----- Original Message -----
From: "Martyn,Cameron" <__CMartyn@lambeth.gov.uk>
To: "'Duncan Law'" <__duncan@duncanlaw.charitydays.co.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 9:48 AM
Subject: RE: Homezone update
Duncan
thank you for your reply and meeting information/suggestions.
Once we are able to set some dates I will be back in touch to organise this.
just a quick note re: Emergency Services veto of Road closure.....
Since the initial ES consultation I have spent a considerable amount of time in
discussion with all Services resulting in a proposal to close off Holmewood Road
to through traffic, with a gated access for all Emergency Vehicles - as has been
implemented in several other London Boroughs.
Planet Earth initially proposed a system of raised 'judder bars' to discourage
through traffic but this was deemed not suitable by our highways and traffic
engineers for a number of reasons - not least that if they were designed to stop
cars then Ambulances may become stuck on them. Although the Ambulance service
has a blanket policy to object to any measure that would slow response times the
outcome of the consultation was significantly in favour of closing the road to
through traffic so the gated access has been adopted. The Fire Service has no
objection to this and the Met Police prefer it to any sort of traffic
control measure that must be policed.
Anyway I look forward to discussing this matter with you in further detail
kind regards
Cameron
-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan Law [__duncan@duncanlaw.charitydays.co.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 01:17
To: Martyn,Cameron;
Subject: Re: Homezone update
I make a plea that the meeting is properly resourced. The last timeLambeth
called a meeting there were only 3 copies of the proposals in A3 for a meeting
of 50 + people. There is a flip chart at the meeting house.
Examples of the actual materials and preferably some pictures of them
installed somewhere - even ideas about where we could go to see them in use -
would be necessary.
There will be inevitably some changes to the extensive consultation - such as
what is going to happen at the point that was originally to be closed off on
Holmewood Gardens oposite no 50 Holmewood Rd.
They should be presented in the newsletter so that we have time to think
about them and if necessary feedback at or before the meeting with mature
thoughts. We would also like to know what kind of supervision of the work will
happen to make sure standards are adhered to. We are concerned not to lose any
of our existing granite kerbs and red gutter cobbles. We should be reusing
materials as much as possible.
Incidentally I would also be interested to see what Best Value assessment
has been made of the policy decision by the council not to challenge the
Emergency Services' veto of road closures even where the road closure did not
prevent access to anywhere from anywhere just made the access slightly longer.
The council did not even ask for an independent health benefit analysis from the Emergency Services and perhaps the local health authority which I feel would have come down in favour of the minor road layout changes that we were proposing.
Lambeth spent many thousands on assessments of the effects of each intervention but when the emergency services made their veto (which it is their invariable policy to do without any assessment of the individual case!) Lambeth is content to roll over and acquiesce, wasting all that earlier research.
Why didn't they ask for detailed justifications of the veto or a health
benefit 'best value' assessment so that we could all agree together, based on
evidence, what the best thing to do was? I'm afraid I don't intend to let this
one lie.
Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting you.
Duncan