Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

The minutes of the meeting on 15^th March 2023 were agreed and signed as a true record. 

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

To consider the above petition bearing 32 signatures, which is being supported by Councillor R Bailey, a Cheylesmore Councillor, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item, along with the petition organiser.

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways, which responded to a petition requesting bollards at the Daintree Croft and Daventry Road junction.  The petition was supported by Councillor R Bailey, a Cheylesmore Ward Councillor, who, together with the Petition Organiser, attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of the petitioners.

The petition submitted contained 32 signatures and in accordance with the City Council’s procedure for dealing with petitions, those related to road safety and parking issues were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. The Cabinet Member had considered the petition in advance of the meeting and requested that the petition be dealt with by Determination Letter rather than a formal report being submitted to the meeting.

On receipt of the Determination Letter, the petition organiser advised he wanted the issue to be considered at a Cabinet Member for City Services meeting.

The report indicated that Daintree Croft was a residential cul-de-sac off Daventry Road.  A location plan was appended to the report.  The Determination Letter advised that there were existing double yellow lines at the junction, prohibiting waiting on the road and the pavement.  The junction had been visited regularly by the Council’s Parking Enforcement Team and additional patrols requested in response to the petitioners’ concerns. 

The Cabinet Member viewed a slideshow of photographs of issues in the area taken over the past 3 – 4 months by the Petition Organiser.  Councillor R Bailey and the Petition Organiser spoke in support of the petition, explaining that the petition had been raised due to issues with illegally parked cars blocking the pavement and road, causing issues for both residents and emergency vehicles.  The busy take away shops were causing issues due to the delivery drivers parking on the corners and blocking pavements despite the double yellow lines, resulting in pedestrians having to walk in the road.  Traffic was speeding down the Daventry Road and turning into Daintree Croft where ‘Access only’ signage was incorrectly positioned.  Suggested alternative off-road parking was available on Dillotford Avenue and in Budgens car park.  Bollards would alleviate the problem, improving permanent access for emergency vehicles, safety and visibility.  Councillor R Brown added his support to the petition and it was suggested planters could be installed on the pavements instead of bollards.

Officers responded by clarifying that during a recent site visit, the ‘Access Only’ signage had been reviewed and confirmed that it was correctly located.  Officers urged caution regarding the installation of planters on the narrowest part of the pavements in the area as this may add to the current issues.  It was noted that the two properties on the corner of Daintree Croft had additional unofficial vehicle crossings. 

The Cabinet Member suggested temporary planters be installed on the wider section of the pavements, to alleviate the problem of illegal parking.

The Deputy Cabinet Member requested that officers check the road signs were visible behind the tree as they were obscured when it was in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

To consider the above petition bearing 200 signatures, which is being supported by Councillor R Lancaster, a Holbrook Ward Councillor, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item, along with the petition organiser.

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways, responding to a petition requesting improvements to the zebra crossing on Hen Lane, including the upgrade of the zebra crossing to a toucan crossing.  The petition was supported by Councillor F Lancaster, a Holbrook Ward Councillor, who, together with the Petition Organiser, attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of the petitioners.

The petition submitted contained 200 signatures and, in accordance with the City Council’s procedure for dealing with petitions, those related to road safety were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. The Cabinet Member had considered the petition prior to the meeting and requested that the petition be dealt with by Determination Letter rather than a formal report being submitted to the meeting however, before the Determination Letter was issued, the petition sponsor requested that the issue be considered at a Cabinet Member for City Services meeting.

The petition requested improvements to the zebra crossing on Hen Lane, including the upgrade of the crossing to a toucan crossing.  Hen Lane was a residential local distributor road between Wheelwright Lane and Winding House Lane and was subject to a 30mph speed limit.

Road safety measures in the city were targeted by using personal injury collision data to ensure the available funding was utilised carefully.  A review of the collision data for the zebra crossing on Hen Lane and the adjacent junction with Briscoe Road showed that there was one personal injury collision recorded by the Police in the last 3 years.  Locations where there had been 6 or more personal injury collisions in the previous 3 years were considered for inclusion in the criterion and therefore, it was not proposed to upgrade the crossing to a signalised crossing.  It was also noted that the location was not suitable for a signalised crossing as it was too close to the side road junction.

However, in response to the petition and following an inspection of the location, the following measures would be taken:

·  Warning signage on the approaches to the crossing would be renewed and SLOW markings installed.

·  A proposal for double yellow lines to prohibit waiting at the junction with Briscoe Road would be considered as part of the next review of waiting restrictions.

·  Pedestrian dropped kerbs with tactile paving would be installed on Briscoe Road and tactile paving would be installed at the zebra crossing.

Officers advised road markings at the zebra crossing and on the junction with Briscoe Road had recently been refreshed and speed surveys undertaken on Hen Lane west of Briscoe Road, which showed that both the mean and 85^th percentile speeds were at or below the speed limit of 30mph.

Councillor R Lancaster and the Petition Organiser spoke in support of the petition, welcoming the report and the proposed measures but stating they did not go far enough, that cars were speeding on that stretch of road and that the overgrown trees on the pavements were obscuring  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways in respect of petitions received relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for City Services and how officers proposed to respond to them.

In June 2015, amendments to the Petitions Scheme, which forms part of the Constitution, were approved in order to provide flexibility and streamline current practice.  This change had reduced costs and bureaucracy and improved the service to the public.

These amendments allow for a petition to be dealt with or responded to by letter without being formally presented in a report to a Cabinet Member meeting.

In light of this, at the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Public Services on 15 March 2016, it was approved that a summary of those petitions received which were determined by letter, or where decisions are deferred pending further investigations, be reported to subsequent meetings of the Cabinet Member for Public Services (now amended to Cabinet Member for City Services), where appropriate, for monitoring and transparency purposes.

Appendix A set out petitions received relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for City Services and how officers propose to respond to them.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services endorses the actions being taken by officers as set out in Section 2 and Appendix A of the report in response to the petitions received.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

Any other items of public business which the Cabinet Member decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

There were no other items of public business.