Actions, not words

A quick snap to show that actions are being taken to rectify the water leakage on Pottery Lane. The two carrying out the work haven't sourced it yet, but in any case will put in something that's known as a 'correlation point' which will measure where the leak is coming from.

However, I'm sure that will only work if it's a leak from the mains, and if, in actual fact, it's simply groundwater - from an extremely high water table round here - I don't know whose accountability that will be. Must find out.

STOP PRESS! Again...

My brother-in-law tells me that the guys from yesterday were back again this morning. Apparently they were doing a bit more of a survey, and think that the water leaking onto the roads is a mixture of ground water, mains, and perhaps even some drainage. Let's hope we find out soon.

STOP PRESS! STOP PRESS!

Just saw some water board and County Council personnel reviewing the water pipes etc. around Pottery Lane and Quennels Hill, in order to solve the problem of ground water leakage!

Slippery Slope

As you may have already read on my blog, I was away during the heavy snowfalls, but I heard about the flurry of accidents that took place near the bottom of Quennell's Hill, and read a number of letters in the Herald that note the continued leakage of groundwater from the junction with Pottery Lane, and the lack of any noticeable work to prevent this.

I've just this minute emailed our County Councillor David Munro, who I know has already been involved with trying to work this out. Presently the only warning abou the road conditions is given part way up Quennell's Hill, but this doesn't help anyone on the main road through Wrecclesham, and when it's icy, you can see what happens to the house at the bottom of the hill!

From the ridiculous to the sublime

I'm fuming. Really fuming. There's no excuse for the kind of inconsiderate, rude, and downright unacceptable behaviour that my wife experienced on public transport today.

Electing to use the bus that runs to Farnham - primarily because our car was in for its MOT, but secondly, choosing it in lieu of borrowing her brother's car as my mother had said how good the service was - Rach duly waited until 45 minutes after it was due, and as you can imagine (in the cold, the wet, and having to entertain a toddler for 45 mins), was delighted to see it arrive.

What was not delightful was the following 5 minutes during which:
* she struggled to get the pram up the steps;
* no-one offered to help or watch Caleb;
* eventually a gentleman assisted with the pram;
* once the pram was in, the driver pointed out that (due to another - uncollapsed - pram taking up most of the room available, our pram had to be moved again so it wasn't in the way;
* and then, when the driver suggested that a couple of ladies make way for my pregnant wife of 37 weeks, they said no, as they were in (and I quote) "their" seats; therefore
* my wife stood all the way into town.

ARGH!!!!! WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON WITH OUR SOCIETY?

However, contrast this with the way back to Wrecclesham:
* the bus arrived on time;
* she was given help into the bus;
* when exiting the bus, the driver held Caleb on his lap (and I can't tell how much Caleb loved that being a bus driver!) whilst Rach took the pram out and made it ready.

In summary:

(1) Isn't it incredible how inexcusable some people's behaviour can be, when in actual fact it takes very very little to behave in a polite and kind manner?
(2) In fact, the worst of the experiences had more to do with members of the public's attitude that the public transport system itself.

Email is a wonderful thing

I may be 4 hours ahead, and a few thousand miles away, but because of technology and concerned residents, I'm able to know that in the past couple of days there have been some serious accidents on the main road through Wrecclesham.

My colleague in the ward of Wrecclesham and Rowledge, Pat Frost, was quick off the mark and has been able to speak with David Munro, our county councillor, and the county highways dept, and although I'm sure there's no immediate quick fix, I'm certain that much attention will be given to the root cause of the accidents, and what, if anything, can be done.

Great news

The work on the junction of School Hill, Sandrock Hill Road, and Echo Barn Lane, starts next Monday.

David Munro has just let me know, and he's making sure that full information is posted through the letterboxes of the immediate neighbours to the junction.

I'll add more as I know more, but I'm sure that the Herald will also pick this up next week.

