Agenda, decisions and minutes

For the Committee to note any apologies for absence and clarification of any substitute Members at the meeting if need be.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Southwood (Chair), with Councillor Butt present as substitute. Councillor Tatler, as Vice-Chair of the Committee, acted as Chair for the meeting.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary, personal or prejudicial interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

Councillor Tatler declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item number 7, The Mall Petition, in that she was a resident of Kenton ward which the Mall road ran parallel to.

Councillor Tatler declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item number 7, The Mall Petition, in that she was a resident of Kenton ward which the Mall road ran parallel to.

To approve the attached minutes of the previous meeting on 27 June 2017 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 June 2017 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

For Members to comment on any matters arising from the previous minutes.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Orders 66 and 67.

The Chair noted that a formal deputation from Mr Dennis Humphreys (lead petitioner for the Reeves Avenue Petition) in respect of Agenda Item No.6, Reeves Avenue Petition. In accordance with the wording of Standing Order 66 (e)(i) the Chair outlined the Mr Humphreys would be entitled to speak in his role as lead petitioner on the item in question.

This report outlines the Council’s proposals in response to a petition received on 15 May 2017 regarding the condition of the pavements and road surface of Reeves Avenue, NW9.

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The petition regarding the condition of the pavements and road surface of Reeves Avenue (NW9), be noted;

(ii)        Any areas deemed defective by officers on both road and pavements be repaired, using existing revenue maintenance budgets. The Committee noted that whilst the proposal was not a complete resurface of road and pavement, it would repair and present significant defects; and

(iii)       Tony Kennedy (the Council’s Head of Highways and Infrastructure) would meet with the lead petitioner on the road in question to offer further explanation in person on the defects and outline the aspects that Council would prioritise for repair.

The Chair invited Mr Humphryes to speak on the content of his petition. Mr Humphryes began by explaining where Reeves Avenue was located within the borough and outlined that there were a number of community services such as a doctor’s surgery, dentist, pharmacy and post office in close proximity to the road. He also mentioned that it was the main thoroughfare for the 302 and 83 bus services, and was also used as access for Hendon Town Football Club nearby.

My Humphryes asserted that since Brent Council had renovated the pavement with asphalt, it had become unsightly and dangerous. He also said that a number of similar roads in the area, such as Mallard Way, had been fully resurfaced and had had significant pavement repairs from the Council. He said that the residents of the road wanted an equal level of refurbishment with neighbouring roads and called on the Committee to agree a solution which achieved this. 

Jonathan Westell (the Council’s Highway Contracts and Delivery Manager) responded and noted the complaints from the 54 residents who had signed the petition which were based on uneven and broken pavements, plus cracks and potholes in the road. He outlined that the most recent highway condition surveys for Reeves Avenue had shown that 75% of the road surface was deemed to be in ‘good’ or ‘fair’ condition, and that 95% of the pavements were in ‘fair’ condition, with the remaining 5% in ‘good’ condition. He explained that the survey data meant that neither the road nor pavements on Reeves Avenue would currently be candidates for complete resurfacing. However, he did acknowledge that the patches on the pavements were unsightly and that the road surface next to the kerb had been damaged from the prevalence of two wheel parking on the road. He also noted that there were a number defects on the road surface, despite the vast majority being in good or fair condition, and outlined that the report recommended that officers repair the defects using existing revenue maintenance budgets.

Members questioned if each house on the road had a driveway and also how many times officers had been to inspect the road. Mr Humphryes confirmed that each house had a driveway but that there remained problems with parking on the road. Jonathan Westell also confirmed that officers had visited the road on two occasions recently. In the ensuing discussion a member of the Committee commented that the Council was presently in a difficult financial situation and therefore had to prioritise repairs to roads and pavements in a ‘bad’ condition. It was also mentioned that using asphalt on pavements allowed for an approximate 15-20% saving compared to paving slabs, which enabled the Council to repair more pavements across the borough.

Tony Kennedy (the Council’s Head of Highways and Infrastructure) offered to meet Mr Humphryes on Reeves Avenue to explain the aspects of the road and pavement that the Council would seek to repair. He re-iterated that the condition surveys had indicated that both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This report outlines the Council’s response to a petition received  on 30^th March 2017 entitled “Put an end to the Infrastructure problem on The Mall, Harrow (HA3 9TG)”. The petition was signed by 61 signatories.

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The petition which asked the Council to put an end to the Infrastructure problem on The Mall, Harrow (HA3 9TG) be noted;

(ii)        The long term nature of the drainage problem and the work being done with other agencies to solve the problem, be noted;

(iii)       The affordable solution proposed in the report to alleviate the vibration via the joints of the road being treated along the full length of The Mall and localised areas of reconstruction being carried out on the 15% of the road not deemed to be in ‘good’ condition, be approved. It was noted that the total approximate cost for this solution would be £80,000 and that the proposed scheme would be put forward for approval at Cabinet as part of the Highways Capital Maintenance Programme for 2018/19;

(iv)       Traffic speed surveys along The Mall to ascertain whether average speeds were consistent with the speed limit, be authorised. It was noted that should a speeding issue be identified, appropriate low cost remedial measures such as additional warning signs of SLOW carriageway markings, would be considered in the shorter term, and that these measures would be undertaken within existing budgets; and

(v)        Jonathan Westell (the Council’s Highway Contracts and Delivery Manager) would provide Councillor Colwill with details of the Ground Penetrating Radar Survey which had been completed on one section of The Mall, and provide information on the action that the Highways department took in response to the survey’s findings.

