If you look at the traffic impact assessments from Countryside, they predict that most of the traffic from their 500 dwellings will go via London Road, instead of Rawreth Lane. On this basis they predict that the new homes will only have a tiny impact on the Rawreth Lane / Hullbridge Road junction. In fact they predict only 7 extra vehicles in the morning peak and 8 in the evening peak!
Obviously, Countryside have to make some assumptions before they can prepare these figures. One of them is about where people in the new homes will shop. They predict that 63% of their shopping will be done at the nearby Asda:
We are wondering just how realistic that 63% figure is. It might give us a clue about how accurate their other assumptions are. So if you live on Rawreth Lane, or on Downhall Park Way, or on one of the many side roads , we’d be interested to know where you go shopping. So, after about 11 years of onlineFOCUS, here’s our first ever survey. We are not sure how well it work , or if anyone will answer, but let’s try it…
[powr-survey].
But if the shopping assumption is right then the traffic figures have to be wrong. People aren’t going to turn right into London Road and drive in a circle to get to Asda. they’ll turn right onto Rawreth Lane, and as Asda is on Rawreth Lane they have to use some part of it both coming and going. When I was working I used to do the shopping on the way home one evening a week, leaving weekends as free as possible, so shopping time will, quite often, coincide with peak time. They haven’t thought that through at all.
12 responses so far , thank you.
If they really think that the development will only increase traffic on Rawreth Lane by 8 cars then they truly are delusional!
i am not a resident of Rawreth, but still a worried Rayleigh resident. I wondered how they achieved the low number of additional vehicles at peak times it just doesn’t seem realistic. A number will surely be taking or collecting other family members to or from work/station and then returning home. Living on a road that is used in rush hours by vehicles not sure it would cope with more traffic. New houses being built in these numbers must be a valid reason to have a complete assessment of the town and surrounding areas.
Well CHRIS you postulated above how good countryside assumptions are , and you have your answer – most people on the new estate ( 63% ) will shop at ASDA but will exit into London Rd / Downhall Rd / Hullbridge Rd / sit in traffic at Hambro Corner then
West on Rawreth lane to get to Asda – well that is great then (shot themselves in the foot I would say ).
As for nonsense data ( 7-8 traffic movements is a joke ) , what about construction – years of it :-
Large/ heavy earth moving equipment / piling rigs ( and muck all over the roads ).
Multiple trade work force , daily in trucks,vans & cars for the duration ( years).
Large/ heavy delivery vehicles throughout all phases of the process, in and out daily.
All the utility companies digging up the roads to connect sewers/water/gas/electric/ telecoms tie ins – no doubt uncoordinated as it always is , months of temporary traffic lights / flows………and on and on .
THIS NEEDS AN INDEPENDENT STUDY that we can believe.
This statement of 7 or 8 additional cars is a complete joke!
When it rains like it has done today there is already an additional 40-50% increase in traffic on Rawreth Lane, Down Hall Road and surrounding Roads. This is caused by people taking to the car to do their School run where normally they would walk. As the areas affected are catchment for Down Hall School, Glebe School and St Nicholas as well as Sweyne and all the others this shows that the 40-50% increase is already coming from this area! whereas when the A127 has a problem it drives non local traffic our way. so how can an additional development of 500+ properties only add a further 7-8 vehicles? Do the people that intend to buy the houses not have children to take to School? (That’s if there are any School places left for them) Do they not own 1 or even 2 cars? Do they not have to travel to work? Seriously flawed traffic impact assessment!
In behalf of my parents
65 responses so far now, thank you!
Where do they think the 500+ new Hullbridge home owners, spouses and children will shop?
That first question has a possible answer missing – none! I have never driven to ASDA for food shopping trips (I walk), but the answer I have go give implies that at least some of trips to ASDA are driven!
cjav, ‘almost none’ will suffice as an answer….
It shows how it can be tricky to phrase the questions precisely….