Prohibition of Traffic

No, not the latest (temporary) amendment to the US Constitution, but a notice I received today about the work at the crossroads at the top of School Hill and Sandrock Hill Road. It's a Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Order for roughly the first six months of 2009, although it's likely to actual occur from 5th January for 8 weeks. You can see information on the proposed scheme by clicking here. And you can see it on my ward map here.

This answers a couple of questions I've received recently about the various works on the stretch from Ridgeway Road, along Shortheath Road, and onto Echo Barn Lane, which has ended up with the road surface looking like a patchwork quilt. The junction upgrade has been waiting until the gas works were completed, and with this now done, it can begin.

It's easy to agree that the entire length of the ridge should be resurfaced, but money is tight and so it's unlikely to get done any time soon. Sorry about that. David Munro, our County Councillor, managed to get three roads in the area prioritised - Weydone Lane (done), the A287 through the Bourne (just started), and Gardener's Hill Road (next year's programme), and that's some achievement in itself.

What is a driftway?

I'm grateful to David Munro, our county councillor, for this post. In recent months he's been the key person behind the resurfacing of The Avenue, Rowledge, and he's sent me some background information on it which makes me realise how much works he does, and what a great result this is. As you can see from the photo (for those of you who use The Avenue), this is an amazing improvement, and looks a treat.

David says, "The Avenue is a driftway, which means that it only has to be maintained in a condition for pedestrians, horses and farm animals to use it. Although the residents also have a right of vehicular access to their properties, it isn’t the responsibility of Highways to upgrade it. [However] The Avenue now has a brand-new surface – in sympathy with the rural area but easily good enough to be used by everyone. And it should stay that way for many years to come"

David worked hard to gain the trust and contributions from residents, Surrey County Council's Right of Way service, and his own local allocation, and the results speak for themselves.

Order, Order

A couple of "Temporary Prohibition of Traffic Orders" came through the door recently from Surrey County Council, so I thought I'd share them with you. Click the title of either one below to go to my Ward map, where you'll find them highlighted.

D5302 Manley Bridge Road
The order is necessary to enable BT to access telephone poles to carry out maintenance work. The Temporary Order will come into force on 20 October 2008 for a period of 2 months. However, it is anticipated that the works will be carried out from between 9.30 and 15.30 from 20-25 October 2008.

D5315 Greenfield Road
The order is necessary to enable contractors to carry out repairs to a damaged drain. The Temporary Order will come into force on 20 October 2008 for a period of 2 months. However, it is anticipated that the works will be carried out between 20 and 25 October 2008.

The prohibition will only be operative while the County Council or other authorised persons acting on its behalf display signs indicating the said prohibition.

Playing Catch-up

Back from the beach (Northumberland - really wonderful - quiet, peaceful, miles from everywhere except the A1), and today I had a chance to browse the Herald.

The main front page story was news to me. And is a good example of how as a councillor, it's difficult to spot everything that's going on by way of the reams of paper that come through the door. Looks like this decision (proposal?) went through the Local Committee, that brings Surrey and Waverley councillors together.

I wonder to what extent a single lane on the A31 will effect any possible future work on a Wrecclesham by-pass? Just a thought.

Speechless? Not quite

This is how I felt when I read a lengthy email thread that I thought said that Surrey Local Committee would not be discussing the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) at their next meeting on 12th September.

However, I misread the email thread contents, and, it turns out that the AQAP is indeed on the agenda, just probably not with a focus of Farnham, or with associated transport matters which bring the AQAP into specific relief.

Councillor Alan Lovell, who proposed an amendment at the last full council meeting, to ask for an urgent meeting between WBC and SCC on the AQAP and Farnham (yes, I'm trying to use as many TLAs and ETLAs as possible), alerted me to the presence of this issue on the agenda of the meeting on the 12th September, as well as then ringing me up to point out I'd arrived at the wrong end of the stick about it initially.

I'm extremely grateful to him for keeping me up-to-date, and accurate!

Sorry...

... I know I haven't posted yet today, but it's been my last working day in Chicago, and my journey to the airport (where I'm now sat) has been miserable. I'm late, the crew for my BA flight is late and has only just arrived at the terminal, and I'm going to be late in in the morning I'm sure.

