Minutes:
(A)
Mr Bray asked the following question of
the Acting Leader or her nominee:
“I have reported on numerous occasions the problem of
surface water flooding on Rugby Road, Hinckley opposite Domino’s Pizza. This
floods every time there is heavy rainfall, blocking the road in a busy part of
the town centre. Could the Leader please give me a timetable for when work will
be undertaken to resolve this long-standing issue?”
Mr O’Shea replied as follows:
“The County Council is aware of the drainage issue on Rugby Road in Hinckley. The highways teams have carried out cleansing and jetting of the highway gully and the drain connection that is understood to connect to the combined Severn Trent Water Sewer, but these works have not resolved the issues at this location.
An excavation on the drain connection was also undertaken to try and understand the cause of the flooding and performance issues with the drainage system.
The County Council is now investigating an alternative
solution and is engaging with Severn Trent Water seeking authorisation to
connect the highway gullies to a different surface water sewer on Rugby Road.
The solution being investigated will need a road closure on Rugby Road and co-ordination with the affected businesses, the car park entrance, and the bus stops in Waterloo Road.
As soon as permission is granted to divert the highway drainage into an alternative sewer, co-ordination of the work will take place. This will include a planned road closure which requires 3-month notice period. In addition, the need to engage with a third party means a timescale for a permanent resolution cannot be given at this point in time, however it is likely to be in the early part of 2025.”
(B) Mr Bray asked the following question of the Acting Leader or her nominee:
“Thank you to officers for looking into the situation around
access to Westfield Schools. I understand the need for surveys to be done to
update data, however there is a real concern locally that more urgent action is
needed. There have been a number of incidents including a person being knocked
off a bike and other near misses that I have passed through to highways
officers and I have spoken to the police to raise similar concerns. Would the
Leader look at what immediate action can be taken, with partners, to ensure no
injuries occur?”
Mr O’Shea replied as follows:
“On-street parking issues around the many schools in Leicestershire are not uncommon. These issues are often highlighted at the start of the new school term, particularly in the autumn/winter when temperatures decrease, and weather conditions worsen. Poor parking habits and behaviour at arrival and dispersal times, to some extent, occurs outside most schools across the Country.
Often, there is no easy solution to the parking problems
being experienced with no one highway/traffic management solution yet to be
found that entirely removes the parking issues that arise during school term
times. There are ways to try and reduce parking pressures around schools which
are developed through a partnership approach with the school. These solutions
often lie within the local community through parents, school governors and
school staff, together with Leicestershire County Council providing advice and
support. These partnerships are particularly important to develop as the
parking problems outside schools are localised, and the best solutions lie with
the local community in reducing the number of vehicles attending the schools.
It is recommended that the school contacts the Sustainable Travel team, who may be able to provide further assistance with active travel to and from the school, which may reduce the number of cars accessing Ashford Road each day. The Sustainable Travel team may be contacted on the following email: ChooseHowYouMove@leics.gov.uk.
As Ashford Road (Hays Lane could be included) is an existing
‘no through road’ and not subject to through traffic, the school could request
to take part in ‘School Streets’, which is a scheme where the road outside of a
school is closed to vehicular access during drop off and pick up times.
Marshalls stand at the end of the road closure to restrict access to certain
vehicles i.e. those who live or work on the street, who will have to adhere to
safety protocols, such as reduced speeds. This allows parents and children to
travel to the school with a reduced chance of interaction with moving vehicles.
With appropriate permissions park and stride sites could be established at Clarendon Park or at the Hinckley Hub.
As Hays Lane is not publicly maintained highway, residents
would need to seek legal advice on how they could close this route to traffic.
It is appreciated that the community centre has closed on Rosemary Way, which has removed the access for walking to the school using that route (additionally, parents used to park in the community centre’s car park thus reducing vehicular traffic on the mentioned roads).
It is acknowledged that the reintroduction of pedestrian access previously provided through the community centre site could be replaced and this would provide some improvement to the situation. Both the Council’s Children and Family Services and officers in Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) are looking for ways to achieve this.
The ‘School Keep Clear’ marking on Westfield Road has not been put forward by the school to be included in the School Keep Clear project which makes advisory markings mandatory giving the opportunity for enforcement. The Westfield Road markings therefore remain advisory (the marking on Ashford Road is mandatory and is included on the enforcement route).
Given the concerns raised and the various roles and
responsibilities involved, there is a multi-agency meeting proposed on 26th
September with officers from the Council, HBBC, the Police, the Fire Service
and both schools. Interested parties will be advised of the actions taken
forward from this meeting.”