Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

 

(a)          Petitions: To receive any petitions presented by members of the public;

 

(i)            Surrenden Road Parking

 

(ii)          Traffic in Ovingdean

 

(b)          Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 21 June 2016;

 

(c)          Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 21 June 2016.

 

(a)          Petitions

 

(i)           Surrenden Road Parking- Andrew Symes

 

5.1         The Committee considered a petition signed by 106 people requesting the introduction of a resident parking scheme on Surrenden Road.

 

5.2         The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your petition.

At a Committee meeting last year it was agreed to proceed with a parking scheme in the Fiveways area which did not include Surrenden Road or other roads in the vicinity. 

It was also agreed that if difficulties arise in roads outside the scheme area following its introduction in April then residents in the area would need to put together a petition at that stage.

Residents in roads just west and including Balfour Road came forward with a petition for a re-consultation on a parking scheme and this was agreed at a recent Committee meeting as it was felt these roads were suitable for inclusion.

Surrenden Road is lengthy with a number of side roads and closes that would require a more extensive design solution

Therefore, at this stage, Surrenden Road would need to be considered as part of a wider parking scheme. If residents come forward with a petition from the wider area then it can be considered for inclusion within the parking scheme priority timetable”.

 

5.3         RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.

 

(ii)          Traffic in Ovingdean- Barry Sugg

 

5.4         The Committee considered a petition signed by 143 people requesting the council take urgent action to control the volume, speed and behaviour of traffic on the stretch of Greenways and Ovingdean Road.

 

5.5         The Chair provided the following response:

 

“The council does sympathise with residents of Ovingdean with regard to the volume of traffic and anticipates that the majority of the traffic would be local to the immediate areas using the local access routes. 

In response to your petition, officers will undertake monitoring of traffic speeds, volume and vehicle type in the coming weeks and will be happy to share those results with you when they are available. The Council does also appreciate that the perception of speeds can be just as important as the actual recorded speeds and that this is an important issue in making our streets feel safer and more pleasant and this is something we do factor into our reviews and monitoring of individual streets and areas. 

Following the monitoring, I will ask officers from the council’s Road Safety Team to meet with you to discuss any further measures that may be able to be taken to improve driver responsibility as they come through the village. 

Any closure of Ovingdean Road would need to be considered very carefully with the views of residents in Longhill Road and Beacon Hill would need to be considered as those roads would inevitably suffer from displaced traffic.”

 

5.6         RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.

 

(iii)         Stanmer Park Road parking- Emma Rompani

 

5.7         The Committee considered a petition signed by 69 people requesting Stanmer Park Road be included in the Zone G resident parking scheme.

 

5.8         The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your Petition

Over the next few months the Council will be taking into consideration the comments received from a number of roads in the area and discussing this with Ward councillors. Residents from a number of roads have been advised to outline their concerns in the form of a petition to enable the Council to gauge the strength of feeling for a resident parking scheme in certain areas following the introduction of the Hollingbury Road and Ditchling Gardens (Area G) parking scheme. 

If any directly adjoining road or area is highlighted by residents then this could be considered within the parking scheme timetable which was agreed at the ETS Committee last year.

The petition also refers to people parking in Stanmer Park Road while shopping at Fiveways. However, it is worth highlighting that free short term parking is still available at Fiveways following the introduction of the residents’ parking scheme

(Area F).  Drivers can park for up to one hour outside shops and other businesses In Preston Drove, Ditchling Road and around the Fiveways junction”.

 

5.9         RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.

 

(b)          Written Questions

 

(i)           Pedestrian Crossing, Church Road, South Portslade- Simon Clydesdale

 

5.10      Simon Clydesdale put the following question:

 

Traffic on Portslade's Church Road is increasing as Shoreham Port becomes busier & more successful and the i-360 attraction on the seafront is set to open?, where the road is part of the recommended western approach sat nav route. Will the committee now take urgent action to ensure that the previously promised safe pedestrian crossing for families attending St Peter's School and for residents in the area is provided?

 

5.11      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“As you probably know, the council’s Road Safety Team has carried out assessments to determine if the site in Church Road that is the focus of the ongoing campaign, met the council’s agreed criteria for a crossing.

Those initial assessments showed that the location did not meet the criteria.  Therefore, the council did propose two options to provide safer crossing facilities that included a crossing being installed at another site in the vicinity, but this was not welcomed by local parents, and so the other option of implementing measures to reduce traffic speeds such as central islands, painted pinch points, an improved pedestrian refuge and electronic warning signs was approved and installed at the site favoured by local people and parents. 

