WESTBERE PARISH COUNCIL

Clerk: Amanda Sparkes 4 Chequers Cottages, Stone Street, , , CT4 5PW Tel: 01227 700939 E-mail: [email protected]

20 August 2014

John Burr Director of Highway Services Kent County Council County Hall Maidstone ME14 1XQ

Dear Mr Burr

Re: Westbere Parish Plan – A Vision for Westbere (Westbere Parish Council 2011).

In April 2011 Westbere Parish Council published their Parish Plan – A Vision for Westbere – the result of three years’ work by a dedicated group of volunteers known as the Steering Group. At the time of publication a copy of this document was sent to Kent County Council (KCC).

In June 2014, Canterbury City Council issued their Publication Draft for the Canterbury District Local Plan (CDLP) 2014-2031. This document outlines their Local Plan in detail and is supported by a Draft Transportation Strategy 2014-2031.

In the light of these new publications documenting CCC’s planned projections in housing and infrastructure, Westbere Parish Council recently re-visited their 2011 Parish Plan. They did this in order to consider the relevance of actions recommended in the plan to the major changes associated with the CDLP. Having completed this exercise the council wish to draw attention once again to the safety issues considered previously, safety issues which are even more important today than they were in 2011 and will become absolutely essential when the Local Plan with its associated infrastructure is implemented.

For completeness the relevant pages and diagrams (section XI.5, diagrams 4a and 4b) from the 2011 Parish Plan are included.

Of particular importance are the following recommendations:

Speed: Section XI.5a. (page 31) ‘It is recommended that the speed limit on the A28 between Staines Hill and Bushy Hill Road is reduced to 30mph as this short stretch of road is currently dangerous.’

Visibility is a major problem on this road and the development of the new sites at Bredlands Lane (81 houses) and (500 houses) will compound this issue. It is essential to reduce the current speed limit in order to improve safety on this major route into Canterbury.

2

‘Bearing in mind the presence of elderly and disabled residents within the village (of Westbere), a reduction of the speed limit to 15mph would be helpful and improve safety for pedestrians…’

Westbere Parish Council continue to highlight the dangers of exceeding the speed limit through the village of Westbere in their regular newsletters, are in the process of purchasing stickers for wheelie bins to remind drivers of the 20mph limit and are open-minded to alternative means of reducing speed. This is an important issue as the narrow lanes and the lack of footpaths remain problematic. Reducing the speed limit from the current 20mph to 15mph would help to keep the village lanes safe for users and align it with other parts of Europe (20kph).

Pedestrians: Section XI.5c. (page 32) ‘Crossing the A28 can present pedestrians with a major hazard because of speeding traffic. This problem could be rectified by additional pedestrian crossings along the A28 – one at the entrance to Church Lane, the other at the entrance to Westbere Lane.’

Elderly and disabled residents travelling on, and alighting from, buses from Canterbury face crossing the busy A28 to access Westbere village - a dangerous prospect through fast-moving traffic. Safety measures must be implemented.

Heavy Goods Vehicles: Section XI.5b. (page 31) Delivery vehicles are becoming larger and heavier, placing the narrow lanes of Westbere village under increasing pressure and resulting in damage to road surfaces and verges. ‘In order to restrict the access of very large vehicles to the village, an axle weight of 12 tons with additional signage should be considered.’ Westbere Parish Council note with interest that ‘unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles’ signs have been sited in . These signs could also be sited at the entrances to Westbere village.

Canterbury City Council’s implementation of the Local Plan, with its resulting dramatic increase in traffic on an already congested A28, necessitate re-consideration of the issues identified in Westbere Parish Council’s Parish Plan and action taken.

The council, therefore, would appreciate a visit from a KCC Highways engineer in order to evaluate the situation and discuss positive and appropriate action to achieve suitable and agreed solutions.

Best wishes

Amanda Sparkes Clerk to the Council

Enc. c.c. Kent County Cllr Alan Marsh