Agenda item

You Said

Our Response

Will the council support residents with damaged flowerpots on non?public property?

Response From: Parks & Green Infrastructure

Unless there was a particular scheme; there is no council remit to replace damage to private property, only council owned property.

Has flooding near Kenton Bridge (and possible ground sinking) been fully investigated?

Response From: Highways Management

The resident needs to provide full details of this issue, including exact location and photos of the flooding and ground sinking. Have they reported this previously? Please email: highways.management@brent.gov.uk.

Will drainage/capacity issues be resolved as part of nearby developments (Travellers Rest, Sainsbury’s)?

Response From: Planning and Development Services

The Travellers Rest is in Harrow rather than Brent, so we don’t have information on this.  We don’t have any development proposals for Sainsbury’s Kenton.

Can the protruding/unlit bollard or pavement feature on Kingsbury Road be removed or replaced?

Response From: Highways Management

More detail required to confirm the issue. Please email highways.management@brent.gov.uk.

Potholes

·       Redhill Drive: The potholes were filled using a truck that appeared to complete the work in approximately 15 minutes. I personally observed this being carried out. However, as soon as the hole was filled using the pumping method, a car drove over it and the filling and debris immediately came out again.

·       Given this, it raises the question of how this method can be considered efficient when it clearly does not provide a lasting repair.

·       Beverley Drive: There are potholes all along Beverley Drive. These have been filled in the same manner on at least three occasions that I am aware of. However, this has not resolved the issue as the potholes are extremely deep and extremely dangerous. Vehicles are now driving either close to the kerb or down the middle of the road to avoid them. This is a serious safety concern and requires urgent attention before an accident occurs.

Road Safety

• The meeting referenced accidents occurring on local roads.
•  However, it should also be recognised that poorly maintained roads and large potholes are a major contributing factor to road safety issues, as highlighted above.
• I would appreciate it if these concerns could be reviewed and addressed, particularly the urgent issue of potholes on Beverley Drive and Redhill Drive.

Response From: Highways Management

Thank you for your comments regarding the recent repair. We are sorry to hear that the treatment appears not to have performed as expected on this occasion, and we will arrange for this specific location to be inspected, if you can let us know exactly where that was. From your description, it is possible that a vehicle passed over the repair before the material had sufficient time to properly cure, which can unfortunately compromise its immediate effectiveness.

However, this isolated incident does not invalidate the wider use of injection patching across the borough. This method is widely used and recognised as an efficient and cost-effective repair technique, offering a number of benefits including rapid application, minimal disruption to traffic, improved safety for operatives as it can often be carried out without extensive traffic management, and the ability to seal defects quickly to prevent further water ingress and deterioration. It also enables us to treat a greater number of defects within available budgets, helping to maintain the overall condition of the highway network more effectively.

Additionally, Beverley Drive and Redhill Drive have been added to a winter resilience programme to address potholes that have recently arisen on our network. As you may be aware, the recent period of prolonged cold and wet weather has led to a marked increase in pothole formation across the borough. Water enters small cracks in the carriageway surface, and when temperatures fluctuate, expansion and trafficking can quickly accelerate deterioration, resulting in potholes and areas of fretting or loose material.

With further inclement weather likely, we have prepared and issued a programme to our contractor to undertake significant patch repairs, including work on Beverley Drive and Redhill Drive. As you may have seen, make safe repairs have already been undertaken on Beverley Drive, with permanent repairs due by the end of the week.

In the meantime, if there are and further defects you would like considered for repair, you can report specific locations with a brief description, such as “Pothole outside 25 Park Parade” and send to highways.management@brent.gov.uk. These can be logged for inspection, with any investigation level defects ( i.e. those which exceed our thresholds) identified and repaired according to priority. If these cannot be provided, then any investigation level defects will be picked up on the next cyclic inspection. Alternatively, you can log any defects you would like assessed, in any of the following ways.

• Via the brent council website Report a pothole or broken pavement | Brent Council -
• Via fix my street (FMS) FixMyStreet

2. Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ)

a)    CPZs were discussed at the meeting, and we were informed that more areas would be introduced. However, this raises a major concern for residents: where are we expected to park our cars?

b)    Since the introduction of the CPZ in Redhill Drive, the permit charges have increased every year. The first permit should be free or heavily reduced, thereafter, a charge can be applied BUT within reason.

c)    If residents wish to create a driveway to accommodate vehicles at their property, they are then restricted by Brent’s requirement that 40% of the front garden must remain as soft landscaping, thus reducing the drive to one car parking.

d)    Therefore, this raises a genuine question for residents, as to where are we realistically expected to park?

Response From: Healthy Streets & Parking

a)    Controlled Parking Zones are introduced to reserve parking spaces for residents and their visitors and are introduced if there is evidence of on-street parking pressure, community support and a positive response to public consultation.

Residents within a CPZ can be issued up to 3 permits, and arrange parking for their visitors. Introducing permit parking provides more spaces and parking opportunities for those eligible for permits.

b)    The council has an emissions-based charging structure, and permit charges are necessary to cover the cost of managing these schemes, and permit products are subject to annual inflationary increases.

Information on permit pricing is available on our website: Parking permit costs | Brent Council.

Any changes to permit product charging or permit terms andconditions would be subject to a review of the parking policy and public consultation.

c)    &     d) As mentioned in the response to a) above, CPZs reserve parking for permit holders and therefore would generally provide more on street parking opportunities for residents where they are introduced.