Tag Archives: HaslemereToday

Two Temporary Traffic Orders – Courts Hill Road and Scotland Lane, Haslemere

COURTS HILL ROAD (D5523), HASLEMERE – TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC ORDER 2020

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSE TO MAKE the above mentioned Temporary Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicles from entering or proceeding in that length of Courts Hill Road (D5523), Haslemere that extends from its junction with Longdene Road (D5523) to the south-eastern property boundary of “Courts Corner”. This Traffic Order is required to enable SGN to carry out gas mains replacement works. These works are anticipated to be carried out between the hours of 7:30am and 5pm within 6 weeks of the 12 month period of operation of this Temporary Order that commences on 23 March 2020. Advanced warning signs will be displayed and the temporary closure which is anticipated will be required for 24 hours each day, will only operate when the relevant traffic signs are displayed. Access for pedestrians; dismounted cyclists and equestrians will be maintained at all times. Access for residents and businesses on the affected length of Courts Hill Road (D5523), including access for emergency services to such properties will be maintained at all times via the vehicular diversion route which will be: Eastbound – Lower Street, Haslemere High Street (around Town Hall), Shepherds Hill and Midhurst Road. Westbound – Midhurst Road, Shepherds Hill and Lower Street.

SCOTLAND LANE (D5524), HASLEMERE – TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC ORDER 2020

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSE TO MAKE the above mentioned Temporary Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicles from entering or proceeding in that length of Scotland Lane (C32), Loxhill that extends from the south-eastern property boundary of “Foxwarren” to the south-western property boundary of “The Old House”. This Traffic Order is required to enable Morrison Utility Services to make a new water service connection. These works are anticipated to be carried out within 4 days of the 12 month period of operation of this Temporary Order that commences on 24 March 2020. Advanced warning signs will be displayed and the temporary closure will only operate when the relevant traffic signs are displayed. Access for pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians, emergency services, residents and businesses will be maintained at all times. The vehicular diversion route will be via: For eastbound traffic – Midhurst Road, Shepherds Hill, Lower Street, High Street, Petworth Road and Haste Hill. For westbound traffic – Haste Hill, Petworth Road, Lower Street, Shepherds Hill and Midhurst Road.

Update on Scottish Power works with temporary lights at Tanners Lane/Lower Street junction in Haslemere

This morning, I spoke on site with the Scottish Power project coordinator and crew who are working in Haslemere and have set up the temporary lights by the Lower Street and Tanners Lane junction.

They tell me they have extended their road closure licence until the 24th April for the temporary traffic lights. 24th April is the worse case scenario end date for the lights.

Scottish Power will amend their signage to reflect a change in date to 24th April

I explained that the current signage states the work will finish on 5th March and that it would be helpful to set expectations by amending the details on the board. They have agreed to do this.

The project has taken longer than expected due to complications. These have included cables at one building that were 8m down and required deep excavation, some pipes that had pushed into drains and, the poor weather.

They tell me the lights will be recalibrated in the next few days as the company will move their works to the other side of Lower Street.

I have arranged a further meeting with the site manager for next week to discuss further.

Update on Lower Street roadworks

From: on behalf of Works Communication Team/EAI/SCC <works.communication@surreycc.gov.uk>
Sent: 14 August 2019 14:20:36
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>
Subject: RE: Road works Lower St Haslemere

Dear Nikki Barton

Thank you for getting in touch. Firstly I would like to provide some background on the purpose of this work and the complications this scheme has presented.

The works on Lower Street involve construction of new drainage and are primarily to remove a flood risk to a property where the highways drains pass beneath it, by rerouting our pipes. This involves digging a new pipe through private land in a restricted area, between two houses and a garage parking area, through a retaining wall, along a footpath and to a chamber.

There are a great deal of utility services underneath the road surface (please see below pictures and map) and ultimately it is these services which actually dictate what is possible. Due to the significant amount of underground services the team are using a vacuum excavator as this is a far safer way for our team to remove spoil than a conventional digger. Using this equipment mitigates any risk to their personal safety, which is of utmost importance to us.

