Agenda item

This report advises the Committee of petitions received by the Council which fall within the remit of this Committee including a summary of the responses sent to the petition organisers by officers.

Discussion:

Members considered a report which advised the Committee of petitions received by the Council which fell within the remit of the Committee, including a summary of the responses sent to the petition organisers by officers.

Two petitions had been referred to the Committee for consideration.

The first petition related to opposition to the removal of a wall at Lordswood Lane, Chatham. Nick Phillips attended on behalf of the Lead Petitioner and was invited to speak to explain why the Council’s response to the petition had been referred to the Committee.

Mr Phillips informed the Committee that residents of Slade Close were opposed to the removal of the wall. He explained that children play on the greenspace outside the houses and if the wall were removed it would be unsafe for the children and could lead to a fatality from a vehicle.

Officers informed the Committee that this issue had been looked at for almost two and a half years to find a solution. It was explained that the wall was built as part of the original housing development, was open ended with a public footpath next to it, there was no record as to the purpose it served and MHS Homes had not accepted responsibility for the wall.

Officers had carried out an inspection of the wall due to deterioration and risk of harm to passing members of the public. The Committee were informed it was not a vehicle restraint system and the costs of demolishing the wall and rebuilding it were summarised.

Members commented on the importance of the protection of the local children from road users, were sympathetic to the residents’ concerns and queried what solutions had already been explored.

Officers explained that following a risk assessment and due to the 30mph speed limit and signage it had been categorised as a low priority. In 2023/24 officers had offered to remove the wall and put a vehicle restraint system in place but it was refused by the residents as they felt it was not tall enough and children would still go under or over it.

Members queried why the existing wall needed to be removed. Officers confirmed that it had been reported as leaning to one side and following an inspection of the 180m wall, there was a lot of brickwork degradation and if not removed it would eventually fall down.

The second petition related to road safety signage at Wayfield Road, Chatham. Pat Cooper, the lead Petitioner was invited to speak to explain why the Council’s response to the petition had been referred to the Committee.

Pat Cooper explained that she was speaking on behalf of residents of Snodhurst house and with the support of MHS homes.

Residents were concerned for their safety when crossing the road to access the bus stop and there had been some near miss accidents when elderly residents were crossing the road. Parked cars impaired Pedestrians vision when crossing the road, there were no designated crossing points, road signs had not been updated, and the ‘Slow’ road markings were inadequate.

Residents were requesting support for some kind of road safety measures to allow them to access the bus stop safely.

Officers explained that a site visit had taken place and acknowledged that facilities for pedestrians were not a good as officers would like. The challenges including on street parking, buses, blue badge parking, a bend in the road and minimum carriageway width were noted by the Committee.

Officers confirmed they would be exploring all options for road safety measures at this location and that this would be added to the work programme for 2026/27.

Decision:

a)    The Committee noted the petition responses and appropriate officer actions in paragraph 4.1 of the report.

b)    The Committee considered the petition referrals requested at section 6 of the report and the Deputy Director of Place’s response.

c)    The Committee agreed that, regarding the removal of the wall at Lordswood Lane, officers were requested to investigate the viability of further options including fencing and planting and to work in conjunction with MHS and wider partners.

d)    The Committee agreed, regarding road safety in Wayfield Road, Chatham, officer proposals to add Wayfield Road to the work programme for 2026/27 and options for improving road safety be supported.