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)           Narrowing Crescent Road

 

(ii)          A full road safety audit of Bear Road

 

(iii)        Speed bumps- Hardwick Road

 

(iv)        Dangerous crossing opposite Peter Gladwin School

 

(b)         Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 2 October 2019;

 

(c)          Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 2 October 2019.

 

(A)         PETITIONS

 

(i)           Narrowing Crescent Road

 

26.1      The Committee considered a petition signed by 144 people requesting the Council to narrow and white-line Crescent Road, Round Hill where there is a dangerous junction with Prince's Crescent.

 

26.2      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“The Council receives a large number of requests to alter road layouts to address safety concerns across the City. To manage this demand within the available budget of the High-Risk Sites programme there is a need to prioritise requests so that we can ensure that those locations with the highest risk are addressed first.

We have checked the collision data for Crescent Road and there have been no collisions within the last 3 years. Based on this information we are not able to divert what is limited funding away from other projects that already have an established safety risk in order to physically build out the kerb line at this location.

However, officers have discussed some alternative options and it is possible that we could fund additional white lining in the form of give-way markings and visually narrowing at the junction using hatch markings. Officers would be happy to meet with you to discuss this further”.

 

26.3      Councillor West stated that as ward councillor for the area, he was aware that the petition was part of a wider project in creating community space and problems were faced to that end by the width of the road. Councillor West proposed an officer report responding to the matters raised in the petition.

 

26.4      Councillor Heley formally seconded the motion.

 

26.5      The Chair put the motion to the vote that passed.

 

26.6      RESOLVED- That the committee receive an officer report considering the matters raised in the petition.

 

(ii)          A full road safety audit of Bear Road

 

26.7      The Committee considered a petition signed by 211 people requesting the Council to undertake a full road safety audit of Bear Road to improve safety.

 

26.8      The Chair provided the following response:

 

“The incident on Bear Road referred to in the petition involving a Police car and a pedestrian was serious however, the road layout was not recorded as a contributing factor.

In the past three years there have been 10 other injury causing collisions recorded by the Police along the length of Bear Road of which two were reported as being serious. Only one of these collisions involved a pedestrian who stepped out in front of a slow-moving vehicle and received a slight injury.

The posted speed limit in the residential part of Bear Road is 20 miles per hour. Whilst no injuries are ever acceptable on the Highway, for a busy road that is approximately 1.5km long, the number of injuries is relatively small numerically.

There are relatively few crossing movements in Bear Road as on one side is a cemetery with the majority of the houses being on the northern side so the only real need to cross the road is to access a parked car. Generally, these cars tend to be parked on the footway making it unusable by pedestrians. On the northern side for most of the residential length is where cars park and this forms a buffer zone between pedestrians and traffic.

On the lower part of Bear Road, the road narrows slightly and so no parking is allowed. The footway at this point is around 1.7m wide which is average for Brighton, however, at the nursery it does widen out and guardrail has been provided to prevent children from running straight out into the road.

Since the submission of this petition, local residents have been consulted on parking in this area as part of a potential new controlled parking zone in the Coombe Road Area. To address the safety issues associated with the footway parking, this consultation included proposals for double yellow lines along the southern side of Bear Road. The outcome of the consultation will be presented to ETS committee in due course.

For the reasons given above, and in line with our current policies and practices, it is felt that Bear Road is generally a safe road when compared to others in the city however it would benefit from the introduction of double yellow lines on the southern side to improve pedestrian access to the footway and to reduce the need for crossing movements along the length. We will need to wait for the outcome of the consultation however in the meantime we will continue to monitor the safety record of Bear Road as part of our ongoing commitment to reduce the number of injury causing collisions in the City”.

 

26.9      RESOLVED- That the Committee note the petition.

 

(iii)        Speed Bumps Hardwick Road

 

26.10   The petitioner was not present at the meeting. Therefore, the Chair provided the following written response:

 

“The Council receives a large number of requests for traffic calming across the City and therefore we need to prioritise funding for those roads with the highest number of casualties over a three-year period.

