The Station Town Neighbourhood Group met last night at the Millbank chapel to discuss a number of issues affecting the area.
The main issue for discussion was the ongoing problem of traffic speeding through the village. From reports elsewhere on this site it can be seen that speeding has been a problem for some time. Following complaints from me and a resident to the PACT meeting in Wingate last year the police carried out a community speed watch scheme in the village to assess the volume and speed of vehicles in specific "hot spots." This was followed by a council-run exercise which recommended that traffic calming measures ought to be installed on the incline as Station Town is approached from Wingate.
My concern at the time was that whilst I supported the installation of traffic calming measures I was not convinced that residents had had sufficient input throughout the consultation process. Consequently there was no guarantee that the proposed measures would carry sufficient public support or that they would be effective in that particular location. However, the problem of speeding traffic continues and a workable solution, supported by the people of Station Town, must be found.
I have contacted the council again to ask them to revisit this matter and review the position and type of traffic calming measures required in the village. I think that residents should have a say on the location and STNG members will do whatever they can to facilitate this once I have a response from the council's highway engineers.
I updated members of the STNG on progress on the flooding problem at Rodridge Hall between Station Town and Hutton Henry. Senior highways engineers at county hall have instructed their contractors to begin further investigatory works in the area this week following local intelligence which may identify the source of the problem.
I also reported on matters arising from the recent coffee morning held at the Millbank chapel last Tuesday, 19 March. One pressing issue was that of the untidy condition of a number of privately held properties in Station Town. I have passed this matter onto the council's private sector initiatives officers to ask them to track down the owners or landlords of these properties to request that they bring them up to a decent standard. This is often a long, drawn out process but I will ensure that the council does all in its powers to address this problem.
Finally, the STNG is to sponsor a litter pick in the village within the next few weeks as part of the council's Spring Clean initiative. I have the application forms ready and a time, date and location will be agreed soon. Let me know if you have any ideas or if you would like to be involved.
If you have any issues you would like me to take up, or if you would like more information about the STNG please contact me through this site.