Roads - Change of Approach

I would say that the topic that elicits the most complaints is not anti-social behaviour, nor planning permission but roads. Residents are fed up with pot holes and poor quality surfaces. So I now hope that a decision last week by Surrey County Council’s Executive to agree a new strategy to prioritise and tackle highway maintenance will be a breakthrough in dealing more successfully with these issues.

Surrey is facing a backlog of work being tackled in the face of less funding from central government for road works. In 2007-08 funding for roads from from Gordon Brown's government was just 18% of the total planned spending on roads. This means Surrey got just £154 per resident – the national average in England was £426 each - and Manchester got a whopping £719, more than four times Surrey’s funding.

To try to to make the best of a challenging situation this the county council is apparently changing the way they treat roads to balance spending across remedial and preventative work. At the moment the council rates roads across Surrey as green, amber or red with green being in good condition and red in needing significant repairs. Following this weeks decision 60% of any available funds will be spent on dealing with the worst ‘red’ roads and 40% for remedial work on those roads that are just starting to decline to make sure they don’t become ‘red’ roads. In addition, the County Council has agreed a set of criteria that will prioritise which roads to improve first. These criteria don’t just include the condition of the road. They also consider whether it is a priority for the public and their County Councillors. These criteria will now be applied to the roads identified as in need of repair.

So what does this mean for us locally. Hopefully it means that Pope's Lane will now get the attention it deserves. This issue has now been dragging on since early 2006 and an end is not yet in sight. Given the new emphasis on the public's (and their County Councillor's) priorities I would suggest that residents contact the County Council on 08456 009 009 and also their County Councillor to impress upon them what they feel needs repairing urgently.

Hurst Green - What Concerns Us

So what are the main issues in Hurst Green at the moment? This was a question I was asked yesterday afternoon by a journalist new to one of the local papers.

Good Question. I didn't think that there was one overall answer but I said that the following are all subjects of interest to some local people:

The Ajax Fire and the proposals for redevelopment of that site are of interest, both to those living by the site and more generally as additional heavy traffic goods traffic along the Hurst Green and Holland Roads would be unwelcome.

Crime and anti-social behavior isn't too much of an issue, but big groups of kids hanging around on street corners can be intimidating and the riding of mini-motos on roads and in public spaces by a small minority is an accident waiting to happen.

Back garden developments continue to be an issue for those directly affected and the building of more and more homes without an consequent improvement to local infrastructure concerns many.

The extension of weekly recycling from the beginning of the month which now includes plastics has been positively received.

However, in terms of comments I am given, probably the biggest issue and this is common across the whole of East Surrey is the state of our local roads. Popes Lane remains a disgrace. It is an example that even when work is done the quality is sometimes substandard.

August Police Neighbourhood Panel Meeting

Last Thursday I attended the bi-monthly Surrey Police Neighbourhood Panel in Hurst Green. Luckily crime rates in Surrey are low but some localised anti-social behaviour by a small minority can make life a misery for some. The Police response to some incidents on Pollards Oak Road were discussed and the Neighbourhood Policing team committed to keep an eye on gatherings of sometimes large groups of teenagers on Holland and Hurst Green Roads.

However perhaps the topic that most concerned those present was one which isn't really the responsibility of the Police, that of the increasing number of very large continental European HGV lorries using Woodhurst lane to access the Fairview industrial estate on Holland Road. Quite often this results in blockages on the road and dangerous debris being knocked off the overhanging trees, which residents are having to remove from the road to prevent an accident occurring. According to some of those present there used to be signage on the A25 instructing lorries to use Wolfs Hill as the appropriate access Hurst Green and those at the meeting felt it would be beneficial if these were restored.

All these points will be followed up and the Police will report back at the next Panel Meeting in October.

Popes Lane

A number of residents have contacted me about the poor state of Popes Lane road surface. This problem has been rumbling on for some time but my fellow ward councillors (as well as local County Councillors) have been keeping up pressure on the County Council and their contractor Carrillion. They have committed to making it good, we are now waiting for it to happen, though two deadlines have now been missed due to the poor weather in July.

In response to a question from a County Councillor Surrey Council Officers have given this explanation:

'Popes Lane and Fairchildes Road (which is suffering from a smiliar problem) are relatively lightly trafficked rural roads that had poor road profile and SCC considered them ideal for the retread process which has been used successfully in Surrey and across the country generally. The roads were 'retreaded' during March 2006, within the right weather conditions but quickly it became apparent that "fat" excess bitumen binder was present on the finished surface. This was creating a slippery surface for road users. SCC asked for a dressing of stone chips to absorb the excess binder and create a good surface for vehicle to break safely.
However, in the last few months it is clear that the issue has re-occurred and that the 'retread' process has not worked at these two sites. A new brief is currently being prepared for the sites. Alongside this we are going to commission an independent review to understand what has happened to date and what we need to learn for the future. Staff are also reviewing the need for any potential road closures and what can be done to minimise the problems in the short term'.

Popes Lane

As some local residents may be aware Popes Lane was recently resurfaced by Surrey County Council (SCC) contractor Carillion. Unfortunately the new surface wasn't a success with pot holes already appearing and tar leaking through and sticking to tyres on warm days. The good news is that a solution has been identifyed by SCC and a another new (and hopefully much more effective) surface will be applied shortly.