The Day Two Cranes Met

Saturday was the day two cranes met as the huge crane left the WWF building site on Brewery Road in Horsell.  A section of the road from Chobham Road to the beginning of Horsell Moor was closed all day whilst another crane lifted out the site crane.

Wilmott Dixon had leafletted some nearby residents but it seemed a number were not aware of the road closure as they turned along Brewery Road towards the closure.

Signage on the roundabout at the junction with Arthur's Bridge and Church Hill said "Road Ahead Closed" but didn't make it clear which road was closed or where it was closed.

The only advance notice on the road was A4 notices on lamp posts which said the road would be closed on the weekend of 6/7 April!  When we closed the High Street for Jubilee celebrations last year it was a requirement to display advance notice of the road closure.  That certainly didn't happen with this closure.  Surrey Highways did not have any details of the closure on their website.

It was after 8pm when the workers packed up on Saturday night.  I was told that it was hoped to complete all the work on Saturday (but the road closure does cover Sunday as well) but last time I looked some of the equipment was still on the road.  Hopefully this will be cleared early on Sunday and the road re-opened.

Road Closure as Crane Leaves WWF site

Brewery Road will be closed this Saturday (20 April) as the crane is removed from the WWF building site.  The removal of the huge crane means that Brewery Road needs to be closed from 7am to 6pm on Saturday.  The road will be closed from Chobham Road to the first turning into Horsell Moor.

Vehicles are diverted via the Arthur's Bridge roundabout or Well Lane onto Lockfield Drive.  Coming into Horsell this will require a u-turn on the Harelands roundabout.

Pedestrians will need to travel to and from Chobham Road and the town centre via the towpath.  Although there will be step free access from the new Bedser Bridge to the towpath when the WWF HQ is complete at the moment there are several steps up to the bridge.  On Saturday anyone in a wheelchair, mobility scooter or with a buggy is likely to have to go along the towpath to Chobham Road (just when you thought the diversions were over).

Wilmott Dixon have the facility to close the road on Sunday as well but hope to complete all the removal on Saturday unless there are very windy conditions.

I have had great difficulty getting information about the timing and scale of this road closure.  I was originally consulted as a borough councillor about a closure that was planned for two weekends ago.  I heard nothing more until a county colleague forwarded me a Travel Alert about a closure this coming weekend.  As a close neighbour of the building site I had a note through the door from Wilmott Dixon last week but residents of Horsell Moor tell me they have seen nothing.  Notices went up on lamp posts in Brewery Road over the weekend but they refer to a closure on 6/7 April.  They fail to make it clear that the whole road will be closed.

It took phone calls to Surrey's call centre (member of staff very helpful but had no information), the Wilmott Dixon site manager and the provider of the crane removal equipment to get answers.

Trying to Tackle Flooding

As the rain set in yet again on Saturday (what happened to that sunny weather that was forecast?)  my mind turned to the floods on local roads that would inevitably follow the precipitation. 

Flooding on Brewery Road affects
the pedestrian crossing

Upper most in my mind was the flooding on Brewery Road.  This is a key walking and cycling route into the town centre from Horsell and affects a pedestrian crossing.

I have been asking for action on this, and other areas of flooding, since the rain set in after the "drought" (remember the hosepipe ban?) early last summer.  Initially I reported the flooding to the county council but when nothing happened I started asking questions at Surrey's Local Committee of county and borough councillors from Woking.

In addition to floods on Brewery Road I identified flooding on Arthur's Bridge Road, Church Hill, the Brewery Road exit from the roundabout at Church Hill / Arthur's Bridge and at crossings over Victoria Way.

I have put questions to the last 3 Local Committees.  Within my questions I have raised the theory that much flooding seems to have happened after roads have been resurfaced.  This possibility has been rejected by county officers.

Pedestrians and cyclists run
gauntlet of a shower from
thoughtless motorists

As a result of my questioning 

• There has been progress on Arthur's Bridge where clearing the drains appears to have solved the problem.  
• I am told the flooding on Church Hill and at the roundabout is due to a drain problem which has been passed to Thames Water to remedy.  
• The County denies the crossings of Victoria Way have a flood issue.  
• The flooding on Brewery Road remains unresolved.  The latest response I received, back in March, was that investigations are continuing.  Meanwhile pedestrians and cyclists continue to run the gauntlet of safely passing the puddles before getting a free shower courtesy of a thoughtless motorist.

I set out below the questions I have asked by date.  

