B4640 / Newtown Straight
Many of you will have seen the petition to put a speed indication device on the B4640 (the ‘Newtown Straight’) to both remind vehicles of the speed limit but importantly to capture data to assess whether further speed control measures were needed. It gained over 700 signatures and on the back of this we asked Hampshire County Council to open a dialogue with us, Newtown Parish Council, about what measures could be taken to reduce the speed along this dangerous stretch of road. Hampshire County Council have further rejected this request. We are asking local residents to support us and send an email to Cllr Nick Adams-King (Nick.Adams-King@hants.gov.uk) and Cllr Tom Thacker (tom.thacker@hants.gov.uk) to support the outcome we are seeking. The most recent correspondence can be seen below:
Dear Mr. Adams-King and Mr. Thacker,
I am writing in my capacity as vice-chair of Newtown Parish Council and am again seeking your help in allowing us to deploy our SID (Speed Indication Device) machine on the B4640 between the Swan roundabout and the A34 junction at Tothill. The road, known as the ‘Newtown Straight’ runs through both Newtown and Burghclere parishes, hence I have copied this note to both Tony Webb and Richard Carrow.
I appreciate from your previous responses that it is the policy ‘norm’ of Hampshire Highways to disallow deployment of such devices on roads with speed limits above 40 mph. Many other English Local Authorities follow this approach but many do however allow exceptions on 50 mph roads with obvious potential hazards. The B4640 is one such road with a great number of house entrances, track openings including the entrance to Horace Hill School. I ask you therefore to make an exception in this case.
In your reply to Tony Webb in December, you referenced the VAR (Vehicle Activated Road sign) on the A339 between the ‘Swan roundabout’ and the ‘Tesco roundabout’. This is a permanent machine which differs from a mobile SID but still reflects concerns about traffic speeds in this area. Indeed, West Berks Council are attempting to get the speed limit of 50 mph reduced and as you will see in my recent exchange with them (see copy email below) I have asked for their help and assistance in attempting to do the same along the B4640, which is in effect an extension of the A339.
My note below also sets out the rationale for seeking the deployment of our SID. It is not about using the sign to permanently reduce traffic speeds nor reinforce speed limits, it is principally about gathering objective evidence in order to assess the case for any further action – such as a VAR, a speed camera, speed limit reduction and/or traffic calming measures.
The new generation of SID machines can provide a full and detailed picture of traffic speeds to underpin such an assessment. This was not the case with the older SID machine operated by Newtown Parish Council.I am not sure you are aware that for many years our old SID machine was deployed on both the C45 AND the B4640 under contract with B&DBC. Here is the data it generated. [Data from prior SID deployments provided]
This was a mobile battery operated machine and was successfully deployed without incident on the B4640 over several years.
It was replaced by us in late 2022 to reduce costs and provide us with better data on traffic flows and speeds.Our new SID was initially deployed on the C45 for a prolonged period to assess traffic speeds and it revealed some quite alarming results.
Nearly 75% – 3 out of 4 vehicles exceeded the speed limit of 30 MPH. This compares with 51% of cars as the National average exceeding a 30 mph
15% of all vehicles in Newtown were travelling above 39 MPH as they passed the sign – again way above the National average of 5%*
The highest recorded speeds averaged a shocking 66 MPH per week with the highest speed recorded during this period – an unbelievably dangerous 85.7 MPH!
A report was sent to Hampshire Highways who agreed that this was very concerning information and that action should be taken. They referred us to Hampshire Police. The latter however, referred us back to Hampshire Highways saying that they were unable to take enforcement action and we should take this up with HCC. Despite several follow ups with HCC and Hampshire Police we are 12 months on and nothing has happened. Traffic still speeds recklessly along this narrow road up through the blind bends at Jonathan Hill towards Burghclere. N.B. I would be very happy to send you copies of our report and the correspondence exchanges.
You will also see from the above why Newtown Parish Council are so concerned about the current state of the C45 which for the most part is an ice sheet on frosty mornings due to the constant flow of spring water in the middle of the road.
In summary therefore, we wish to deploy our SID along the B4640 primarily in order to compile data and to assess the case for further action to address concerns about traffic speeds. If Hampshire Highways will not currently sanction permanent deployment, will they allow us to deploy the machine for a limited period of say 4 months for us to do this?
We will of course ensure that all health and safety guidelines are followed when installing the machine and changing the battery and we will of course share all the data analysis with Hampshire Highways.
700 people have signed a petition asking for this to happen and on behalf of them and Newtown Parish Council, I ask you again to please allow us to do so.
Newtown Parish Council – 12th January 2024
B4640 / Newtown Straight
As you may know, your parish council is prohibited from using the recently purchased Speed Indicator Device (SID) on the B4640. The relevant authority, Hampshire Highways (HH) does not allow SIDs to be used on roads where the speed limit is 50 mph or higher. This seems an arbitrary ruling, especially as West Berkshire Council has installed such a device just across the county boundary on the A339 which also has a 50 mph limit.
As your PC, we are well aware that there are numerous instances of speeding along the Newtown Straight – as this section of the B4640 is known. We are hoping to assemble a petition of local residents in order to put pressure on HH and to get approval for the SID to be used on this dangerous section of road. You can support this petition here.
C45 / Well Street
We have been pursuing Hampshire Highways with regards to the drainage issues on the C45. We have received the following response from Nick Adams-Smith, Lead Cabinet Member for Universal Services (Highways, Transport, Environment, Countryside and Communities). (12th September 2023)
Hampshire Highways have now inspected the various issues and locations mentioned and I am able to provide the following update.
The Highways team have ordered a trial hole to expose and repair the damaged pipe at the underground spring location. As part of this repair, the team will undertake high powered water jetting to ensure the pipe is clear and working as expected. Alongside this, the highway drainage system along the full length of Well Street will be cleaned to ensure it is working to maximum capacity. This will also involve mapping the system to ensure records are up to date.
To reduce the amount of water running down Well Street from The Common, the team will look to install or re-install a number of roadside grips to allow water to run off the carriageway rather than downhill towards the church. It is hoped this will, in some part, alleviate the concerns and issues raised surrounding this area.
The above works will require a road closure to be carried out, which is yet to be confirmed and so I’m currently unable to provide a specific date work will be completed. However, the team are looking to have all the works mentioned completed at the same time and are working hard with the delivery team to ensure this happens before we reach the wetter winter months.
Drainage improvement schemes are prioritised across the whole of Hampshire based on a number of factors. Such factors include, the number of reports of flooding received, the amount of flooding, where internal property flooding has occurred and the road classification and speed limit where appropriate. The number of potential improvement scheme far outweighs the available budget each year and therefore it is unlikely currently that Well Street would feature highly in the priorities for improvement schemes. However, in the interests of ascertaining how much of an issue this is from reports received the team have checked our customer database to review the number of related reports logged. They have confirmed there has only been one enquiry reported since the pipe was installed, at the groundwater spring location in February 2021, which would indicate the works previously completed have generally been successful and not indicate this site is a high priority for a substantial drainage improvement scheme at this time.
The Highways team hope the works outlined will help improve the situation but should yourself, or local residents, find this is not the case I encourage issues to be reported via the website on the link provided below. Where possible, include photographs in any report or updates as this will aid in understanding the severity of the issues being faced. If the issues persist after the proposed works are completed, the Highways team will be happy to discuss the next steps at that time.