We have checked the collision data for Hardwick Road and there have been no collisions in the last 3 years. Based on this information, the safety risk history at this location would not be sufficient to be prioritised over other roads in the City at the current time. However, we are in the process of procuring some mobile vehicle activated signs that can be used to alert motorists when they are exceeding the speed limit. The plan is for these to be moved around the City to address speeding concerns and to influence driver behaviour.

We are still in the early stages of this project and so the assessment criteria has not as yet been finalised however Hardwick Road will be added to the list for consideration when this scheme is up and running”.

 

26.11   Councillor Wares stated that ward councillors were often requested by residents to install speed bumps and it would be useful to receive a briefing note on whether speed bumps were part of the road safety toolkit.

 

26.12   RESOLVED- That the committee note the petition.

 

(iv)        Dangerous Crossing opposite Peter Gladwin School

 

26.13   The Committee considered a petition signed by 217 people requesting the Council to install a pedestrian crossing on Drove Road/Foredown Road opposite Peter Gladwin School to improve safety.

 

26.14   The Chair provided the following response:

 

“The Council works with schools across the City to support the development of their travel plans and run initiatives with the schools to reduce travel by car in favour of more sustainable and healthier modes of travel. This improves road safety in the vicinity of schools by reducing congestion and improves the health of the children by reducing emissions at the gates and promoting active travel. The most recent School Travel Plan for Peter Gladwin School was updated in 2016 and therefore this may need to be reviewed by the school.

There have been no collisions reported at this location in the past three years. This stretch of Foredown Road/Drove Road is also heavily traffic calmed which has resulted in an average recorded speed of 17.5mph, which anecdotally reduces further at school pick up and drop off times due to congestion from parents accessing the three schools. School keep clear road markings are also in place and the school puts out ‘No parking’ A-boards at school pick up and drop off times.

However, in light of the concerns raised, an officer visited the school on Tuesday 10^th September to observe the drop off arrangements in the morning. The vast majority of children were observed arriving on foot with their parents or guardians. Drivers were generally considerate and appeared to be aware of the presence of the schools and drove accordingly. Parents crossing the road seemed relaxed and not visibly concerned by the crossing arrangements. The officer did note that visibility was obscured at the informal crossing points by vegetation to the east of the junction with Manor Road and on the north side of Drove Road near the junction with the High Street. City Parks have been asked to make the necessary arrangements to rectify this.

Parking was also observed at the junction of Manor Road and Foredown Road that could have contributed to restrictions in visibility. Whilst the parking was legal, there may be a benefit in extending the double yellow lines at this location. An officer will make contact with the school to discuss this idea further.

Based on the observations made on site and the data available at this location, it is not felt that there is justification to take any further immediate action other than the items mentioned above. This location is however on the Pedestrian Crossing Priority list and will therefore be formally assessed towards then end of this financial year along with other requests received”.

 

26.15   RESOLVED- That the committee note the petition.

 

(B)         WRITTEN QUESTIONS

 

(i)           Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan

 

26.16   On behalf of Katy Rodda, Mark Strong put the following question:

 

“It’s good to hear that following a long period of discussion, the council is finally starting work on its Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). However, despite the crucial role of stakeholders being emphasised in Government guidance, the terms of reference for the Task & Finish group (to be discussed later in this meeting) leaves open the possibility that there will be no stakeholders at the group’s first meeting. Can the council confirm that stakeholders will be involved from the first Task & Finish group meeting and will be involved in all six stages of the LCWIP?”

 

26.17   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“After agreeing at our last committee meeting to set up a Member Task and Finish Group to assist in developing this plan, I am pleased that we have been able to bring these Terms of Reference back to the committee at the earliest opportunity. 

The question is correct to highlight the role of stakeholders in the group’s meetings and I can assure her, and yourself and others who will be interested, that I intend to meet with the other two nominated councillors on the group to discuss this matter, once the Terms of Reference are agreed. 

This discussion will take place before the first meeting, so that we can identify the themes that we will want to discuss, plan the agendas and ensure we identify and invite the most appropriate stakeholder groups to each meeting, including the first one.  This will also ensure that we have an accessible and big enough room! 

