I enclose 4 representation forms in respect of various representations that I have on your Policy BEX9, The Spindlewood Drive site. This site is also the subject of a current Planning Application with Reference RR/2017/1705/P.

My third representation concerns the access of the site from Spindlewood Drive/Meads road and Maple Walk. I have attached extracts from several letters I have written about this with illustrative photographs.

The development of houses at land off Spindlewood Drive is to have an access from Spindlewood Drive leading to Meads road and Maple Walk. Meads road is not sufficiently wide to accommodate the additional traffic without substantial impediment to the movement of existing traffic. The only egress from Meads road is to Cooden Sea road which is a classified road in the ESCC road network. The junction of Meads road and Cooden Sea road is substandard on account of the sight lines. There would be substantial danger to the increased traffic using this junction on account of the development.

At its junction with Cooden Sea Road Meads road is on a 4.5% rising gradient. Driver sight lines are limited at the junction by parked vehicles, particularly the sight line to the right. It is noteworthy that the developer has not presented any vehicular swept path analysis for the Cooden Sea Road junction neither for the Spindlewood Drive junction.

The Meads road assessment by ESCC GET flies in the face of common sense. The present 2017 peak hour traffic and experience is that even this low level of traffic flow has difficulty whenever there is a large delivery vehicle parked in this narrow road. The 2028 sensitivity case peak hour traffic flow is for more than 100% increase in traffic as a result of this development. Yet ESCC GET avers that there would be no increased difficulty for traffic movement in this road'

The junction of Meads road with Cooden Sea road (CSR) is dangerous. The parking in front of the former Co-op building reduces visibility from a point 2.4 metres back on Meads road to 26 metres for the oncoming traffic to the right and for anyone seeking to enter CSR from Meads Road. The standard for 30mph sight distance of 43 metres is quoted in the ESCC CET document in relation to Spindlewood Drive but completely ignored when discussing the Meads road/Cooden Sea road junction. But with a sight line to the right of only 26 metres a vehicle coming down CSR from the Birkdale direction at about 30mph comes into view and is upon the junction in only 2 seconds. This junction is very dangerous. The proposal for a re-alignment of the Meads road entry reduces this sight line to 25 metres and makes the junction even more dangerous.

G Lawson Representation No 3 on BEX9 Spindlewood Drive housing.

Access via Meads road

The 2017 peak hour traffic on Meads Road is reported in the TA as 48 pcus two way and experience backed up by photographic evidence is that even this low level of traffic flow has difficulty whenever there is a large delivery vehicle parked in this narrow road.

Photographs of Meads Road and Maple Walk taken 16th August 2017

The access via Meads road

Meads Road, 2 cars meet at parked delivery lorry. One car has to give way to the other. (photo attached which can be viewed here: http://www.rother.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=31267)

Meads road is only 5.4 metres to 5.5 metres wide for its entire length. At its junction with Cooden Sea Road Meads road is on a 4.5% rising gradient. Driver sight lines are limited at the junction and this further inhibits its capacity. With residential parking on both sides of Meads Road traffic often moves with extreme difficulty.

The unsuitability of Meads Road as a residential spine access road for another 160 or 170 houses in addition to the 145 that it already serves making a total of more than 300 houses is obvious. The photograph illustrates graphically the difficulty of traffic moving when a heavy lorry is delivering at the kerbside and two cars have to manoeuvre alternately to pass.

The 2028 sensitivity case peak hour traffic flow is for more than 100% increase in traffic as a result of this development. Yet ESCC GET avers that there would be no increased difficulty for traffic movement m this road. This can at best be described as 'wishful thinking'.

Meads Road looking north from Meads Avenue towards Cooden Sea Road.
Note the red awning on the shop at the junction of Meads road and Cooden Sea road
that appears in the background of both of the above photographs.
(photo attached which can be viewed here: http://www.rother.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=31268)

Junction with Cooden Sea Road

The junction of Meads road with Cooden Sea road (CSR) is dangerous. The parking in front of the former Co-op building reduces visibility from a point 2.4 metres back on Meads road to 26 metres for the oncoming traffic to the right and for anyone seeking to enter CSR from Meads Road. The following photograph illustrates this.

More than 100% increase in delivery traffic, private vehicles and possibly construction traffic using this access is not a tenable basis for planning.

The junction of Meads road with Cooden Sea road

Even with the marginal widening of the junction throat on Meads road to 6 metres wide for a maximum of 25 metres the junction remains on a rising gradient of 4.5% on Meads road. The thresholds of adjacent properties prevent this gradient being reduced.

(Photo attached which can be viewed here: http://www.rother.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=31269)

Meads road/ Cooden Sea road Junction looking south from 2.4 metres back on Meads road, a vehicle is concealed until it is only 2 seconds from the junction. The white van is not as close to the junction as it could be (see double yellow lines)

The standard for 30mph sight distance of 43 metres is quoted in the ESCC GET document in relation to Spindlewood Drive but completely ignored when discussing the Meads road/Cooden Sea road junction. But with a sight line to the right of only 26 metres a vehicle coming down CSR from the Birkdale direction at about 30mph comes into view and is upon the junction in only 2 seconds. This junction is dangerous.

The proposal for a re-alignment of the Meads road entry reduces this sight line to 25 metres and makes the junction even more dangerous. The County Council is being inconsistent in its approach to road safety here. The applicant has only supplied drawings of the swept path for a car at this junction these show the restricted sight line to the right is reduced to 25 metres. With a very restricted sight line to the right the junction remains unsatisfactory and not suitable for a 100% increase m traffic. I object to use of this unsafe junction being deliberately further intensified.