Church Road will be assessed again for a pedestrian crossing and this will identify any increases in traffic and numbers of pedestrians crossing Church Road. We will then be able to determine its priority as a location against other requests from across the city. The results of those assessments will be discussed at a further committee later on this year.  

Finally, as you are aware we have been trying for some time to recruit a Crossing Patrol Officer for the site.  I’m very pleased to announce that we have interviewed a successful candidate and subject to final checks, we are hopeful of this person being able to start before the end of term or at the latest in September.

Regarding your concerns about any possible impacts associated with the BA i360, I have been advised that the BA i360’s website promotes the use of sustainable forms of travel and no longer recommends a specific route. The company is not directing people to travel through Portslade or to specifically use Trafalgar or Church Roads. 

Of course, the council cannot control what information SatNav devices give to drivers as they optimise the best choice of route based on current road conditions.”

 

5.12      Simon Clydesdale asked the following supplementary question:

 

“We understand that the council uses Pv2 methodology for pedestrian crossing assessments but the Department for Transport has confirmed that this method is out-dated. What framework and adjustment factors were used three years ago to assess Church Road and when will you carry out this new re-assessment of the site and will you look at the methodology before you do so”

 

5.13      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“In terms of the technical detail you have requested, I would be very happy to ensure that you are provided with that in terms of what methodology was used for the assessment”.

 

(ii)          Play equipment at Hove Lagoon- Danny Stockland

 

5.14      Danny Stockland put the following question:

 

“Given the recent investment of £20,000 that the Big Beach Café has made to public play equipment at Hove Lagoon, and now that summer is upon us, we and other members of the newly-formed Friends of Hove Lagoon are hugely disappointed that the Council has failed to deliver on its promise of further items of play equipment and therefore request that the Chairman gives a firm date for installation as a matter of urgency”.

 

5.15      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your question and the investment by the proprietors of the Big Beach Café in the play area at Hove Lagoon is most appreciated.

We apologise to the Friends of Hove Lagoon and to the proprietors of the Café for the delay in progressing the further improvements to the play area. An initial scheme had been designed for the available funding, but additional S106 funding is now available for play equipment.  Therefore, rather than proceed with the original scheme, we are confident that we can bring forward an enhanced scheme for the play area and that is being developed.

We welcome your involvement in a working group from the Friends of Hove Lagoon so that we can achieve the best possible improvements to the play area, and also ensure that a firm date for installation can be established as soon as possible”.

 

5.16      Danny Stockland asked the following supplementary question:

 

“Would you also please commit to working with the Friends of Hove Lagoon to bring focus on the issues of bin emptying, recycling, security, planting, landscaping and event organisation over the coming weeks, months and years?”

 

5.17      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“We can certainly commit to that, and I think you are asking for a more joined up approach from different council services which is really important”

 

(c)          Deputations

 

(i)            Traffic and Air Pollution in Rottingdean- Rottingdean Parish Council

 

5.18      The Committee considered a Deputation requesting the Committee to take a series of action to reduce traffic and air pollution on Rottingdean High Street.

 

5.19      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for your deputation.

I am pleased to say that since 2010, overall air quality across Brighton and Hove has been improving thanks to sustained efforts in relation to the promotion of sustainable transport and other policies.

However, there are still some stubborn areas such as here in Portslade as indeed Rottingdean as well as some roads in the city centre. 

The Council is fully committed to improving air quality in all areas of the city and is seeking to understand and tackle this problem through the Council’s Air

Quality Action Plan and the Local Transport Plan because the primary cause of potentially harmful Nitrogen Dioxide emissions has been identified is transport, in its many forms. 

The issues in Rottingdean are recognised by its designation as an Air Quality Management Area and relate to traffic volumes in that narrow High Street.  This has been acknowledged in the development of the Local Transport Plan.   Unfortunately, the Council finds itself in very challenging economic times. Therefore, has to prioritise its limited resources. 

In November 2015 this committee considered and agreed new priorities for its Delivery Plan over the next few years.  This was focused on local shopping areas based on a broad assessment framework which included air quality and other objectives. 

The LTP programme assessment work concluded that other areas such as Station Road and Boundary Road in Portslade should be prioritised.  And so improvements to Rottingdean High Street will need to be considered as part of any future, longer term programme.

Meanwhile, the council will continue to monitor the area and stay in touch with and communicate with the Parish Council on this matter”

 

5.20      RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.