My attempts to get local flooding fixed - Questions asked to the Woking Local Committee

September 2012

There are a number of roads in my area that suffer from notable flooding after heavy rain.  This can be caused by drains blocking but in recent times seems to be an after effect of resurfacing works.  I have raised this issue with officers and I believe some investigative work has been done but I would like an update on

- when flooding on Brewery Road and Arthur's Bridge Road is expected to be remedied

- whether there are issues with the contractor resurfacing roads and flooding after resurfacing has been noted in other areas, and, if so what is being done to put this right in future

December 2012

I asked a question about flooding at the last Local Committee but don't believe the matter was fully addressed.  Improvement has been seen on Arthur's Bridge Road because I believe this was a drain clearance issue but in the last couple of months I have noticed that there are several roads which have been resurfaced or re-laid as part of road improvements in recent years that now have large puddles when it rains heavily.  Locations are:

- the lower part of Church Hill where the pavement was widened and dropped kerbs added several years ago

- the junction of Brewery Road with the Arthur's Bridge Road roundabout which was created in the last few years

- Brewery Road outside the entrance to the WWF building site (this has improved a little I think from drain clearance) but there is still a large puddle.  This part of Brewery Road was resurfaced earlier this year and the problem has been there since that time

- the pedestrian crossings over Chobham Road and then Victoria Way into Woking town centre

- the pedestrian crossing over Victoria Way by the Lightbox into Woking Town Centre

Would you agree that there does appear to be a problem when Surrey Highways contractors resurface or create new road structures?

What will be done to remove this puddling in the short term?

What can change in future so that these problems do not continue?

March 2013

Could Highways please tell me what action has been taken in response to my question to the previous local committee three months ago in respect of 'puddling' problems at the following locations:

- the lower part of Church Hill, Horsell

- the junction of Brewery Road with the Arthur's Bridge Road roundabout, Horsell

- Brewery Road, Horsell  outside the entrance to the WWF building site

- the pedestrian crossings over Chobham Road and then Victoria Way into Woking town centre

- the pedestrian crossing over Victoria Way by the Lightbox into Woking Town Centre

The Bedser Bridge Arrives in Pieces

One side of the new Bedser Bridge

I looked out of the window early on Sunday morning to discover there was traffic control on Brewery Road. I had one vain hope it might be Surrey County Council contractors come to find out why the road flooded last week.  But I was soon to find out this was not the case.  

A little later in the morning I went out to take my daughter to a party and learnt the arrival of the new Bedser bridge across the canal was imminent.  I was a little concerned about the pedestrian arrangements during this activity as we were told to wait for the "banksman" and be escorted along the road.   How would the workmen cope with the pedestrian traffic heading into town after 11 on a Sunday morning I wondered.  I needn't have worried.  An hour later after I had dropped off at the party, wandered through the French market, checked out the new Maplin shop on Commercial Way and done a little Christmas shopping; the road was fully open. The bridge, or pieces of the bridge,  two sides as far as I could see, had been safely delivered to the site.

The main structure of the bridge will be wooden.  It looks so much better than the concrete monstrosity which was proposed initially.

Now we just have to wait for the pieces to be put into place and the rest of the structure around the bridge to be completed.  We were promised a new bridge early in 2013 but my recent questioning suggests it could be Easter before we can cross the canal from Brewery Road again.  If it as late as this that will have been a year we have all had to make the long walk around via Chobham Road and the five point crossing to get into Woking.

Police action on speeding in Horsell

Walking down Brewery Road yesterday whilst my younger daughter practiced her bike riding skills (we've recently removed the stabilisers) I was a little concerned to see a group of police officers at the entrance to Horsell Park. "Has somebody done something wrong?" asked my daughter. Before I could respond our local neighbourhood officer for Horsell PC Josh Parish detached himself from the group and came over to speak to me.

It turned out that PC Parish had assembled the resources to carry out speed enforcement across Horsell. The team had just finished work on Brewery Road and were moving on to Chobham Road and Woodham Road, another team had covered the High Street. Most of these areas are places where I often walk or cycle and there are regular occurrences of speeding vehicles. I have also been involved in Speedwatch at some of these locations. I mentioned to PC Parish that I had recently seen two cars overtaking a third car that was keeping to the speed limit on Brewery Road.

PC Parish told me that a number of tickets were handed out and some warnings given. He also mentioned that the team had not been popular.

I'm delighted to see this police work taking place. Speedwatch is helpful at slowing traffic speeds in the local area but actual enforcement by the police sends a much stronger message to speeding drivers.

Still no response on those posts

Well, surprise, surprise, Surrey County Council have still not bothered to reply to my emails about the posts erected on Brewery Road. They are obviously holding out to their 20 day reply time.