The Chair noted that Councillor Colwill (Leader of the Conservative Group; Kenton Ward) had requested to speak on the agenda item and invited him to do so at this stage. Councillor Colwill explained that he had assisted with the compilation of the petition and that residents were angry about the state of the road. He stated that an engineer from the Council had proposed a ground penetrating x-ray of the road to assess the damage caused by flooding but this had not happened. He emphasised that resident’s houses shook due to the traffic and that there had been no attempt to stop buses or Lorries from driving on the Mall. He also referenced the pavements on the road which remained a cause for concern because of the number of elderly residents who lived on The Mall.

Jonathan Westell responded and outlined that a Ground Penetrating Radar Survey had taken place in February 2017 on one particular section of the road where a crack had appeared. He specified that this section of the road had been cordoned off to allow repair work to take place. Mr Westell went on to inform Members about the cause for the vibration issues on the road (including noise vibrations and traffic hitting defects on the road surface) but highlighted that 85% of the Mall was in a ‘good’ condition. As such, he said that the Mall would not be a candidate for a complete resurfacing and, due to the Mall’s length, a complete resurface would be an extremely expensive outlay for the Council. He stated that the Highways team recognised that there were sections which required repair, and that the report proposed a medium term affordable solution to address the structural defects in the road in order to alleviate some of these problems.

Members questioned how long the proposed medium term solution was expected to last, and whether the condition of the road would continue to be monitored accordingly. Jonathan Westell explained that the solution proposed should endure for three to five years and assist with the vibration problem for residents. Tony Kennedy added that the road would continue to be monitored and the solution could be extended if deemed to be working well over the next one to two years. Members agreed that the proposed solution was appropriate given the budget constraints that the Council continued to face.

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The petition which asked the Council to put an end to the Infrastructure problem on The Mall, Harrow (HA3 9TG) be noted;

(ii)        The long term nature of the drainage problem and the work being done with other agencies to solve the problem, be noted;

(iii)       The affordable solution proposed in the report to alleviate the vibration via the joints of the road being treated along the full length of The Mall and localised areas of reconstruction being carried out on the 15% of the road not deemed to be in ‘good’ condition, be approved. It was noted that the total  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the response to a petition submitted by Paul Lorber on behalf of residents in the Sudbury ward requesting the use of CIL funds to upgrade pavements and grass verges.

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The petition and contents of the Officer report be noted; and

(ii)        The lead petitioner would be reminded that they could apply for Neighbourhood CIL funds by 1 December 2017 or informed that they could request to speak on the identification and agreement of strategic infrastructure priorities as part of the budget setting process in February 2018.

Nkechi Okeke-Aru (the Council’s Principal Development Funds Officer) introduced the item and gave a brief overview of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding, and the process for its allocation. She outlined that the submitted petition had requested funding for Highways related matters, but CIL funding was ultimately not something that the Highways Committee itself could agree to allocate. She explained that the Strategic CIL funding would be approved by Cabinet in February 2018 as part of the Council’s budget setting process, and that residents could apply for Neighbourhood CIL funds via the Council’s website before 1 December 2017. The Committee heard that the petition could be used as evidence to support the application. 

RESOLVED that:

(i)         The petition and contents of the Officer report be noted; and

(ii)        The lead petitioner would be reminded that they could apply for Neighbourhood CIL funds by 1 December 2017 or informed that they could request to speak on the identification and agreement of strategic infrastructure priorities as part of the budget setting process in February 2018.

Any decisions taken urgently under this heading must comply with the provisions outlined in paragraph 39 of the Council’s Access to Information Rules (part 2 of the Constitution).

The Committee noted that a petition entitled: ‘Petition against the installation of a Disabled Parking Bay outside 98 Norval Road’ had been received from the three ward Members for Northwick Park (Councillors Perrin, J Mitchell-Murray and McLennan) on Saturday 14 October 2017. The Chair specified that the petition had been received too late for consideration at the present meeting, but that it would submitted to the Council’s Forward Plan and that a report from Officers in response to the petition would be presented at the next Committee meeting in January 2018.

The Committee noted that a petition entitled: ‘Petition against the installation of a Disabled Parking Bay outside 98 Norval Road’ had been received from the three ward Members for Northwick Park (Councillors Perrin, J Mitchell-Murray and McLennan) on Saturday 14 October 2017.

The Chair specified that the petition had been received too late for consideration at the present meeting, but that it would submitted to the Council’s Forward Plan and that a report from Officers in response to the petition would be presented at the next Committee meeting in January 2018.

The next meeting of the Highways Committee is scheduled for 24 January 2018.