Almost none implies people drive, not all do. The results of your survey are therefore as ‘cooked’ as those shown by Countryside. Whilst Countryside are saying there will be less cars on the road than expected, you will be saying there will be more on the road than there actually are!
Well – for calculating what percentage of shopping trips by car are to ASDA, we’ll treat ‘almost all’ as 100%, about three-quarters as 75% , about half as 50% , about a quarter as 25% and almost none as 0%. That will give us a rough overall percentage.
People need to understand that just objecting on principal will not cut through and succeed against the way the ‘planning’ approvals are manipulated – and CHRIS is onto something here by creating some degree of statistic , in order to underline what we already know are dubious Countryside statements.
There are only two issues at this stage of outline planning-
1. The general acceptance of building 500+ on green/arable land in principal – which
Is effectively being fought via the current judicial review.
2. The specific acceptance of road traffic access & egress proposals – which although
we all know can only be a negative impact on local roads, has to be opposed by
facts ( some sort of study ) .
Both the Parish and Town Council have come out in opposition to this development
and have called for an independent traffic management survey of the area roads –
prior to any start.
It seems logical to me that no form of planning permission should be given prior to
any unbiased survey of the impact on the area – but that is just common sense.
There is a problem in looking at Rayleigh / Rawreth development without also taking into account the housing for Hullbridge. The impact of the 2 must be looked at together.
Jim, I think you are spot on. RDC are highly unlikely to go back on the Core Strategy, whatever the public pressure. So you need an independent, professional traffic assessment to support your arguments. May be a public collection will be needed to fund this, perhaps in conjunction with the local parish/town councils. Everyone needs to pull together on this.
Bruce @ 15 – I did say in # 14 …..”.of the area roads ” , specifically Hullbridge Rd / Rawreth Lane – London Rd / Downhall Rd but also the A130 ( between Bedloes Corner and the A127 – A130 junction at Fairglen because the £15million to be spent
there will discharge more traffic / and quicker into Rayleigh environs…….
Not ONE of my neighbours use Asda. I live off Rawreth Lane opposite the store. It is the vilest place I can imagine. Their ‘sell by dates’ are far to short. They have no butcher/fish/cooked meat counter. Their veg is mostly prepacked, their bread is overpriced and is hardly ever there. Their cakes are stale etc. etc. etc. Rubbish through and through.
Brenda, The vilest place you can imagine !!! I think the 1000’s of people that use it every week would beg to differ. ps: I know that one of your near neighbours use the store…..honestly….
Didn’t know there was an Asda in Rayleigh !!! . Where is it ? ? ?
I think 7-8 is actually a miss print for 718
Brenda, you forgot that the meat is tougher than shoe leather, a lot of the staff see customers as a hindrance to their gossiping, the food on the shelves is not accessible because the cages are in the way! As for a vile place – it certainly was when I witnessed someone use a roll on deodarant and place it back on the shelf! It’s handy for milk and that’s about it!
cjav @ 22 your comment on someone using a deodorant in Asda and putting it back made my skin crawl! Yuk. What stone do those type of people crawl from under?
Why didn’t we get a Marks & Spencer or Waitrose? The people that use those stores don’t do such things I’m sure!
cjav @ 22. That is disgusting. I haven’t shopped there since I bought a punnet of strawberries and when I opened them all the ones in the middle that you couldn’t see properly were mouldy. I took it back for replacement and insisted on opening the replacement in front of them, tried three and they were all the same. Staff were so rude to me as well, it was sort of “what do you expect at this price”.
Linda @24 – you are so right, wouldn’t happen in Waitrose. I drive over to the Waitrose at Leigh now. Quality is superb, staff are so helpful and polite it’s like a different world, and it really isn’t any dearer than Sainsbury’s or Tesco.
Linda,
Take a look at this link – can you imagine what it must be like for Waitrose customers. All those rough types that go to ASDA, yuk……????
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/waitrose-faces-middle-class-revolt-over-free-coffee-loyalty-card-9030195.html
Credit to the ‘person’ she managed to achieve something many wish for and few witness – me lost for words!