Agenda item

The Community Area Manager will provide a summary of current community issues and the area board will agree those to be closed.

It is recommended that the following 5 issues are closed:

• Issue 3761 – Ashton Keynes parish council requested ‘Pedestrians crossing’ signs at crossing of B4696 and Thames Path.  CATG considered there were already sufficient signs in the vicinity.

• Issue 3560 – Junction B4040 Malmesbury to Tetbury Road at Shipton Moyne Road.  CATG felt that fencing had been installed but removal of hedges was likely to increase traffic speed, so not advised.  There is no evidence of accidents at this junction. 

• Issue 3403 – Speeding through Milbourne Village.  Metro counts have been undertaken and CSW group are now in operation.  30mph roundels at terminal points have also been installed in encourage vehicles to reduce their speed.

• Issue 2660 – Drainage issues Reeds Farm.  Alleviation of this problem needs to be addressed through any future development of adjacent land.  The town council and local residents need to respond to planning applications at the appropriate time.

• Issue 2172 – Parking in Cross Hayes by Hyams Garage – There appears to be no enthusiasm to pursue this issue.

The Area Board is asked to consider 7 new issues and decide whether they should be referred to the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) as follows:

• Issue 3973 – HGV concerns on Pound Hill – the request is for CATG to approve road signage to stop HGV's using Pound Hill Rodbourne as a cut through.  Officers advise that if the parish council support this and want to legally prevent HGV’s using this road, the only option would be an environmental weight limit which would require a Traffic regulation Order (TRO). Even then if a driver is using the route to gain legitimate access to a local farm, a weight limit will make no difference as there will be an exemption for access.  This would require consideration through the Freight Assessment Priority Mechanism (FAPM), however it is unlikely to meet the criteria.  The alternative is an ‘unsuitable for HGVs’ sign, which is advisory only.  Lorries moving the hay bales to and from local farms as described in the issue probably have been doing so for some time, hence this type of sign would be ignored and therefore pretty pointless.    

• Issue 3963 – Pavement from water tower roundabout down Holloway Hill, Malmesbury.  This matter is already being considered by CATG under issue 3800 and the two can be dealt with together.

• Issue 3962 – Request for a dropped kerb at the junction of Filands Road and Tetbury Hill. This is an access request and based on feedback awaited from the town council, should be referred to CATG.  

• Issue 3956 – Request to change Burton Hill zebra crossing to a controlled one. The parish council are supportive to the theory, but are not committing themselves at this stage because of the likely costs.  The Area Board/CATG has considered this issue before and in January 2011 allocated £5,000 towards the installation of halos to the zebra crossing outside Malmesbury primary health care centre and re-painted the road markings in order to make the crossing more obvious to road users.

• Issue 3932 – Street lights requested on Common and Foxley Road and Haddons Close.  This was submitted by 3 residents and has the support of the parish council.  The request is for a street light around the Quarry Barn, Foxley Road, as this very dark and dissuades children walking to and from school in the winter months.   It is suggested that this matter is referred to CATG.

• Issue 3926 – Traffic speed on B4042 in Brinkworth between St Michael's Close and Barnes Green and the junction with School Hill and the desire for pedestrian crossing. It is suggested that this matter is referred to CATG.

• Issue 3879 - Pedestrian safety concerns at bottom of Swindon Road, Malmesbury.  Pending a response from the parish council, suggest the matter is referred to CATG.

Miranda Gilmour explained changes to the report regarding issues recommended for closure and referral.

Regarding the recommended closure of Issue 2172 it was heard that although it would be closed due to financial issues, it should still be noted as an issue within the community.  It was also noted that Councils can remove untaxed vehicles from highways. Richard Mortimer was given as a contact for informing the Local Authority of untaxed vehicles within the area.

It was noted that referrals to the CATG needed to be more selective as resources to deal with them were limited.

Issue 3956 was not referred to the CATG as the money was not available to do so. It was noted that the money should come out of the developer’s contribution from housing developments in the area.

Issue 3932 was described as a conflict as the number of streetlights switched on at night was trying to be reduced. It was recommended that a quote be given for this rather than sending it to the CATG.

In regards to a death on the stretch of highway between Kemble to Chelworth, a coroner’s report was being awaited. It was explained that the position of Cabinet member for highways allows the member to view the coroner’s report in relation to possible highways related deaths. This was to avoid kneejerk reactions as there were a number of factors which can lead to accidents. Wiltshire Council had a good history of responding to coroner’s reports which cite highway related factors.

Resolved

To close the following issues and take on views regarding Issue 2172:

·         Issue 3761 – Ashton Keynes parish council requested ‘Pedestrians crossing’ signs at crossing of B4696 and Thames Path.  CATG considered there were already sufficient signs in the vicinity.

·         Issue 3560 – Junction B4040 Malmesbury to Tetbury Road at Shipton Moyne Road.  CATG felt that fencing had been installed but removal of hedges was likely to increase traffic speed, so not advised.  There is no evidence of accidents at this junction. 

·         Issue 3403 – Speeding through Milbourne Village.  Metro counts have been undertaken and CSW group are now in operation.  30mph roundels at terminal points have also been installed in encourage vehicles to reduce their speed.

·         Issue 2660 – Drainage issues Reeds Farm.  Alleviation of this problem needs to be addressed through any future development of adjacent land.  The town council and local residents need to respond to planning applications at the appropriate time.

·         Issue 2172 – Parking in Cross Hayes by Hyams Garage – There appears to be no enthusiasm to pursue this issue.

To recommend for referral to the Community Area Transport Group (CATG):

·         Issue 3973 HGV concerns on Pound Hill (agreed with addition of a HGV sign).

·         Issue 3963 – Pavement from water tower roundabout down Holloway Hill, Malmesbury.

·         Issue 3962 – Request for a dropped kerb at the junction of Filands Road and Tetbury Hill.

·         Issue 3926 - Traffic speed on B4042 in Brinkworth  (agreed pending results of a householder cutting down a hedge and a metro count)

·         Issue 3897 - Pedestrian safety concerns at bottom of Swindon Road, Malmesbury.