We will have the benefit of drawing on the groups who are regularly invited to be represented at the city’s Transport Partnership and will want to ensure that other organisations and interests are involved too.  I can also confirm that all six stages associated with the development of the plan will be discussed by the group.”

 

26.18   Mark Strong asked the following supplementary question:

 

“It would be good to see this as part of a process for an active travel forum. There’s a taxi forum, there’s a bus users forum, there is no forum for active travel. Most other council’s, particularly highway authorities have active travel forums which discuss such things. We want to work with the council, so I hope you would be keen to set one up and it would be good to hear your views on that”.

 

26.19   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“I’ll have a look at that and let you know”

 

(ii)          Roadworks

 

26.20   Mark Strong put the following question:

 

“In recent months there have been many roadwork and development sites in the city which have had a significant negative impact on the safety and convenience of people walking and cycling, including disabled people. They have also affected the efficient flow of buses. These works regularly fail to take into account the majority of residents in the city who do not travel by car, with problems including blocked pavements, inaccessible pedestrian and cycle crossings and inconsistent signing & road-marking putting people walking and cycling at risk. How will the council’s permit and planning processes be changed to stop this happening?”

 

26.21   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“Development in the city is one way of future-proofing it economically, environmentally and socially and therefore minimising any disruption or inconvenience that can be caused by that development is essential.

Through the Planning process, we want to ensure that completed developments which are delivering much-needed housing, employment and community facilities across the city are safe, accessible, sustainable and high quality in terms of transport and travel.  We also apply the same principles to their construction, but I do recognise that successfully managing this can often be a challenge in a busy city like ours.  Construction can be very complicated and include lorries, vans, skips, scaffolding, hoardings, temporary access points, roadworks and road closures.  In some cases, construction can also be prolonged; the new hospital in Eastern Road was expected to last for 10 years when it was approved. 

Officers and councillors will therefore do everything that they can to avoid or minimise disruption during the construction phases of developments.  Various activities can all have implications for our residents and the city’s pavements and roads, and therefore we often secure measures through the Planning process, such as Construction Environmental Management Plans, to identify and mitigate likely consequences.  Some works are also included in legal agreements.  However, sometimes we don’t get it right first time or things don’t go to plan for any number of reasons.  We also seek to ensure that developers participate in recognised accreditation such as the Considerate Constructors Scheme; however, occasionally and regrettably, some developers wilfully will not comply with the standards expected of them. 

There are application processes to ensure that various construction activities involving roadworks are designed and implemented correctly.  The roadworks permitting scheme includes assessment of what Traffic Management is required and allows the council to influence what is implemented, but again there is always a finite amount of road space available and difficult decisions have to be taken.  Every effort is made to keep access for all road users and any scheme implemented are monitored, but we only have a limited number of officers who can do this, and they cannot be present all the time.  If something is not right or unsafe, sometimes we have to rely on casual observation and reports, which we welcome, and I would encourage people to do.  

We do review our services from time to time and officers are currently working on plans to restructure teams within the City Transport Division, in order to ensure that they are sufficiently resourced and funded to be able to deal with the construction implications of the high volume of development being built in the city at the moment.  One objective of this work will be to improve efficiency and help reduce the type of incidents that you have described in your question”.

 

26.22   Mark Strong asked the following supplementary question:

 

“Can’t the council have a forward plan of all the works that are about to be done so that people know what is happening and they can then see and make comments in advance?”

 

26.23   On behalf of the Chair, the Executive Director, Economy, Environment & Culture provided the following reply:

 

“We can certainly look at a forward plan. One of the challenges is the dates of construction at particular sites is always subject to change. So, what I wouldn’t want to do is commit to preparing a plan which then takes a lot of resource to update. I’d rather us focus on reducing the number of incidents you have described. As the Chair has said, we are doing work within the Transport division to ensure we are appropriately resourced and part of that is about aiming to improve good practice”.

 

(iii)        Climate Emergency

 

26.24   On behalf of Chris Todd, Mark Strong put the following question:

 

“The council declared a climate emergency at the start of this year, but since then there has been little action to make communities and businesses aware that this will make a big difference to what the council does and what the city will need to do. Without the absence of a clear message on the need to change there is a risk that people will continue to oppose projects which will help to reduce our carbon impact, such as Valley Gardens.

