Local news
Notes - Community Forum - September 2017
NOTES FROM THE RAYNES PARK COMMUNITY FORUM – THURSDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Open Forum
A local resident asked when the hoardings on Durham Road will be removed as they attract fly posters. Neil Milligan, Development Control Section Manager, explained that the hoardings are technically legal; however, the council is investigating whether to act.
Statistics on the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued since April 2017 were provided: 2,683 for littering; 0 for dog fouling. Merton Council employs five members of staff from contractors Kingdom Security.
Asked about whether road markings can be painted at the junction at the bottom of Lambton Road, Neil Milligan said that this has been raised with Chris Chowns, the Council’s transport planner, but the response is that currently there is no budget to do the work. Neil agreed to raise the matter again.
Residents voiced concerns about the white line outside Waitrose, which has been moved, making it difficult for cars to get past one another and leading to traffic jams. Neil Milligan agreed to speak to Highways engineers about the matter.
Concerns were expressed about litter outside the library and in the Apostles. It was noted that the drains are also covered in litter.
Councillor Bull acknowledged the problem.
Flooding in Raynes Park Area
Carley Mason and Patrick Maher from Thames Water attended the forum to discuss residents’ concerns about flooding. Chris Edge informed Thames Water that there are lots of issues with flooding in the area. He noted that there is a problem under the railway bridge, where the council has cleared gullies, which suggests that the pipe is not big enough to handle the flow of water.
Patrick Maher explained that Thames Water have investigated and not found any issues; the pipe is large enough to cope with this. Because of the contour of the land - a bowl shape - in severe storms this would no doubt cause further problems and flood at its lowest point. It was agreed the problem would nonetheless be taken back to Thames Water for further consideration.
Thames Water will need to look at whether the pumping station is also working correctly. Chris Edge suggested that if major building works take place for Crossrail 2, perhaps Thames Water could undertake major sewer works at the same time, perhaps implementing a soak-away if the sewers cannot handle all the rainwater. Thames Water agreed to investigate this further. This would go through Tim Beech’s team (South London Infrastructure Planning Manager Wastewater Strategy, Planning & Assurance), as a soak away would not be a Thames Water asset.
Thames Water is aware of flooding at PAG Ltd and Dundonald Church and is carrying out investigations into the problem. This is linked to the flooding on Abbott Avenue, which Thames Water is further investigating. This will be raised at a risk review meeting and Thames Water will be requesting a catchment study be done of the area.
Residents were reminded that flooding incidents should be reported every time they occur, so that Thames Water has a record of all the problems - if a problem is not reported - it is not logged as an incident by Thames Water.
Flooding leaflets have been given out to residents asking them to call if they experience further flooding. A resident pointed out that the pumping stations have failed and asked why Thames Water are not more proactive in such instances. Carley Mason agreed that the situation is unacceptable and apologised on behalf of Thames Water.
In October 2016, the law changed which meant that Thames Water became responsible for all eligible sewage pumping stations. Since adopting certain pumping stations, the company is in the process of investigating and upgrading them: Westway Close, Abbott Avenue and West Barnes Lane are all operational. At Abbott Avenue pumping station, the equipment has been upgraded; and Approach Road is under further investigation.
Compensation was mentioned by a resident. Thames Water explained that this would only be offered if there had been a failure of negligence in the service Thames Water provides. Thames Water provides a clean-up service and a follow up visit. Thames Water undertook to visit the residents whose names had been noted at the meeting, to investigate further concerns.
A resident explained that drains along Clifton Park Avenue are blocked, but when this was reported to Thames Water, the response was that Thames Water would not clear the drains until flooding had occurred. Carley Mason apologized, and undertook to report the issue so that it can be investigated further. She voiced strong disagreement with the statement that Thames Water should wait for flooding to occur before reacting.
Thames Water agreed to investigate the regular flooding of the shops by Raynes Park Bridge. The company also asked residents to report it every time it occurs. Thames Water will discuss with the council to look at inlet gullies. Gullies are the responsibility of the council’s Highways team. If it could be ensured that the sewers and pumping stations were in good order, it would be for the council to remove the water from the highway.
Edna Road is being investigated and further works are scheduled. 3 A CCTV survey of Abbott Avenue was carried out after flooding occurred on 30th July. No structural issues were found. Worple Road, which is linked to the same problem, is being investigated. Carley Mason reported that Dupont Road’s gully sewer was heavily filled with silt. As of 23rd June, this has been surveyed and is clear.
Residents noted that Burlington Road is still flooding, despite works to rectify it. Thames Water agreed to follow this up with further investigation. CCTV following the lining works put in on 2nd February 2016 showed everything was clear. There were no other reports following that.
Thames Water agreed to come back to future Raynes Park Community Forum meetings to provide further updates.
Information updates
Christmas Fair
The Raynes Park Christmas Fair will take place on Friday 1st December from 3.30 to 7pm at the Waitrose car park.
Dates of future meetings:
7th December 2017 and 8th March 2018. all at 7.15pm, in Raynes Park Library Hall.
