this from happening again.

Mr Webb noted that there had been eight other accidents on the road in recent years, before the most recent accident, that had resulted in one fatality, and that this was proof of the dangerous nature of that stretch of road.

Councillor Burrows confirmed that a motorcyclist was killed in the 30mph zone, and at that time, the Council discussed the safety of the road with the emergency services. The Council then undertook speed surveys and consultation, as it is legally obliged to do, and decided to implement a step-down speed limit on Shepiston Lane, that changed from 50mph, to 40mph, to 30mph. This plan was advertised for objections, agreed with TfL, and then ordered before the money for the works was released. The planned works cost in excess of £1.1m and was an indication of how seriously the Council takes road safety in the Borough.

The Council's Transport and Projects Senior Manager introduced a short presentation which was an overview of the changes carried out on Shepiston Lane, including photographs and plans to illustrate where works had taken place. The Cabinet Member heard that the fatal accident involving a motorcyclist was due to a car overtaking on the opposite side of the road in the 30mph zone, and the resulting speed surveys proved that cars were already speeding in the area. A step-down speed limit was then proposed, and this has now been introduced, although some of the work has been paused due to the current circumstances, and this work will be carried out at a later date once the police investigation has been concluded.

The Ward Councillors for Pinkwell addressed the Committee and expressed their support for the petition.

Councillor Dhillon expressed his condolences to all those affected by the tragic accident on Shepiston Lane, and thanked the petitioners for bringing this petition to the Council. Councillor Dhillon noted that the trees in the cemetery block light for pedestrians, and that a reduction in speed might also help when large trailers are leaving the Vaughan Plant Haulage site. The Cabinet Member heard that signs advising motorists to slow down to 25mph on the bend of Shepiston Lane would be welcome and the Council should petition for two speed cameras for both sides of the road. Councillor Dhillon concluded his comments by thanking the officers for their hard work on the issue.

Councillor Lakhmana issued her condolences to those affected by the accident and thanked Mr Webb for submitting the petition. The Cabinet Member heard that speed humps would help to reduce the speed of cars travelling on the road, but noted her support for the other measures introduced.

Councillor Morse thanked the petitioners for their efforts, and noted that the Council may wish to consider extending the 30mph speed limit to cover the whole area.

Responding to a question from Councillor Dhillon, the Cabinet Member noted that the speed limit on the road entering West Drayton was national, but he had already asked officers to look at potential changes to the speed limit.

Councillor Burrows thanked the petitioners for their input, and noted it took a lot of courage to speak out about such a tragic incident. The Cabinet Member commented that the programme of works had been brought forward a week, and further areas will still be improved in the future.

The Cabinet Member made reference to the recommendations in the report, and noted that it was under the advice of the emergency services that the Council opted for a step down speed limit that reduced from 50 to 40 to 30mph, instead of implementing a 30mph limit across the whole area.

Councillor Burrows stated that speed cameras were installed and operated by TfL, and not the Council, but stated that he would put all his weight behind a campaign to have speed cameras installed in the area, including supporting a letter to TfL from the Council's officers, and writing a personal letter to TfL and the Mayor of London, requesting that two speed cameras be installed on Shepiston Lane.

The Cabinet Member noted that he would add a further recommendation to the report which instructed officers to review the crossing points along the road, particularly near the cemetery as mentioned by the lead petitioners, and asked officers to report back to him for further discussion and a decision on the matter.

In Councillor Burrows' concluding remarks, it was noted that the Council have taken the issue extremely seriously following the accident, and moved the programme of works forward to ensure action was taken as quickly as possible.

The Cabinet Member thanked the petitioners for their attendance and their petition, and noted that there was a Just Giving page set up to raise money for a memorial bench, in honour of Harry, George and Josh. Councillor Burrows informed the petitioners that, following discussions with the Leader of the Council, the London Borough of Hillingdon had agreed that they would double whatever was raised in the fundraising campaign, and this money would be donated to the Harefield Academy, that the boys attended, to put in place a memorial to the boys that was considered suitable by the academy and families.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling:

1.         Noted and advised all those attending the petition hearing of the importance of ensuring that there was no discussion of the incident on Shepiston Lane on Friday, 26 January 2018, on the basis that there were ongoing police investigations and also that there were currently legal proceedings before the criminal courts;

2.         Subject to the provisions of (1), met and discussed with petitioners their concerns with road safety in Shepiston Lane, and specifically heard and considered their suggestions whilst noting actions already in progress;

3.         Noted the circumstances of a previous incident in Shepiston Lane which led directly to joint investigations by the Council and the emergency services, and thereafter to measures referred to under (4), (5) and (6);

4.         Noted that the council had been in the process of implementing a series of road safety measures in Shepiston Lane over the past year, which included carriageway resurfacing, footway improvements and new streetlighting, as detailed in the body of the report, to a cost of just over £1m;

5.         Noted that as part of the above, the Council had consulted upon and implemented a change of the transition of speed limits in Shepiston Lane from '50-national speed limit-30mph' to '50-40-30mph', as detailed in the body of the report, after due consideration of key stakeholders including, in particular, the emergency services, whose views are always crucial in any proposal to change the posted speed limit;

6.         Noted that as a final part of the present programme of works, the Council will be installing 'vehicle activated signs' in Shepiston Lane, designed to flash a warning message to drivers exceeding the speed limit, as detailed in the body of the report;

7.         Noted that in light of the ongoing investigations referenced under (1), that the completion of some elements of the present scheme may be deferred temporarily whilst the Police continue to conduct their own investigations;

8.         Noted the specific request from petitions for a TfL Safety Camera in Shepiston Lane, and accordingly, subject to the comments of petitions, instructed officers to lobby the Mayor of London for the consideration of such a camera, or cameras, as appropriate to his programme;

9.         Having heard from petitioners, instructed officers to add their views to inform a further review of the present measures within the next six months, this review to include the commissioning of further, independent '24/7' vehicle speed and volume surveys, after which officers will report the outcome to the Cabinet Member, local Ward Members, the emergency services and the lead petitioner;

10.      Subject to the outcome of (9), if the ongoing investigation by the Police and other bodies, such as those referenced under item (1), have yet to be concluded at that point, agreed to consider a further review of the situation in Shepiston Lane, at which point further critically important information may have become available within the public domain and could inform the development of further measures; and,

11.      Instructed officers to review crossing points along Shepiston Lane, particularly nearby the cemetery, as mentioned by the lead petitioner, and report back to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling for further discussion or decisions.