Planned local development and the A247

Jan 23, 2022 | News

The Parish Council (PC) has, and continues to, raise residents’ concerns regarding the A247 with both Surrey County Council (SCC) and Guildford Borough Council (GBC).

Currently, the overriding concern is that as development in the local area (see Note 2) causes more traffic on the A247, the amenity and quality of life of residents will suffer.

On behalf of residents, the Parish Coucnil has communicated the following points to both SCC and GBC. As the local developments progress the Parish Council will continue to raise residents’ concerns over the A247 including the following:

Station: the exit from the Station to the A247 is dangerous. Traffic coming from the Send direction is partially hidden by the hump of the bridge and the parapet. Pedestrians to or from the Onslow Arms direction are forced to cross the A247 to enter or exit the station because there is no footpath on the station side of the A247.

Bridge: the bridge over the railway has a footpath on the west side only and this is narrower than a wheelchair. This fact effectively splits the village in half for wheelchair users and is difficult for pushchair/pram users.

Oak Grange Road: the exit onto the A247 has a poor sight line to the left because of the hump of the bridge over the railway.

Pavements: the pavement is discontinuous from the A3 to the A246, except for the short stretches from Dedswell Drive to Oak Grange Road and Summers to opposite the Bull’s Head. Everywhere else, the pavement is on one side or other of the road. Thus, pedestrians need to cross the A247 to access the station, the Onslow Arms, Felix Drive, Ashley Park care home , the church from the church carpark and the cottages opposite the church. Many properties can only be accessed on foot by crossing the road and in a number of  places the sight lines are very poor. The light controlled pedestrian crossing serves only Meadowlands because there is no footpath on the east side of the road at this point.

The A247: there are a number of concerns with the carriageway itself:

  • The speed of traffic generally, but especially motorbikes, is of constant concern to residents. It serves to worsen the road conditions and access issues.
  • The slip road to the A3 from Clandon Road (A247) has been the scene of a number of accidents, some serious. SCC efforts have so far failed to solve this problem.
  • There is a section of The Street where the width of the carriageway is less than 4.5m. As a consequence, large vehicles frequently mount the footpath to pass. This footpath needs to be used by children and mothers with pushchairs to access the school.
  • Opposite Lime Grove, visibility is very restricted because of the bend in the A247. This makes accessing the properties on the west side of The Street either on foot or by car very difficult. There is no pavement at this point and  FP 66 joins the road right on the bend. Crossing the road from west to east here is very risky
  • At the exit from the Onslow Arms carpark, the sight lines for vehicles turning right are very poor
  • The exit from the church car park and adjacent properties is hazardous because the sharp bend in the road restricts visibility
  • Experienced cyclists do use the road but, it would be daunting and dangerous for children and the inexperienced. Motorists become frustrated and attempt to pass in dangerous places.

Note 1: The southern end of the road through the village (A247) is at the A246-Clandon lights, the northern end is at the A3. The station, the Onslow Arms, Meadowlands and the Church carpark are on the east side; the village hall, recreation ground, school, Bull’s Head, entrance to Clandon Park and the church are on the west side. The whole road is the A247 which carries on into Send. From the A246 to Lime Grove it is called The Street and from there to the Portsmouth Road is Clandon Road.

Note 2: In the recent past, planning permission has been granted for 25 new dwellings (not all yet built) in the village. In the local area, the Local Plan has allocated sites for 550 houses (Garlick’s Arch), 1850 houses (Gosden Hill), an industrial estate at Burn Common, and several hundred houses at West Horsley and Send. In addition, the Local Plan calls for slip roads at the A3 overbridge to make the A3/A247 a 4-way junction.

Terence Patrick

Chairman | West Clandon Parish Council

 

Other News