Examination of Witnesses (Questions 5380
- 5399)
5380. MS SINGLETON: I would ask for the
bollards to be removed full stop because we did not have any bollards
before and there were no problems. If Mr Walters could do some
negotiations on that, that would be wonderful for us. I do not
know that they are making any contribution to anything really.
5381. BARONESS FOOKES: Do you know why
they were put there in the first place? Is it within your local
knowledge?
5382. MS SINGLETON: There were none but
when Sainsbury's supermarket was extended a build out was made
on to Brady Street so that it would allow better parking and that
was when the bollards appeared. I was just completely shocked
that so many bollards suddenly appeared on the street. There had
always been the small one with the white top, but that was the
only bollard.
5383. BARONESS FOOKES: But as a local
resident you saw no purpose in them.
5384. MS SINGLETON: I see no purpose
in them whatsoever. They actually constrict people who want to
cross the road in a wheelchair, people with double baby buggies,
of which there are many, have real difficulties crossing between
the bollards.
5385. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: Ms Singleton,
would the trucks not be effectively forced to go around the outside
properly and not mount the kerb to the danger of the pedestrians
and the bollards achieve that purpose.
5386. MS SINGLETON: At the moment because
it is such a big build out it does not achieve that purpose and
the lorries have to reverse to get around. On the first day the
bollards were put there, there was a fire along the other end
of Durward Street and the fire control vehicle had to reverse
four times to get into Durward Street. There actually are movable
bollards that can go that way, followed by an ambulance which
had a difficulty. I rang up the council then and said, "Look,
this is dangerous", but there has been no change. I would
say from the inception of the new layout it has not been satisfactory.
5387. The other question I would ask is about
bringing the lorries into the junction at Cambridge Heath Road,
will that require a different layout because, again, I think there
might be some tight work needed there?
(Mr Walters) Again, across the project
I did the same on the Channel Tunnel Rail link, you do have to
make minor alterations to junctions, to islands and so on to cope
with lorries turning off major roads on to smaller roads.
5388. Can I ask one other question about the
stop in the morning and afternoon. How is that going to be monitored?
Somebody has pointed out, we have police there controlling the
school children every afternoon and, of course, then they all
nip off to Sainsbury's and there is general shopping going on,
so what managing arrangements will there be?
(Mr Walters) First of all, we will agree
the half-hour locally with each school, it may vary from school
to school depending on how their day actually works and then that
will be in the contracts with our contractors. We will ask the
contractors to ensure that that happens, but we will have our
own people who are also checking compliance as well and, of course,
the helpline and community liaison people if people are not happy
with the timing and it needs to be adjusted. Principally, because
we are very close to a site there, it will be that the site gates
have to close for half an hour.
5389. MS SINGLETON: Thank you. Those
are all the questions I have.
5390. CHAIRMAN: Have you dealt with the
Cambridge Heath Road point because I do not think we have seen
a plan that shows where it is? Do you want to pursue that at all?
5391. MS SINGLETON: Me?
5392. CHAIRMAN: Yes.
5393. MS SINGLETON: No.
5394. CHAIRMAN: I just wanted to give
you the opportunity.
5395. BARONESS FOOKES: I understood from
evidence last week that if lorries disobeyed the rules and appeared
at times when they should not it would be relatively easy for
any resident to identify them because each would carry a clear
identifying mark which could then be reported to the one-stop-shop
or the helpline. That is true of all the sites, is it?
(Mr Walters) That is correct, my Lady.
5396. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: This
is a detailed question but it is one which is interesting in this
day and age. You mentioned the wild life park at Kempton Court
and we got a reminder on the screens just now about the fact that
trees are going to be removed but there is an undertaking to replace
them later. Were those trees in which birds were nesting and are
there any species which are endangered in the territory?
5397. MS SINGLETON: Those particular
trees, they are probably not used. Well, I do not know, there
could be some birds nesting in them, but they are smallish. Well,
I say they are, they were small cherry type trees but they have
grown enormously large now. Yes, they could indeed be used for
nesting but I am not aware of any nests in them.
5398. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: You cannot
actually say there is anything rare, either in terms of the trees
or the birds at that time in that place? There is nothing there
which is endangered by this?
5399. MS SINGLETON: The trees that might
have possibly been removed were in the area of the worksite within
Kempton Court, so there would be about two trees. Originally I
was concerned that a bigger area would be taken and we have a
particularly nice Robinia which we certainly did not want to be
removed and there is quite a lot of holly and hedgerow and that
is where the birds do nest.
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