Agenda item

-           Presented by Members of the Public

Presented by Councillors  

Petitions to be debated

5.1 - Remove the Evesham Road link road from the Local Plan

Petitions from Members of the Public

No petitions for presentation had been received from members of the public.

Petitions from Councillors

Councillor Waddington presented a petition with 161 valid signatures in the following terms:-

“We the residents of Stokes Drive, Darlington Road, all side roads and plot holders of Stokeswood Allotment Society, request that Leicester City Council introduce traffic calming measures and 20mph speed limit on Stokes Drive and Darlington Road in order to reduce the dangers of accidents to residents and children and visitors.”

Councillor Rae Bhatia presented a petition with 92 valid signatures in the following terms:-        

“We the residents and road users of the area would like to petition Leicester City Council to double lane the eastbound stretch of Glenfrith Way A563 between Hallgate Drive junction (just after the bus shelter) and Anstey Lane Roundabout. The lane, as it currently stands, is wide enough for the traffic to form two parallel queues in peak hours, but just not wide enough for it to be safe and legal. The traffic forms into two queues within one wide lane which is highly dangerous. An accident is waiting to happen. The vehicles come dangerously close trying to outmanoeuvre each other and many times this leads to road rage behaviour. Therefore, this request must be addressed urgently. Thank you.”

Councillor Dr Moore presented a petition with 90 valid signatures in the following terms:-

“We the undersigned petition the council to review the speed of Guilford Road and consider the introduction of additional traffic slowing measures.

Residents have become increasingly concerned about the excessive speed of vehicles using Guilford Road. In a 30mph zone, they are often witnessed exceeding speeds of 50mph, making it a treacherous task for residents getting in and out of their cars and manoeuvring into the road. This is not only a problem during the busiest times of the day; it is even common to hear cars reaching phenomenal speeds in the small hours of the morning.

Adding to this, satellite navigation systems are now directing traffic along Guilford Road to avoid congestion on the London Road and many commercial vehicles are showing a disregard for the 7.5T weight restriction.

Having exchanged numerous reports of bumps and near misses, we feel it is time for additional measures to be put in place, before a serious incident occurs.”

Under Council Procedure Rule 13a the aforementioned petitions were referred to the Monitoring Officer for consideration and action as appropriate.

Petitions to be debated

The Monitoring Officer noted that under the terms of the Council’s Petitions Scheme each petitioner had been invited to speak on their petition for a maximum of five minutes.  This would be followed by a debate on the issues raised by the petition for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Remove the Evesham Road link road from the Local Plan

A petition (made up of two parts) was presented by Ms Kim Burley Jones which had been verified as having the required number of verified signatures to trigger a debate and had been submitted in the following terms:

A paper petition in the following terms: “We the undersigned, call upon Leicester City Council to remove the Evesham Road link road from the Local Plan, completely.”

An electronic petition in the following terms: “Stop an East-West link road across Aylestone Meadows from Evesham Road to Aylestone Road.”

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Clair and carried that:-

15.      That this petition be referred to the Overview Select Committee and the Economic Development, Tourism and Transport Scrutiny Commission for them to report further to the Council on the matter and to ensure that consideration by those scrutiny commissions are ones in which the public can generally participate, give evidence should they wish and make sure their views, concerns or support for the scheme are properly expressed in public before this Council comes to any considered view about whether or not to keep this line on a map from next summer onwards when the Local Plan is considered.