We have gatemen present at each end of Lower Street, their role is to remain at either end of the road and ensure the public do not enter the live works site. The area the team are working in is outside of a property called Tisa Cottage. Whilst they may not be visible from either end of the road, I can assure you that the team are on site, working extremely hard on a daily basis and are making progress.

On Monday I was advised that the team had got to a point where they have found the unknown buried pipe and this has determined the level for the rest of the works. Our engineer believes they have found a route through the services to allow installation of the new pipework and the team on site are working towards this. There are difficulties with some of the existing pipes which the new pipes need to be connected to, as they are encased in brick. This may mean that the team have to dig further to achieve the connections or do something a little differently. The excavations are a bit larger than initially hoped for but unfortunately this is unavoidable. Please see attached a copy of the original plans for this scheme which should demonstrate what the team set out to achieve.

Looking at the original plans it is clear that this a particularly difficult site with many utility services, this makes progress slow and the design has to be adapted to suit what is unearthed. The team had previously investigated as thoroughly as possible having camera surveyed the drain runs and used ground probing radar to identify services and hence a probable route for the new pipes, however it is only when the ground is actually excavated that the realities of the situation are revealed.

The equipment being used, the width of the road and the size of excavation required mean that a road closure is necessary. Another reason, that may not be immediately obvious, is that live traffic cannot run too close to the hole due to the pressure that is transmitted to the sides of the excavation by vehicles. We really don’t want to close roads unless we have to and do not make the decision lightly. There are many variables we have to consider including the site operations, the size of the road and the safety of both the travelling public and our work force. For Lower Street this criteria meant a closure.

Please see attached site diaries from the 7 and 8 August which detail work progress with photographic evidence of work taking place. Please be advised these site diaries belong to one individual on site and their start time does not necessarily reflect the time that everyone was on site.

The lead engineer on this project is satisfied with the progress on site. Considering the difficulties the team have faced, they are working extremely hard and going the extra mile where necessary to support the residents living in the works area, whilst carrying out their work to a good standard. I hope this help to reassure you and your residents that work is taking place and progress being made.

In view of the above, I will be updating our road works map pop-out with a PDF document that explains the work and has pictures of our progress so far. I hope that this will highlight to the public the challenges the team have faced on this scheme and the extent of works being carried out. I’m hoping that explaining what we are trying to achieve will justify the length of time we need for this work and why it is essential that the road is closed whilst we carry out the work.

I would be very grateful if you could direct your residents to the information on roadworks.org and if there are further queries please could they be sent to us in the Works Communications Team.

Kind regards

Works Communication Officer

Works Communication Team

Surrey Highways

Tel: 01483 404618

Emergency Utility Works; Church Lane, Haslemere (Thames Water)

Sent: 15 August 2019 08:18:38
To: Nikki Barton <Nikki.Barton@surreycc.gov.uk>

Subject: Emergency Utility Works; Church Lane, Haslemere (Thames Water)

Dear Councillor,

For your information can I advise you of emergency works being carried out on Church Lane, Haslemere (outside Haslemere Health Centre).

Thames Water need to repair a water leak in the carriageway. The traffic management that is placed is a Road Closure and the estimated end date is the 20/08/2019.

I hope you find this information useful.

Kind Regards,

Network Coordinator – Waverley

Network Coordination Team

Network and Asset Management Group

Surrey Highways

The Process of Mayor Making

I thought it would be interesting for residents to read how the process works for electing a Mayor or Mayoress in Haslemere.

Here is an explanation sent by the Town Clerk, Lisa O’Sullivan, to all Haslemere town councillors.

From: “Lisa O’Sullivan” <town.clerk@haslemeretc.org>
Date: 14 May 2019 at 10:17:26 am BST
To: All Town Councillors
Cc: <deputy.clerk@haslemeretc.org>, <admin@haslemeretc.org>
Subject: Thursday night’s meeting – process

Good morning,

I had a couple of questions last night after the meeting about the process for the election of Mayor on Thursday. Apologies, that is something I could have covered last night for those of you not familiar with how it works.

Thursday’s meeting is known as ‘Mayor Making’. It is a standard Council meeting, open to the public, with the exception that in May, the first order of business is to elect the Mayor for the coming civic year.