When will the Council set out a clear timetable for engagement with residents on this important subject?”

 

26.25   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“We recognise that our current generation has to seriously address the issue of global climate change. To fail to confront this emergency would leave our families and children in a perilous position. Our local actions in and around the city will make a vital contribution to addressing this challenge.

That’s why the administration went into the recent election with a pledge to make Brighton & Hove carbon neutral by 2030. We are totally committed to delivering this target and to involving local people fully in planning and delivering actions to reduce our emissions.

Council officers have begun to develop a carbon reduction programme: pulling together details of the many projects that the Council is already engaged in; evaluating how far these schemes will go in reaching our carbon neutral by 2030 target; and looking at what new or revamped initiatives we will need in the coming years. This will be a high-profile programme.

This is a complex task and won’t be delivered overnight. However, we do recognise its urgency, and we’ve set up a Steering Group of elected members to oversee the work and an officer board to support actions and progress and ensure that it is done at pace. We aim to present a high-level plan to reach the 2030 carbon neutral target to Full Council in early 2020. 

There are actions that the Council can take to reduce emissions and there are actions that other public bodies and businesses can take too. However, we won’t achieve our 2030 target without the active involvement of citizens. And we want to engage broadly to gain everyone’s buy – we need to reach out well beyond the people who are already committed to tackling the climate crisis.

That’s why we will publish an engagement plan alongside the carbon reduction programme. This won’t just be telling people what we’re doing – we want to develop a deliberative process where we discuss the challenges of moving to carbon neutral with local people and communities, and where we jointly find solutions. We are committed to working with local organisations and campaigners to design plans for citizen engagement”.

 

(iv)        Zone W Parking

 

26.26   Edward Gill put the following question:

 

“Lawrence Road residents pay for zone W parking which adjoins two zones of full-scheme R, namely Rutland Gardens and Modena Road.

We often park up to three streets away, while out-of-area workers park for free outside our homes up to 7pm.

The ETS report indicates third priority review during 2021, yet previous representations and petitions submitted by our ward councillor are not mentioned.

All the consultation work has already been done. Is the Chair prepared to make the simple switch from zone W to zone R during the next six months to provide us with an urgent remedy?”

 

26.27   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“Thank you for your question and I do understand the concerns of residents in your area.

My understanding is that a deputation was presented by a prospective ward councillor to Full Council on 31^st January 2019 which was then referred to this Committee on 19^th March 2019. This deputation is referred to in the report under paragraphs 5.18 and 5.20 in the Parking Scheme priority timetable report being discussed later in the meeting.

Officers did consider all the survey work undertaken and appreciate all the work the residents have undertaken. However, it is important to note the survey results were only based on 119 respondents when over 1,000 resident permits are issued in Zone W (Westbourne West).

It is important that the Council consults all the residents independently through an official consultation which would be reported back to this Committee.

During the later discussion it would be up to Committee members to determine the way forward on whether this replaces another scheme consultation on the timetable with others starting later”.

 

26.28   Edward Gill asked the following supplementary question:

 

“If that is the case, is the Chair prepared to insert an extra period of restricted hours into our existing zone W specification which could probably

deliver a similar remedy for the residents as a switch to zone R?

For example, 13:00 to 15:00 hours or how about, expanding existing time periods?”

 

26.29   On behalf of the Chair, the Head of Parking Services provided the following reply:

 

“Changes like that would change the parking scheme for all residents in the zone and would need a consultation as described earlier. Any change would need to be fully consulted as part of the timetable and that is what is being discussed later on in the meeting”.

 

(C)         DEPUTATIONS

 

(i)           Warmdene Road Flooding

 

26.30   The Committee considered a deputation and Letter from Councillor Wares (agenda item 28(c)i) that requested action be taken by the council and Southern Water to address the causes of persistent flooding in the Warmdene Road area.

 

26.31   The Chair provided the following response:

 

“Thank you for letter and deputation and I am sorry to hear of your concerns.

Officers from our City Transport office do meet with Southern Water to try to progress both long term improvements and to resolve short term matters such as agreed protocols following flooding and surcharging of the public sewers, cleaning of third-party land and the need to address environmental health concerns.

