Paulton Parish Council
Minutes of the special meeting of Paulton Parish Council held in the
Meeting Room at Paulton Village Hall on Monday 16 March 2015 starting
at 7.00pm
ATTENDED by, Mr Anthony Arnold, Mrs Margaret Barrett, Mr Terry Bridgeman, Mr Graham
Dix, Mrs Liz Hardman, Mr Jeff Humphries, Mrs Shirley Long, Mrs Anne Lyons, Ms Patricia
McSherry, Mrs Lynn Madden, Mr Bernard Newton, Mr Tim Reakes, Mr Hugh Warren, Mrs
Marian Wild and Mr Les Wild (Chair)
Also in attendance: 97 members of the public completed the signing in sheet, one member
of the press (Suzanne Norbury), John Bull (BANES Ward Councillor)
Apologies were received from: Mr Mike Colliver, Mr Bob Piper
Les Wild welcomed everyone and thanked the public for attending and advised that the
meeting would be run in accordance with the Paulton Parish Council Standing Orders.
Members of the public would be given the opportunity to speak but would not be permitted to
join in any Parish Council discussions. In the event of the fire alarm sounding, the hall should
be vacated using the signed exits.
Les Wild introduced Kelvin Packer who is the Group Manager for Highways and Traffic at
Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) who had agreed to attend the meeting to
explain; the background to the scheme, decisions made, to summarise the safety audit,
recommendations that have been made and the proposed next steps.
A PowerPoint presentation was used to help explain the processes and findings.
Following the concerns raised by Ward and Parish Councillors and the comments received
from residents regarding the safety and effectiveness of the traffic calming measures,
BANES brought forward the stage three safety audit - which will be made available through
the Parish Council website to the public.
It was clarified that the traffic calming scheme in Paulton had been funded from 106 monies
that is given to BANES from developers in Paulton for highway improvements.
The
highways work in Paulton is undertaken in phases and designed with input from community
leaders i.e. BANES, the Parish Council and Police etc.
The meeting was told that all schemes must conform to a national design standard and that
there is a process that must be followed in order for key changes to be made and these
would not usually take place until after the final safety audit.
There are four stages of safety audit with the fourth stage usually a year after
implementation of a scheme, it is sometimes necessary for assumptions to be made when a
scheme is initiated for example there may be an anticipated increase in the volume of traffic.
The final safety audit will highlight whether the assumptions are correct and that the traffic
calming measures are working and if any changes to the scheme are required. BANES are
able to make some changes to the Paulton scheme relatively easily although some options
would require a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which would have to go through a
democratic process and as there are elections in May this would not happen until after the
election.
Kelvin Packer proceeded to clarify points of safety that had been raised in the Stage 3
Safety Audit which was carried out independently by South Gloucestershire Council and the
proposals to action the points that were raised.
Salisbury Road/Hospital Build Out
Adequate forward visibility for a build out on Salisbury Road/Philis Hill was the single biggest
problem for the designers. This particular build out has raised the most concern and it is
proposed that it should be removed (within 4-6 weeks) with the 20mph zone remaining at
this location. This can be done without going through a democratic process as a TRO would
not be required. The Paulton sign would be moved to a suitable location further down Philis
Hill and additional speed warning signs installed on the approach to the 20mph zone.
Additional traffic calming measures such as rumble strips, speed humps, changes in the
colour of tarmac will also be considered and implemented as necessary in the future along
Salisbury/Winterfield Road.
The roundel will be corrected to show the correct speed limit (changed from 20mph to
30mph).
Farrington Road at junction of Downsway
The Paulton sign will be moved up a rung to allow drivers to see below it and vegetation cut
back to the highway boundary. The road surface will be tested for skid resistance and if
inadequate a higher PSV will be provided.
Bristol Road
An edge line will be provided and loose material due to poor construction will be repaired.
Bath Road
The sign will be amended so that it displays the correct distance to the speed table and
vegetation cut back to ensure that the signs are not obscured.
Old Mills Lane
Concern was raised regarding the location of the sign at the Recreation Ground end of the
lane. Liz Hardman advised that the comments regarding the restricted egress for
agricultural vehicles and the varying speed limits on the lane and the inclusion into the
20mph scheme had been raised with BANES.
General
BANES will check that all the illuminated sign works are completed and the correct roundels
are displayed.
Questions raised by members of the public were answered by Kelvin Packer and Les Wild.
Some of the 20mph areas have not had traffic calming measures installed, it was explained
that a consideration when schemes are looked at is the approach speed. Police will ask for
traffic calming at specified points to enable speed enforcement.
A resident who had attended a parish council highways committee meeting stated that
members of the public who were present at the meeting held last year expressed the view
that 20mph in the village was not wanted. Les Wild advised that this opinion was contrary to
that of the residents who had taken part in the Community Plan 2010. Kelvin continued by
saying that the current BANES administration had made significant investment to implement
20mph and it was a priority of the current BANES administration.
Residents felt that BANES should pay for any remedial works required to the scheme
particularly the removal of the build out on Salisbury Road and this work should not be paid
for from Section 106 funding. Kelvin Packer advised that BANES does not have the budget
for this and works will have to be paid for from the 106 funds.
Ideas were put forward by the public in attendance regarding alternative traffic calming that
would facilitate continuity of traffic speed through the village which residents felt should be
the main consideration. Concerns were raised that some aspects of the new traffic calming
was in fact having the opposite effect with motorists now exceeding the speed limit to
negotiate the build outs causing an increased risk of accidents.
Suggestions that were put forward to Kelvin Packer to assist in slowing traffic included speed
humps, rumble strips, variable road surfaces and flashing signs. It was noted that there will
be a roundabout constructed on Hallatrow Road which will assist in slowing traffic entering
Paulton.
Kelvin clarified issues that had been picked up in the safety audit, the road surfaces were not
in a dangerous condition, however a recommendation had been made that the adequacy of
the carriageways should be reviewed and any appropriate action taken. This could mean
resurfacing with a better quality surface with higher skid resistance.
The point was made by many residents that common sense appears to have been missing
when the traffic calming scheme was installed, which Kelvin conceded was a fair point, he
also reiterated that there were assumptions made by the team who implement the system
and although they have many years’ experience the reason that the safety audits are carried
out in stages is to ensure that the scheme works as anticipated.
It has been noted by BANES that there have been problems with the installation of signage,
some of it on pavements that caused obstructions for pedestrians and obscured visibility
from driveways for some residents. There was an instance where a sign was erected on
private land and there has in addition been considerable damage to some hedgerows.
Kelvin advised that care needs to be taken when signage is installed to ensure that roads
are not ‘cluttered’ with signs that could confuse motorists.
Kelvin was asked and it was agreed, that BANES will revisit the build out at the Somerset
Inn location as residents considered it particularly dangerous for pedestrians.
BANES will make information regarding the cost of the scheme available to the public and
Kelvin assured residents that the team learn from mistakes made in the implementation of
traffic calming schemes that do not work.
The meeting closed at 2040