Process as follows:

Incumbent Mayor opens the meeting. First items on the Agenda are election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Incumbent Mayor asks for nominations for Mayor.

Each nomination must have a proposer and seconder.

Traditionally the proposer spends a couple of minutes describing why they think that their nominee is the person for the job. The seconder is not required to say anything other than seconding the nomination.

At this stage a councillor may ask a question of the nominee or proposer.

The incumbent Mayor will then ask if there are any other nominations. If there are, this process continues until there are no further nominations.

If there is more than one nomination, the incumbent Mayor will ask for a show of hands for each candidate in the order that they were nominated. The new Mayor will be elected by a simple majority of those present and voting.
 
Once elected the outgoing Mayor places chain on the New Mayor. The new Mayor takes Mayor’s seat and is required to make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office followed by a short thank you speech.

There is a short presentation where the outgoing Mayor and Mayoress / consort are thanked for their service.  

The new Mayoress / consort is presented with their badge.

Mayor then presides over the election of deputy Mayor – nomination and voting process as for Mayor.

Meeting continues as usual.

There will be a short drinks reception in the Council Chamber after the meeting ends to which you are all invited.

Any questions please get in touch.

Kind regards,

Lisa

Lisa O’Sullivan
Town Clerk
Haslemere Town Council  

Haslemere’s First Critical Mass Bike Ride Yesterday

Two weeks ago, I was tagged in a Facebook post by David Elliott who works for The National Trust locally. The post was about a Critical Mass Bike Ride in Haslemere.

Advertisement for Critical Mass Bike Ride in Haslemere

I was delighted to join so many cyclists, including lots of children in the first mass bike ride organised by Transition Haslemere. Below are some photos from yesterday’s ride which began at Shottermill Ponds and ended in Haslemere High Street.

The aim of the ride was to both raise awareness of the desire of many Haslemere residents to make cycling safer for all, and also come up with practical ideas as to how this could be done.   I have been a keen advocate of cycling over my 6 years as a county and town councillor. I fully support and encourage this initiative. I look forward to working with the group to take their ideas to Surrey County Council highways team to explore what can be done.  Given the urgent climate change agenda, the need to reduce traffic pollution in our town and the added health and well being benefits that cycling can bring, I believe this is the perfect time to give cycling the highest priority.

Along the Liphook Road
Up Wey Hill, sharing the road with cars
Sharing the space with cars and pedestrians on Wey Hill
Looping through Haslemere Station
Finishing in Haslemere High Street

Thank you

This is the result of the Haslemere by-election for Surrey County Council, 2019:

  • Nikki Barton, Independent – 2,665 votes – ELECTED
  • Malcolm Carter, Conservative – 1,159 votes
  • Adrian Paul La Porta, Labour – 263 votes

This is the announcement:


Below is an interview with Rebecca Curley of the Surrey Advertiser.

Interview with Rebecca Curley after winning the seat

These are the results of the Haslemere Town Council seats for the Haslemere South ward:

  • Nikki Barton, Independent – 972 votes – ELECTED
  • Gareth David, Conservative Party Candidate – 466 votes
  • Simon Paul McMillan Dear, Conservative Party Candidate – 587 votes – ELECTED
  • David William Dullaway, Conservative Party Candidate – 480 votes – ELECTED
  • Kirsten Lisa Ellis, Independent – 505 votes – ELECTED
  • Jennifer Mary Radford, Liberal Democrats – 468 votes
  • Tom Van Den Broek, Conservative Party Candidate – 384 votes
Announcement of results for Haslemere South ward of Haslemere Town Council, 2019

Independent Street Stalls in Haslemere Today

I could not have chosen a more blustery day to have pop up campaign street stalls but, it was great to have so many positive conversations.

The elections are being held on 2nd May 2019. Please vote for Nikki Barton, a voice for Haslemere.

Some pictures from Wey Hill this morning:

And, in the High Street this afternoon. The wind really got up so the table was abandoned but, the conversation was good with a positive response for an Independent candidate for Haslemere.

Claire Matthes came and said hello.
She is a Green Party candidate for Shottermill for Haslemere Town Council