Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Ward Committee until the next Annual Council Meeting.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Laura Booth be elected Chair of the Ward Committee for the period until the next Annual Council Meeting.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2011.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 15 February 2011 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interest was declared:-

Personal Interest

To receive announcements from the Chair.

There were no announcements made.

Members of the public are invited to put questions to the Chair any matters within the powers and duties of the Ward Committee, subject to the exclusions set out in the Code of Practice.  (Questions must be submitted prior to the commencement of the meeting on the card provided.  These are available at the meeting. You can also submit via the Council’s website at www.stockport.gov.uk/publicquestions)

Members of the public were invited to submit questions on any matters within the powers and duties of the Ward Committee.

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager reported that a question had been submitted via the Council website related to traffic and parking on the Bosden Farm Estate although it had been marked for submission to the Council Meeting.

RESOLVED – That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to clarify the intention of the questioner and if appropriate to provide a response.

To discuss traffic and parking issues on Bosden Farm Estate.

This item has been placed on the agenda at the request of local Councillors.

The Chair invited members of the public to raise any concerns about traffic and parking issues on the Bosden Farm Estate.

Members of the public highlighted concerns about safety on Bean Leach Road, in particular in the vicinity of the junction with Shearwater Road, the properties nearest the junction, and the physical width restriction. Concerns were expressed that the width restriction was causing increased danger as some motorists increased speed toward the physical measures, which in some cases resulted in collisions with the physical measures or other motorists. This could, and had, resulted in the vehicles then colliding with the properties or vehicles parked at these properties. It was commented that the removal of hedging in this location had increased the vulnerability of the properties.  Residents also provided photographs of the most recent incident.

Concerns were raised about the visibility of the restrictions, road markings and signage and whether motorists were aware of the restrictions sufficiently in advance to be able to take corrective action. This was a particular issue for large goods vehicles which then found it difficult to reverse/ return along the route once they had reached the restriction.

Members of the public queried the need for the width restriction and whether the physical measures needed to be at that location which was so close to residential properties.

The Strategic Network Engineer responded to some of the queries and concerns. These included:-

·         The width restriction had been introduced as an Environmental restriction to prevent nuisance caused by Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling between Marple Road and Commercial Road, rather than to protect the bridge on Bean Leach Road.

·         Possible additional crossing points on Bean Leach Road including islands could be explored, although this was dependent on the width of the carriageway at any given location.

·         Statistics for the three years up to approximately May 2015 indicated that there had been 2 accidents on Bean Leach Road.

RESOLVED – That the Chief Executive be requested to prepare a report for the Stepping Hill Area Committee detailing options for additional road safety measures on Bean Leach Road, Offerton, including:-

·         the feasibility of alterations to or removal of the Environmental Weight Restriction and associated physical measures, including further indication of whether this restriction was needed;

·         the feasibility of the introduction of additional crossing points with pedestrian islands on Bean Leach Road to improving safety for pedestrians and to slow vehicles.

Members of the public highlighted concerns about excessive and inappropriate parking around Warren Wood School during morning and afternoon pick-up/ drop-off, in part because of additional vehicles on site associated with the school building expansion. Concerns were also raised about the potential for problems to continue once the school intake had expanded and more vehicles were travelling to the area from within a larger school catchment.

The following issues were raised:-

·         Parking available for staff was insufficient for current and future need. Consideration should be given to using the field at the bottom of this site for staff parking as it was not used and was unsuitable for play.

·         The planning conditions relating to parking and associated with the expansion of the building had not been properly complied with which had resulted in parking being displaced onto the neighbouring roads, meaning that parents had less places to park, exacerbating inappropriate parking.

·         Vehicles were obstructing pavements and dropped kerbs/ crossing points forcing young children and prams onto the road.

·         Residents close to the school were having their vehicles being blocked on driveways etc due to poor parking.

·         The pedestrian access to the school was not sufficient with gateways being too narrow. Proposed additional access did not address these problems which led to blockages and children being at risk of being bumped or having to walk in the road.

The Head of Commissioning School Places attended the meeting to assist the Committee with its discussions. He responded to some of the issues raised, including:-

·         There was a maximum parking standard of two spaces per classroom. Some spaces also needed to be designated as disable bays. The planning permission for the expansion of the school would result in 50% more staff parking on site.

·         A balance was needed between providing additional parking spaces and maintaining play space for the pupils.

·         It was anticipated that the number of contractor vehicles on the Warren Wood School site would reduce from January 2016 toward the expected completion date of the extension in Easter 2016.

The Strategic Network Engineer summarised some of the traffic/ road safety measures that would be investigated for introduction as part of the planning permission, including:-

·         Flat-top humps and crossing points on Shearwater Road.

·         Changing waiting restrictions to remove waiting periods that would allow more vigorous enforcement against inappropriate parking.

·         The Council’s Road Safety Team would be working with the school to identify improvements.

Members of the public made suggestion for additional measures that could be introduced to address their concerns:-

·         Widening of existing gates and proposed new points of access to the school, as well as creating increased circulation place at these gateways to improve the flow of pedestrians.

·         Introducing a one way system along Turnstone Road near the school to reduce the conflict between parked and moving vehicles, as well as pedestrians. There were examples elsewhere in the county of part time one way systems that only operated during school hours.

·         Introduction of a permit parking scheme around the school and providing permits for those parents with significant distances to travel to and from school. This may discourage short car journeys that could otherwise be done on foot.

·         Encouraging ‘walking buses’ and similar initiatives to reduce unnecessary car journeys.

Councillors highlighted the importance of engaging parents in the success of any initiative.

RESOLVED – That the Chief Executive be requested to submit a report to the Stepping Hill Area Committee meeting in February 2016 detailing proposals for the introduction of traffic management measures on Shearwater Road/ Turnstone Road arising from the planning conditions associated with expansion of Warren Wood Primary School, including the feasibility of introducing a way-one Order on Turnstone Road, either permanently or limited to school operating hours.