Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

To consider the above petition, bearing 21 signatures, which has been submitted by Councillor R Lakha, a Binley and Willenhall 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 Deputy Chief Executive (Place) in response to a petition, bearing 21 signatures, received from a Binley Ward resident and supported by Councillor R Lakha, a Binley and Willenhall Ward Councillor, that read ‘Deterioration of road surface in Walton Close’. Councillor Lakha and the Petition Organiser attended the meeting for consideration of the matter and to speak on behalf of the petitioners.

In accordance with the City Council's procedure for dealing with petitions, those relating to highway maintenance were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. 

The report indicated that Walton Close was a local residential cul-de-sac, part of which served as an access road for garages. A plan of the location was attached as an Appendix to the report. Records showed that the last annual programmed safety inspection took place on the 28th February 2019, at which time no intervention level was identified. There had also been no customer enquiries made regarding the road condition in the past 12 months.

Following receipt of the petition an engineer made a visit on 15th August 2019 to further assess the construction and overall condition of the road and pavements. The road was a traditional tarmac construction, the main carriageway section had been subject to a surface treatment some time ago. The garage area, which was not subject to this treatment, was showing signs of deterioration. The pavements were of a slab construction. Both the road and pavements were aged and although not aesthetically pleasing at the time of inspection there were no intervention level defects identified. Following the engineer’s assessment, the recommended treatment was to repair the areas of deterioration by localised patching and application of a surface treatment over the whole area to prevent the ingress of water and prevent further deterioration. If a priority score was reached by the Council’s Asset Management System, they would be included in a future capital funded improvement programme if the budget permitted. Until such time, any defects at or above the intervention level as identified would continue to be made safe.

Councillor Lakha and the Petition Organiser spoke in support of the petitioners. They referred to the extremely poor condition of parts of Walton Close due to the heavy usage of the Close by parents picking up and dropping off children at the nearby School. The road surface was subject to a great deal of parking and also vehicles turning and although part of the road had been re-surfaced, the centre of the road and the entrance to the cul-de-sac were in particularly bad condition. Although the report indicated that no customer enquiries had been made regarding the road condition, Councillor Lakha confirmed that many residents had raised the issue directly with him. He felt that the Inspectors assessment of the road surface detailed in the report, did not reflect the severity of its condition and that the Close deserved high priority status on the Council’s Forward Programme List. The Petition Organiser indicated that residents had a pride in their area and wanted to maintain its condition and did not want the road surface of the Cul-de-sac to deteriorate further.

Having considered the report and the comments made by Councillor Lakha, the Petition Organiser and the Highways Officer who presented the report, the Cabinet Member agreed that the location would be placed on the Council’s forward programme list and its condition would be monitored and scored against all other similar sites citywide.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services:

1)  Notes the petitioner’s concerns.

2)  Approves that the road at Walton Close be held on Coventry City Council’s forward programme list and its condition will continue to be monitored and scored against all other similar sites citywide.