Officers however advise me that there have been some difficulties in Southern Water progressing agreed actions following these Partnership meetings and I will ask the Assistant Director, City Transport to further liaise with his counterpart in Southern Water to reach agreement on protocols enabling the Council’s City Clean teams to recover their costs following any future surcharging of the sewers.

There is no surface water or rain water sewer in Warmdene Road. Instead, the local Highway drainage system serving Warmdene Road consists of gullies connected to soakaways and the Highway drainage system is adequate to cater for rain landing on the Highway but is unable to cater with severe flooding and overspill from third party land further upstream.

For the Committee’s benefit, Highway soakaways collect the surface water from the Highway and this water permeates over time into the ground. The prevailing local geology, highly permeable chalk, means that soakaways are an effective means dealing with Highway drainage though, again it must be reiterated that the Highway drainage system cannot cater for flooding and is not designed for extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and is attributed to climate change.

The Highway soakaways do gradually fill with silt and detritus and when completely full this reduces their limited storage capacity. Silting of a typical Highway soakaway builds up very slowly and over several years, if not more. The Highway soakaways serving Warmdene Road are regularly emptied, cleaned and inspected to ensure they are fully functional. Emptying, cleansing and inspecting more frequently than necessary is of course not a good use of the very limited Highway maintenance resources however given local concerns the Highway soakaways serving the gullies in Warmdene Road are emptied, cleaned and inspected more frequently.  The soakaways are currently being cleaned every two years.

The soakaways were emptied in October 2017. They were again emptied in May 2019. The soakaways are again being emptied this week and this exercise will provide a set of information as to the effect of flooding on silt and detritus being washed into the soakaways after recent flooding.

Recent inspection found the soakaways to be in good condition and without any defect. The Highway soakaways serving Warmdene Road will continue to be given a high level of attention given local concerns.

It is worthwhile reiterating that the local Highway drainage system in Warmdene Road does not discharge into Southern Water sewers and that is Southern Water sewers which contain foul water or sewage that are surcharging onto the Highway in extreme rain conditions. It is Southern Waters responsibility to deal with flooding from any sewer.

Brighton and Hove City Council as a Lead Local Flood Authority have developed local policies and plans to manage the risk of flooding in the City. Ultimately, the topography of the City creates a high level of flood risk and part of long-term mitigation is working in partnership with Southern Water.

Southern Water are developing their Drainage Area Plan however this is not a public document as it includes commercially sensitive information. It is therefore difficult for officers to advise on potential improvements and associated timescales on Southern Waters network without this information. This places a greater importance on a working partnership with Southern Water. 

Brighton and Hove City Council, in its capacity as Lead Local Flood Authority, is in the process of installing property protection measures to vulnerable residential properties in Warmdene Road to help prevent flood water entering homes. These measures include flood barriers and changes to the buildings, which once installed will be the responsibility of the property owners. This of course does not prevent flooding but does help mitigate the risk of damage and helps prevent the ingress of contaminated flood water into residents’ homes.

There are no plans to construct any flood mitigation measures that would intentionally divert contaminated water from Warmdene Road on to the playing fields at Patcham High School. 

The Lead Local Flood Authority has been consulted on the development on the playing fields on Patcham High School and has sought planning conditions requiring the applicants to demonstrate the development will be able to cope with any increase in surface water run-off. Details of an appropriate surface water drainage system will need to be submitted to planning discharge the condition.

I will be asking the Assistant Director to write a letter to Southern Water to seek assurances that they will respond quickly to flooding events in Warmdene Road and to establish a working protocol that residents can engage with”.

 

26.32   Councillor Wares stated that collective pressure might increase the chances of a response from Southern Water. Councillor Wares suggested that cleaning of drains may be more effective before expected flooding events rather than subsequent to. Councillor Wares stated that residents did not know who to contact in incidents of flooding and one contact number would help enormously.

 

26.33   The Chair stated that the problem was the responsibility of Southern Water and the letter she would send would be robust and ask for a contact telephone number.

 

26.34   RESOLVED- That the committee note the deputation and Letter.