Minutes of the Maresfield Parish Council Traffic & Transport Committee meeting held on Tuesday 7^th June 2005 in the Parish Office, Nutley

Present: - Cllr R Tester (Chairman), Cllr H Fry, Cllr P Tester, Cllr S Leaney, Mr P Knivett, Mr D Sweetnam and Mr C Goossens. Clerk Tony Allen and Assistant Clerk Claire Goossens.

1.         Public Session – None.

2.            Election of Chairman – Cllr P Tester proposed Cllr R Tester as Chairman of the Committee; this was seconded by Cllr Leaney and agreed unanimously.

3.            Election of Vice-Chairman – Cllr P Tester proposed Cllr Leaney as Vice-Chairman of the Committee; this was seconded by Cllr H Fry and agreed unanimously.          

            All Non-Councillors were re-elected to the Committee en-bloc.

            The Chairman welcomed Mr Carl Goossens as a new member of the Committee.

4.            Apologies for absence - Cllr W King, Cllr Ms M Thomas, Ms D Lyne.

5.            Declarations of interest – None.

6.            Minutes of previous meeting – 10^th May 2005.

            6.1             Adoption – Cllr Fry referred to 5.1 on the previous minutes and stated that the reference to speeding “through” the village should actually state “throughout”.  The minutes were Adopted as amended.

                        6.2             Matters arising from these minutes not elsewhere on the Agenda – Cllr Fry informed the Committee that he together with Cllr Leaney, Cllr Thomas and the Clerk, had reviewed and responded to the ESCC Local Transport Plan.  ACTION:  Clerk to circulate response prior to next meeting.

Cllr Fry said that he had not yet drafted a letter to the Government regarding the coordination of rail and bus timetables.  However, this comment was included in the Local Transport Plan Response.  This matter remains ongoing.

Mr P Knivett joins the meeting.

7.            Maresfield by-pass – Cllr P Tester referred to the map received from ESCC highlighting injuries from accidents on the Parish roads for the period 2002-2004.  Due to the numbers being low, there is little statistical difference i.e. over the period the Uckfield by-pass has had 2 serious and 2 slight accidents and the Maresfield by-pass 3 and 3 respectively.  However, it was agreed that despite the low figures, the potential danger to motorists is evident.  Cllr P Tester stated that ESCC had agreed to look at the layout of the by-pass when the road is next re-marked/re-surfaced.  Cllr Fry recommended a meeting with Colin Clarke of ESCC to discuss the matter further prior to making a final recommendation to the Committee.  It was agreed that the Committee would support a move to make the by-pass three lanes as opposed to the narrowing option.  Mr Sweetnam suggested that this recommendation should be part of the Integrated Parish Traffic Management Plan to be submitted to the relevant authorities.

ACTION:  Clerk to send letter to Colin Clarke at ESCC asking when re-marking/re-surfacing is planned for the Maresfield by-pass and informing him that the Parish Council would like to be consulted at such a time as this is part of the Integrated Parish Traffic Management Plan.

Traffic & Transport Committee Minutes 7^th June 2005                             Page 2

8.            Proposed “Traffic Calming” measures in Maresfield – Although the proposals put forward by Mr Kennedy are outside of the original consultation scheme, it was agreed that they merited further discussion.  However, it was felt that there would be some detrimental effect on road usage in some parts of the village if the plans were adopted in their entirety.  The proposal for a filter at the Budlett’s Roundabout at the bottom of School Hill was considered to be a good low cost solution.  The practicalities and possible implications of such a measure were discussed in detail. 

It was noted that this is not a new proposal rather a scaled down version of a previous scheme suggested by Mr Stevens (Millwood Lane) a couple of years ago.  It was agreed that public meetings should be held to show proposed traffic plans to Parishioners, when completed and viewed by Full Council.

It was agreed that a Parish Traffic Management Plan should be compiled and the following possible measures were identified for inclusion in the first Draft:

• Maresfield by-pass - changed to three lanes
• Budlett’s Roundabout  - as per Mr Kennedy’s proposal with amendments as discussed
• Millwood Lane - barrier on bridge
• School Hill – 20mph speed limit with speed cushions to enforce this or other appropriate means
• Straight Half Mile – redesign junction at existing mini-roundabout / change priority to Batts Bridge Road / remove roundabout or build up size of roundabout /more physical narrowing on Straight Half Mile i.e. increase build outs / chicanes / islands in middle of road / HGV ban through village?
• B2026 – lack of centre line does work to a point / junctions need addressing at Burrells Lane, Fairwarp village, Old Forge Lane, the Church, Putlands Farm, Duddleswell Tea Rooms and at the Garden Centre possibly with physical speed limiting solutions
• B2026 / Crowborough Road – a physical barrier to prevent motorists from turning right onto the Crowborough Road from the A26
• Crowborough Road – speed limiting restrictions on the forest section (between cattle grids) i.e. single lane for intermittent stretches of road – give way to oncoming traffic e.g. Hartfield
  Chicanes on populated stretch of Crowborough Road although parts of these would need to encroach on County Council land

• Signage – Review of all signage in the Parish required

ACTION:  Clerk to check TEWP files for Cllr Sparrow’s signage surveys.

·        A22 – Cameras or alternatives / more enforcement with regard to speed
            ACTION:  Parish Traffic Management Plan Version 1 to be compiled             including maps, descriptions, pictures and cost implications of             recommended measures.

9.            Establishment of Local Action Teams – Ongoing with the first meeting yet to         be arranged with Sussex Police and SWP representatives.

Traffic & Transport Committee Minutes 7^th June 2005                             Page 3

10.      Public Transport

10.1     Development of Maresfield Parish Community bus service – It was agreed that it is important to establish a need prior to evaluating options.

ACTION:  Peter Knivett to put together some words enquiring as to demand for such a service for William King’s piece in the Parish Magazines.

10.2            Other public transport matters – None.

11.            Correspondence:-

11.1            Local Policing Plan for Sussex 2005/6 – John Godfrey of the Sussex             Police Authority has promised to consult Cllrs King and Fry with reference             to the next review of this Plan.
            ACTION:  Clerk to write to John Godfrey to remind him to seek             Parish Council input for the next review as per his promise.

11.2            Working with ESCC – It would appear that the problems stem from             County Council contracting out much of its work and the subsequent lack             of control thereof.

            ACTION:  Clerk to invite County Councillors Tony Reid and Francis Whetstone to attend the next Traffic & Transport Committee meeting with a view to discussing the matter with them.

12.            Communication –

ACTION:  Results of the Consultation Exercise to be published in Summer Parish Matters and Parish Traffic Management Plan Version 1 to be made available on the Parish website.

13.       Date of next meeting – Tuesday 5^th July 2005 at 20:00.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 21:53