SHPC - PUBLIC TRANSPORT, HIGHWAYS & SPEEDWATCH COMMITTEE

Minutes of Meeting, Wed 21 September 2011 at 5pm, SHPC Offices, 75 Swan Street.
Present: Jan Cole (Minutes), Sally Glen, Gill Massey (Chair of SHPC), Steven Partridge (Chair), Fred Swallow.
Apologies for absence: none (Jon Skitrall and Elspeth Jones normally attend)
Declarations of interest: none
Public Comment: There were no members of the public present
ACTION COMMUNITY BUS SERVICE (CBS) – Agenda item 3

Braintree Community Transport Bus Scheme has been signed up for.
There are 6 minibuses, each seating 12 persons. Paid drivers (2) are employed
and volunteer drivers (4). Local volunteers need to be recruited via SHPC website
& publicity. GM
SP volunteered to be a back-up volunteer driver. The cost to us for trips is SP
£1 per mile (minimum £20) plus cost of driver’s refreshments. It was agreed
that the cost to passengers will be £3 and £2.50 for children or BDC bus pass
holders. Passengers must book in advance and give 7 working days’ notice to cancel.

BOOKINGS: A co-ordinator in SH required. Vanessa Martin (De Vere Framing)
will be asked if she would take bookings and monies at 107 Swan Street. SG

PUBLICITY: The SHPC website should be used, as well as leaflets on SHPC GM/SG
noticeboards, posters in local shops and leaflets at local outlets (e.g. Darkins,
Co-Op, hairdressers etc.). Outreach to Castle Hedingham, Gosfield, Yeldham was
discussed. Notice or insert in Parish Magazine (PM) would reach 2000+ households.

FUNDING: Hedingham School produces 2-sided A4 for £52.50. Previous SHPC
leaflet print runs done for 1750 households. There is £500 in SHPC printing and distribution budget. Notice in PM could be combined with a notice about the Public Meeting on CBS; however, PM has deadline and is only distributed at end of month.
Sally Glen offered to help with design and printing and Jan Cole with distribution if necessary. SG/JC

PROGRAMMING: We discussed trips to Sudbury (shopping, day and evening events), Sunday and Bank Holiday trips, special shopping trips (e.g. Italian markets at
Halstead/Braintree), Freeport cinema and bowling alley, late night and Xmas shopping
and events (Halstead, Sudbury, Chelmsford, Colchester, local village centres). It was
noted that as we have no Sunday or evening services, the CBS could fill this gap if
there’s sufficient demand. If fast trips to Sudbury are well supported this would back
up our longer-term goal for a new regular bus service from the bus companies.
A programme of trips needs to be well planned in advance. Sally (locally) and Jan
(towns) will start collecting information for first 3-month period (late Nov to Jan
2012). SG/JC


ACTION
CONNECTIONS: How would CBS relate to existing bus services? CBS to Sudbury
could be staggered with existing Thurs and Sat services to make a fuller timetable.
We discussed some anomalies in existing services, e.g. Bus 1 route Ashen to Sudbury
that passes through Hedingham but doesn’t pick up here. SP will raise at Parishes PT
reps meeting (22 November) and can be discussed at Public Meeting. SP

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON CBS and PT – Agenda Item 4

FORMAT: Agreed should be same format as previous meeting on Village
Planning (12 Sept). Sally suggested asking for “show of hands” as indicator
of public interest.

INVITEES: Rachel Price (EEC PT & Highways) will be invited to meet us
before Public Mtg. and also to attend Public Mtg. Reps from bus companies
(Chambers, De Vere Travel, Hedingham Buses, Regal, Beestons, Burtons,
Florida and Ruffles coaches). RCCE Rural Transport Advisor. SP
David Finch ECC; reps from Castle Hedingham, Yeldham, Gosfield PCs GM

PUBLICITY: see above, but may need to be done separately

DATE: Friday 14 November at Village Hall 6pm prior to SHPC Mtg 7.30


SPEED MONITORING & TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES – Agenda Item 5

Other parishes have been consulted about their systems (Sturmer PC have
a VAS device that monitors speed, density and weight of vehicles.
Bulmer PC’s data from 2008 is out-of-date). SP will try to contact other SP
parishes (e.g. White Notley & Faulkbourne). GM will contact Wethersfield PC. GM
SPEED GUN: generally agreed that it’s too confrontational.