I have yet to find anybody who thinks the posts serve any useful purpose . Taking a trip along Brewery Road you can now watch pedestrians dancing and weaving to find a way past each other on the new narrowed path.

Last Post ...

The whole series of posts are now in place, all around the bend on Brewery Road. I have received nothing from Surrey County Council. Not even an acknowledgement of my email raising concerns. Tomorrow will be a week since I raised by concerns. I know a number of residents have also raised concerns. Surrey just went ahead and erected the rest of the posts.

Residents, quite rightly, have to apply for planning permission when they change the appearance of their home in even a minor way. Why is it that the County Council can erect these posts which have such a dramatic effect on the local scene and block the pavement without telling local residents.

I have found one person who has a use for the posts!

More on those posts

I have taken the opportunity to have a closer look at the new posts in Brewery Road. As of Saturday there are still just two posts in position, but as reported previously there are markings for many more.

I had a photo taken alongside the posts as you can see above. Whilst we were taking the photo a couple walked by along the pavement. They just fitted between the posts and the edge of the moor. My younger daughter and I stood between the posts and the moor and there was little room left on the pavement. If a parent and two children walked along the road one of them would be walking on the grass. There is no room for passing on the pavement and this is not the narrowest part of the pavement!

I have written again to Surrey County Council expressing my serious concerns.

National Parking Award for Brewery Road but WBC still want to build over it

Brewery Road car park has won a "prestigious award" for its 'recent' refurbishment. This award is supported by 'Parking Review' and the 'British Parking Association'. The Conservative Leader of the council said he was "delighted that Woking's efforts to improve our car parks through a multi-million pound refurbishment programme have been recognised nationally".

It is nice to get national recognition and I am sure residents appreciate having clean and safe car parks but, this refurbishment is hardly 'recent' and it seems incredible that WBC is taking praise for a car park they seek to build on just as soon as they can.

A classic quote in the Council's press release says "It is also clear the Council has a strategy for ensuring the parking environments are well maintained into the future." Well, I hate to tell you 'Parking Review' and 'British Parking Association' but this one is not planned to be well maintained into the future. WBC plans to replace the car park with an office block. The site will still provide car parking but at least some will have to be above or below ground.

Horsell on Google Streeet View

Take a look at Google Maps and discover Horsell on StreetView. You can wander the streets of Horsell and zoom in and out on the area.

It is interesting to work out when Google filmed here. On Wheatsheaf Common Carters Steam Fair vehicles are in situ. This puts the date to mid September. On the corner of Broomhall Common and the Brewery Cut footpath there is a bare tree stump but no amazing Pegaus carving so filming must have been before 2009. Church Hill is closed and there is a water company van on the village side. My best guess at the moment is September 2008.

This is certainly a fascinating way to look around the area. It is very much a street (or road view). As far as I can see none of the footpaths are covered through Horsell and you can't even take the route from Brewery Road car park to the town centre.

Sections were obviously filmed at different times. Check out a dry Brewery Road (in the main) but a very sodden High Street and surrounding roads.

Here's Brewery Road and the car park entrance.

Having Your Say on Planning Applications

One of the ways in which residents may interact with their local council is in response to a planning application in the local area. Plans to build a new County Council office block on Brewery Road car park by Woking Tories was a key example of mass resident interaction with their council.

There are many planning applications to the Council every year. A great number are not at all contentious. Local councils have a whole series of policies set down which provide a framework against which planning applications are assessed. This allows a number of applications to be decided by planning officers under a process called "delegated powers".

Other applications are put before the planning committee which meets approximately monthly. A councillor can ask for an application which he/she believes raises issues to be put before this committee. Members of the public may also speak in favour or against applications (All thanks to a policy put forward by Woking LibDems).

Council's have a target of deciding minor applications (the great majority are minor) within 8 weeks. A longer period is allowed for major applications (building on Brewery Road was a major application).

If you are in the immediate vicinity of a planning application you should receive notice of the application from the Planning Department. This notice explains how you can raise any concerns about an application or offer your support for an application. The letter will also contain a deadline for submitting your views. This deadline is important, however, if you wish to respond to an application and receive notification late in the process (maybe after a holiday); you are usually able to do so, as long as you respond before the application goes to committee.

If you do receive notification or hear about an application you can look at the full details on the Public Access for Planning website http://caps.woking.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/tdc_home.aspx I'd also recommend contacting your local councillor if you have any queries on the process or wish to raise concerns. You can find details of all your local councillors at http://www.woking.gov.uk/council/councillors2

You can also view a list of all planning applications in the local papers each week.