Getting Answers on Well Lane

Well Lane closed whilst the sewer
was repaired

I took the opportunity of the first meeting of the Surrey County / Woking Borough Joint Committee this week to seek some answers on the chaotic and disruptive programme of road resurfacing in Well Lane.

I got some answers but the response I received also raised many more questions.

Well Lane resurfacing work was originally scheduled to last for 10 working days.  At the last count it has been running for almost 3 months and is yet to be completed.

The collapse of a deep, major sewer did lead to long delays but the project was well over-time before this became a problem.  Could this issue have been anticipated given there had been problems before.

Assessing the site before work began

I had previously been told that site assessment had taken place before the resurfacing work began but in response to my question at the committee it appears that little or no assessment took place:

"There were unique local ground conditions that presented themselves on Well Lane that did cause issues. Such issues/ risks occur so rarely that the level of resources necessary to undertake the site testing, to pre-empt a possible problem, would not be viable for every scheme. It would add months onto the design process on something that may only happen in 1 in 100 or more. This would in turn reduce the amount of schemes we complete county wide considerably."

The response went on to say:

"The largest delay on the site has been associated with a sewer failure/ collapse, which was 3m deep and not identified until the existing surface layers had been removed. Thames Water have since been working on site for several weeks to rectify an historical issue and have now completed works."

Public questions are limited to a single question and a follow up so I couldn't explore this further but I would expect a risk assessment on each job to determine the level of site testing required.  There had been issues on this road before. Shouldn't that have rung warning bells?

Managing Contractors

I made a visit to Well Lane late at night 2 days into the project.  I heard from various sources around 10.30pm that contractors had arrived on site and started work half an hour earlier.  Contractors told me they were "getting ahead" ready for the next day and that their work was authorised.  The out of hours highways office couldn't tell me if this was the case but next morning I confirmed late night working WAS NOT authorised.  Highways told the contractors this wasn't to happen again - but it did - the very next night.  I was straight on to Highways and thankfully this time the work was stopped.

All this is brushed off in the response I received this week.

"In regards to the start of the works on Well Lane there were definite teething issues with the contractor on the first 2 days and these were immediately rectified, however the longer lasting disruption is due to site conditions not contractor quality.

The night works described was the lowering of man hole covers, this operation needed to be carried out as close to the main works as possible, and was delayed due to works elsewhere. Consequently the sub contractors operatives carrying out the work decided to work on to catch up without approval, and as soon as this was discovered the situation was resolved. We must apologise for this, even though it was carried out with the best intention of those involved."

The whole project raises issues about who controls those working on our roads.  Surrey has a contract with May Gurney for highways works.  May Gurney in turn give work to a wide range of sub-contractors.  The late night working is an excellent example of the difficulties in controlling these contractors.

After Easter, when there had been broken drains and a major water leak the county councillor got involved.  He lives just down the road and, to give his his due, worked very hard and spent a lot of time in Well Lane talking to those working on the road and to residents.  Reading his updates it seems he took on a project co-ordination role.  Now it's all very well for a councillor to get so involved but surely the role he took on should be done by either by county officers or May Gurney employees.  Otherwise why does so much of our Council Tax go to pay these people?

As I write on Friday night it seems the last section of the road is being resurfaced, but again, there is late night work.  My response at the meeting indicated work might take place on Friday evening, but 10pm is not the time to resurface a road in a residential area.  

Informing Residents

Residents first started telling me about issues with these works when they were trapped in their homes, unable to get out to work, business, school or other appointments.  This issue affected the roads off Well Lane such as Holyoake Avenue and Crescent, Well Close, Well Path and Gregory Close.  I was assured at the time that all of Well Lane and all neighbouring roads had been advised of the works.  A Conservative borough councillor at the Joint Committee appeared to admit that communication had been an issue and that these road WERE NOT advised about the resurfacing.

Compensation

I asked about compensation for both residents and businesses affected by the Well Lane works.  I had already raised this point back in May.  This week I was told:

"We have been in discussion with the local councillor and Woking Borough Council in regards to an appropriate compensation process for this scheme, and we will action as necessary."

An unsurfaced Well Lane and the
remains of leaks

Not giving anything away there but further exploration of this point at the meeting, particularly in relation to the impact on the business of Horsell Fish and Chips suggested the county are still looking at this.  I do hope, that for the sake of residents and businesses who have suffered so much over this lengthy saga that compensation is found