SID/VAS: The volunteers that came forward and were trained to use gun
device could be asked to monitor and collect data from VAS device (movable). SP
It is battery powered but will also work from solar power (to be recommended).
Data is downloaded from VAS with a pole which connects to data-box. We would
need 5-6 poles. VAS device should be occasionally repositioned to cover village
perimeters.

FUNDING: There is £4000 in SHPC budget, plus £1000 recouped from gun device.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CALMING MEASURES

VILLAGE SIGN: Agreed that a polite notice, e.g. PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY
THROUGH OUR VILLAGE or PLEASE RESPECT 30MPH SPEED LIMIT IN OUR
VILLAGE is courteous and non-confrontational. Could this be mounted on a brick support, which would be historically appropriate? SP will ask Adrian C-B’s opinion. SP
Could the brick base be funded by Public Art budget? The sign would have to be printed or embossed onto metal. Could it be funded by Section 106 monies?
Agreed that two such signs would be needed at north and south entries to village. SP suggested producing a map to show where VAS and signs should be sited.

DELETING WHITE LINES: Agreed there are risks involved in this. Can drivers be expected not to overtake dangerously without a central white line? What are
the legal constraints on removing lines? Check with Highways SP

WORD SLOW PAINTED ON ROAD: There is one at south end approaching the bend near The Swan (now very faint - make sure repainted when road works finished).
Other places where similar sign could be painted, e.g. north end near school?

LOWERING STREET LIGHTS: What are the legal constraints? Lights must be high enough to clear double-decker buses and high commercial vehicles.
Check with Highways. SP

COLOUR PATCHES & TREE PLANTING also to be discussed at site visit

Agreed to consult public about all these options.

SPEEDWATCH – Agenda Item 6

The committee confirmed the decision of Sible Hedingham Parish Council that we will not be running a Speedwatch group. Speedwatch co-operation with neighbouring villages was discussed and it was agreed that the Great Yeldham Speedwatch group who have just begun operating would be the best group for Sible Hedingham volunteers to work with. Gill Massey has forwarded contact information to enable the two groups to get together.

RE-INSTATEMENT OF ROAD MARKINGS: Item 7
Resident in house adjacent to Village Local, 127 Swan Street, has requested reinstatement of KEEP CLEAR on road, which was not replaced after re-surfacing.
Highways said that it can’t be replaced as there are no houses behind 127 (this is a rule change from previously). SHPC have been asked to support their request. It was agreed to ask highways to clarify the rules during the site visit. SP

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

We discussed violations of SPEED LIMITS, e.g. motor-bikes in ‘packs’ of bikers, often passing through village at high speed en route to Finchingfield on Sundays
and Bank Holidays, sometimes parking en masse around motor-bike shop (which has plentiful signs). Probably not much can be done, but village sign as above may help.
Is it worth asking Finchingfield PC how they cope with bikers?

CAR PARK USAGE and NON-USAGE: It is noticeable that the SHPC car-park is often not used, even when there are spaces available, by drivers using Co-Op. Many
park on left and right of Summerfields and use Car-Park to do U-turns – this is a safety issue. Parking on part-width of pavements a perennial problem. As she lives
close by, Jan volunteered to monitor this with data collection or photographs. JC
Fred suggested asking authorities if we are allowed to employ a traffic warden (as no wardens have been seen for many months). SP


Next meeting: Wednesday 9 November 2011 at 5pm at SHPC Offices.

This meeting ended at 18.50 hrs.

…………………………. ……………………………………………… (Date) (Chairman)