Terminal

That's how I might describe the heat in Chicago or Houston at this time of year, for those of a weaker disposition. I'm used to getting off a BA flight at either of those cities, and wading through the air as it's gentle dampness and intense heat wrap around me like a blanket.

However, I wasn't expecting to have a similar experience on my way to the airport here in London. But that's what it was like today. Thankfully, even though Terminal 4 is being turned upside down due to renovations now that most of BA is running out of T5, the aircon still seems to be working.

Time for a very, very cold DC I think :-)

Hands up if you want to concrete over the South-East?

Ah, that will be the Secretary of State then.

If a development of 2,500 dwelling at Bordon/Whitehill didn't seem enough, then you'll be pleased. The Secretary of State has increased this provision to 5,500!

5,500!!!! And where, I hear you all ask, is the associated plan for infrastructure - roads, doctors, dentists, schools.. - that must surely accompany it. Well, I think that it's buried in a number of other documents, but at 54 pages, I haven't quite read the whole of the 'Regional Transport Strategy (Chapter 9 of Regional Planning Guidance for the South East RPG9'. And, I'm certain that it doesn't include a by-pass for Wrecclesham. However, it does make reference to our area - recognise / understand any of this? I'm pretty certain it was written by Sir Humphrey:

Delivery of the necessary step change in the development and management of the transport system is likely to require the adoption of an 'integreated management' approach to the delivery of investment across all modes, supported by the consistent application of a strong suite of supporting mobility management measures.

The SoS's proposals to change the existing plans must be open for public consultation, and the 12-week period has just started. To make comments you can visit the Government Office for the South East website.

Traffic (Mis)Management

Click here to see the traffic order that I received in the post this morning.

Whilst it's not strictly in the ward or Wrecclesham and Rowledge, I'm convinced it's going to cause some pretty ugly traffic problems over the summer. Bus routes, school runs (come September), lorries getting confused by satnav - you name it, I'm concerned that Wrecclesham and Shortheath are going to grind to a halt. Lots of residential routes are going to be used the lorries that presently (and already frustratingly) rumble through Wrecclesham, and then circumvent the low railway bridge by cutting along Weydon Lane.

I'm not saying there's anything better, and that these diversions aren't necessary - they are, and I'm sure the Highways team at Surrey County Council have identified the nearest available routes - but this must be seen in the light of years of campaigning for a Wrecclesham Bypass - if one existed then so much of this imminent nightmare could be avoided.

For a map of the area, see my map of the ward - I've drawn on the area of the closure.

LOL

A friend of mine who works for Croydon Council has made me laugh by sending an email of great cartoons about fuel prices. Here's a couple to make you smile too.

Newsflash 2

Is it me, or has the Vehicle Activated Sign that I blogged about yesterday, been moved to the other side of the road?

Newsflash

Or 'speedflash'. A resident of Wrecclesham Hill pointed out to me a week or so ago that the Vehicle Activated Sign on the hill had not been working for a while. As I was sitting in his house on the hill when he said this, and experienced the speed and noise of fast cars for myself, I particularly empathised!

After a few emails to find out who was responsible for the sign, it turned out that the Community Highways Officer at Surrey County Council had organised the sign, but that the police maintained. So what a great sight this afternoon, as I happened to drive past the sign and saw two police officers working on it. Hopefully it's now flashing (appropriately, and not too often one hopes).

Cushions

It's less than two days since I posted about my incorrect assumptions about the Echo Barn Lane consultation. And already I have the answer!

And for it, I take my off my (metaphorical) hat to David Munro, our local County Councillor, who gets back to me on these kind of things with some swiftness. As it turns out, the plan goes to the Surrey County Council Local Committee (Waverley) on the 6th June. The committee's role includes the review and approval of the Local Transport Plan, which as this meeting will include the scheme for the crossroads (including "road cushions").

If you're keen to observe a bit of local bureaucracy democracy, then it's all happening at Godalming Baptist Church from 1.30 pm on Friday 6th June.