The District Council has three area committees – East, Central and West , and they will all be meeting soon:
11/06/2009 19:30 East Area Committee St John Ambulance Headquarters, Rochford
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17/06/2009 19:30 West Area Committee Grove Wood Primary School, Rayleigh
25/06/2009 19:30 Central Area Committee Hawkwell Village Hall
One of the big items coming up is local spending on highways.
The new concept is ‘localism’ , and there’s a report on the idea here (110k)
But here’s the gist of it:
The County Council will agree annually a budget for highway works in Rochford District and it will then be the responsibility of the Area Committees to advise on their preferred schemes/works, with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation determining, where necessary, the overall priorities for the District and to advise County Highways accordingly.
3 ROLE OF THE AREA COMMITTEE
3.1
It is intended that each Area Committee will receive regular reports on highway issues from County Highway Officers and that where recommendations are made for highway works, the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation will determine the priorities for delivery, taking into account the proposals from all three Area Committees.
3.2
The Highway Localism objectives for the Area Committees are as follows:-
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to consider proposals for funding (including any joint funding) submitted by constituted bodies, including the District Council, Parish and Town Councils, or other elected bodies that represent the local community;
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these proposals will be set out in a schedule prepared by the Area Highway Manager and reported to each Area Committee;
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to consult the public on proposals and priorities through the Area Committee Forum and other networks, as appropriate;
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to propose priorities to the District Council Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation for Localism funded projects and the work of the Highway Rangers, who will assess the proposals and make recommendations for project approval to the Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation;
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to consider and monitor progress on the processing and delivery of approved projects through reports received from the County Council?s Area Highway Manager;
4.1.1
WEST AREA COMMITTEE ? 17 June 2009 Item 4(1)
? the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation, together with appropriate officers, will meet with the County Council?s Area Highway Manager, to which meetings the Chairman of each Area Committee will also be invited to attend.
4 DISCUSSION
4.1
The new Highway Localism provides an opportunity for each Area Committee to pay a more significant role in the delivery of highway schemes and projects considered to be important in each area.
4.2
Whilst the final decision about the priorities to be recommended to County Highways (The Highway Authority) will rest with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation, each Area Committee will be able to carefully consider their own priorities and make recommendations for implementation. Furthermore, it will be possible for the Area Committees to suggest works for the Highway Rangers.
4.3
The new Highway Ranger team comprising two persons in this District will be responsible for:-
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minor bituminous repairs/potholes;
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cleaning/minor repairs to non-electrical road signs and street furniture including reinstatement of posts/bollards where no excavation is required;
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repairs to concrete products/surfaces;
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trimming of vegetation;
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ad hoc grass cutting;
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repairs to roadside verges;
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cleaning and minor excavation of roadside grips;
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ad hoc cleaning/emptying of gullies and associated pipe work;
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removal of graffiti;
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painting of street furniture;
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removal of weeds from pavements;
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scavenging and removal of small fly tips from highway land;
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minor repairs to existing white lining;
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road studs;
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removal of illegal signs/fly posting;
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random inspection of street furniture.
4.4 It should be noted that all reports of highway defects including, in particular, potholes, should be made immediately through the Highways Helpline rather than wait for an Area Committee meeting. If such items are not immediately reported, there can be an unnecessary delay before urgent repairs are carried out. (Note: the Highway Helpline number is 0845 6037 623.)
The list of possible works is in thsi document here (1Mb)
There’s a lot to study here, and we’ll write some more about this tomorrow night!
Sadly I see no mention of adopting Temple Way and Priory Chase? This MUST be a priority given the volume of Council backed development in this area.
I don’t even see a mention of installing the school warning signs that Chris has previously mentioned.
Good points TWR. However road adoption is a totally separate process to what’s being discussed here.
As for the school warning signs – they are something I’ve asked for recently , I think this document only covers requests made up to about March.
Temple Way Resident, For a road to be adopted the majority of residents must be in favour of it. Residents may not be in favour of this because they would be required to pay towards it, although there are a number of means of paying. Also some residents tend to be concerned that adopting a road may lead to increased traffic and/or speeding. Way to go on this if interested is talk to your neighbours then contact your county councillor if there is a sufficient interest.
Angelina, you are thinking about unmade roads here! But residents won’t have to pay in Temple Way.
Temple Way is a brand new road, like most roads built in new developments it will be adopted a few years after completion when the County are satisfied is up to standard.
I will be raising this at Area committee next week
PS Happy Birthday Angelina!
Thank you for the Birthday wishes and for explaining the Temple Way situation. Do you have any unmade roads in your ward?
Thanks for raising this at the Area Committee next week Chris! Look forward to hearing what the outcome is…
There has been some re-surfacing work in the Bull Lane area, there do not appear to be any “proper” signs, just some signs taped to lamp posts. Some roads have been temporarily closed, however cars have been allowed onto roads seemingly too early as I have seen Bitumen spraying up, and grooves created by tyres and a generally uneven new surface.
Is this normal procedure?
A local resident.
I noticed that there is some resurfacing work being carried out on the A1245 between the A127 and Carpenter’s Arms, and the workers don’t appear to put up proper warning signs for the roadworks. There appears to be a yellow diversion sign as you come down the slip road from the east bound A127, but nothing warning you of the cones that have closed off one lane as you head north on the A1245.
It’s particularly bad because although the priorities and marking for this junction changed when the A127/A1245 junction was “upgraded”, a lot of drivers still treat this junction as it used to be laid out, so people in the right hand lane of the slip road turn left onto the northbound A1245.