WSCC Highways update
Published: 12 November 2024
WSCC Highways Team Note to BBH PC for 4th November Parish Meeting – Issued SR 30/10/2024
Following the recent meeting with the Parish Council on the 14th October, where the meeting reviewed the summer traffic data and discussed the driver abuse of the private car park, bus gate and the through traffic flows on Sargent Way. The County Highways team outlined that it would continue to work towards seeking resolutions for these three key issues.
It is likely that these three areas will be worked through in parallel, on the car park, where recent engagement through a new property agent has seen positive feedback; that a new policy for camera enforcement of bus gates is moving forward in the next few months, and options for closing through traffic movement on Sargent Way will now be examined in further detail.
The highway authority will provide a further update for the Parish Council’s December meeting and organise a ‘drop-in’ session, at the Parish rooms, either in January or February 2025 depending on the progress of the investigations and policy processes.
The highway authority, along with the planning authority and the parish council recognise that there are public frustrations with the length of time that interventions can take, this is a challenging and unique situation where potential solutions will have impacts on the area and on vehicle movements and therefore careful consideration is needed. However, highway safety is the highest priority for the County highways team and tackling the vehicle abuse of the private car park, and the interactions with the many pedestrians, especially children on their way to school, remains the key problem to address, along with the abuse of the bus gate.
Tackling the through traffic movements on Sargent Way also continues to be a focus for the highway authority, but interventions here will take longer to formalise and be subject to wider community engagement.