Surrey Heath Local Committee mtg: Thu 2nd Oct

The following is my update to the committee at the 2nd Oct Surrey Heath Local Committee meeting: 

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I sent an open letter to you all on Sun 21st Sep to update you on the Hatches Path petition so hopefully you are already aware of what we'd like to achieve.

To recap, the Hatches Path connecting Frimley Green & Farnborough North is a popular path used by a lot of people every day to commute between the two areas. The alternative route would be via Frimley High street, adding 10 mins to a cycle, or at least 40 mins if walking.

The path has become overgrown over the last few years with the grass verges taking over a third of the path on each side. What was once a 9 foot wide path is now only 3 to 6. Those verges become very muddy as people need to use them to walk/cycle past each other on the narrow path. Long stretches of the tarmac path have also become eroded over the years. There aren't many potholes as such, but layers of tarmac have eroded enough to cause flooding across the path during the winter months.This exacerbates the muddiness of the verges as people try to avoid the puddles...

I have been in contact with the Countryside Access Team who updated me on the 18th Sep. They are arranging for the grass verges to get cut back to the original tarmac, widening the path. They will also add drainage to the eroded lengths of path to allow rain water to drain away. They are aiming to do this by the end of Oct once approval has been given by all parties, including the Fisheries. The CAT reported "It was decided that the surface repair works would be best undertaken once we know if funding will be secured for improvements. The principal reason being, that repairs would need to be substantial as the current surface has been constructed on top of another and so would require a significant repair to last any length of time". Hopefully, the CAT have prepared a report for today's meeting with costs for more long term improvements.


The petition requesting these improvements has reached 215 signatures (to date), with 191 separate Facebook likes too. An article has also appeared in the Camberley & Sandhurst News & Mail. So, there is a lot of interest from the public in the improvements to the path.


I also wrote to you all to discuss the Surrey Transport Plan & Cycling Strategy. The executive summary of the Local Transport Strategy states that it..

"...has been produced by the County Council in partnership with Surrey Heath Borough Council.

The purpose of the strategy is to support the growth set out within the borough Local Plan and provide a programme of transport infrastructure required to deliver this growth. They also provide an evidence base for future funding bids.
The objectives of this strategy are to reduce the reliance on the private car in Surrey Heath by providing more attractive sustainable travel choices, to manage local bottlenecks and traffic congestion within the borough, and to encourage economic development and regeneration. These objectives are in accordance with Surrey’s Environment and Infrastructure Priorities." -- Executive summary

This document is currently open for consultation which I've responded to, suggesting the Hatches Path is listed as a problem area that needs investment.
 
We would ideally like the above improved to something similar to the scheme they did in Winchester (a shared cycle/pedestrian path)...

We can understand that a fully resurfaced shared pedestrian/cycle path would be costly. Would you therefore please consider some of the following approaches:

~ introduce the improvements in phases. e.g. resurface the worst half of the path in year 1; then resurface the other half the following year?
 
~ The CAT is aiming to make temporary improvements  by the end of Oct to cut back the grass verges widening the path, and improve drainage. This will help with the winter 2014 but a more permanent solution is required.

~ include the Hatches Path in the Surrey Transport Plan & Cycling Strategy.


~ Work with Michael Gove who I recently wrote to, to see if these improvements fall under his campaign to improve rail services (and access thereto?) in Camberley.


~ work with Network Rail to see if they can contribute to costs. This path provides access to their customers commuting via Farnborough North & Main stations.The path approaching Farnborough North is particularly bad, e.g.

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