2 Years to fix a light

And counting.

There is a footbridge near my house which runs over the railway line. At night is is very dark and there are a lot of obstacles. According to one local resident, who asked me to take up the case, it has been broken for between 2 and 3 years. In that time he has been corresponding with the County Council to no avail. On his behalf I have tried to find out what is happening, but it still seems that it will take the County Council contractor and EDF Energy to be on site at the same time and seemingly that is an impossible task. A date has yet to be found.

Local residents will wait with interest to see if anything happens, but I for one am not holding my breath.

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.

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.

Warren Lane

Residents who live near the Warren Lane recycling centre may be interested to know that the Environment Agency are to carry out a noise assessment, following complaints from local people about the activity levels at the site. I'll update when I know any more.