Report of a meeting on Thursday, 18 September 2003 at 10 a.m. to discuss traffic calming on Highfields Road

Present: Owen Kember, Tom Footman, Paul Phillips (parish councillors); Martin Casey, James Dunn (Wilson Connolly); Richard Cottee (Breheneys); Phil Sharpe (Cambridgeshire County Council)

  1. Traffic bumps were inspected from immediately south of the Banner Homes entrance. Many of the heights were within tolerance ranges (from c. 30 to c. 50 mm) but profiles tended to be uneven. It was noted that the purpose of the bumps was to reduce traffic speed to a maximum of 30 mph throughout the village; drivers should traverse the bumps as slowly as possible. Other calming measures (of variable success) include raised tables (which tend to become chipped), red rumble strips (which often cause noise complaints), narrowing the road to single track (which can cause safety problems), chicanes (which do not lessen speed). Bumps certainly reduce speed in most cases.

    2. It was agreed by all present that Wilson Connolly should survey all the bumps on Highfields Road using specified bumps (outside the Social Club and outside Tom Footman’s house) as benchmarks. They would confirm their results with the County Council and smooth out the worst bumps (i.e. those most departing from the specified profiles). The County Council will then be in a position to adopt the road. Action: Wilson Connolly and County Council

  2. Mr Casey said that he would provide (digital pdf) plans of the exact locations of storm cell matrices under the old village hall property and under the village green. He had been in discussion with Leslie Dickinson about landscaping requirements for the village green and elsewhere and accepted that a number of trees would have to be replanted (of a different species to that in the original plans since they were not suited to the soil). Action: Wilson Connolly.

  3. Mr Casey said that he was willing to transfer the area around the bus shelter in the near future after some work had been done to tarmac the area between the bus shelter and the footpath and also to assist drainage around the base of the shelter. Action: Wilson Connolly

  4. Mr Casey also made some comments about the recreation ground. He stated that the section 106 requirements were merely that he had to be drained and he had had a report from his engineers stating that it was already satisfactorily drained for the purposes of a playing field. He proposed therefore to plough the ground and sow it. Mr Footman noted that he had been contacted by one of the people who installed the original drains in the 19870s (Mr Pearce), He had told him that there were agricultural drains under the field and these were not suitable for a recreation ground. Mr Kember stated that he believed a new drainage system was required as per the section 106 schedule. Action: the parish clerk is to write to Mr Casey insisting on the installation of a new drainage system for the recreation ground since the old one is 20 years old and was designed for an agricultural rather than recreational field.

  5. While walking up past the Banner Homes entrance it was noted by the various engineers that the drain in the road at the entrance needs to be moved. Mr Casey intimated that Banner Homes no longer owned this and perhaps we should ask the county for help in rectifying the situation. Action: the parish clerk is to write to the County Council requesting action on relocating the drain.

  6. Everyone agreed that there is a desperate need to slow traffic down in the vicinity of the school. The chicanes do not slow traffic down and the county need to be asked to assist in this matter. Red rumble strips may be the solution (although they are noisy) or some other calming feature. Action: the parish clerk is to write to the County Council requesting that action be taken in this region.

  7. The junction between Highfields Road and the southern site of the proposed development on the former Grafton Pig Farm needs close examination, particularly in view of the end of the chicane by the school. This is a particularly dangerous area for school children and needs immediate attention. Action: the parish clerk is to write to the County Council requesting notification of specific plans for this junction.

  8. Mr Casey also noted that after the upcoming AGM it was possible that he would be out of a job once the Taylor Woodrow take-over had been confirmed and reorganisation had taken place.