Protect Residents and Our Beautiful Area
Protect our beautiful area and keep our communities safe as Lockdown is released. Whilst we do this, we need to recognise the rights of everyone to travel and to enjoy coming to our area and the rights of everyone living in our area to be kept safe as they walk close to their homes and to their local shops.
Green Belt & Oil Drilling
Protect the Green Belt against inappropriate and unsustainable development such as oil drilling and industrial installations close to residential homes, residential housebuilding, and additional golf courses.
Community Recycling Centres
Reverse the reduction in opening hours and in the introduction of charges at our Tips – actions which simply increase fly-tipping in our communities.
Reduce the charges for Garden Waste collection to a level which does not produce excess profits for the District Council.
Street Sweeping
Improve street-sweeping, ensuring rural lanes are properly swept on a regular basis and leaves are cleared promptly at leaf fall (as opposed to being left to block drains and create mulch on the pavements).
Gatwick and Heathrow
Keep the flightpaths to both Gatwick and Heathrow (the Ockham stack) away from residential areas and oppose the development of a second runway at Gatwick and a third runway at Heathrow.
The Built Environment
Deliver a Local Plan which protects what makes our local area so special and which will provide housing that will allow our children to live in the area in whcih they grew up.
Oppose the conversion of high quality offices in Dorking into expensive residential accommodation which will not help solve the problem of the shortage of affordable housing for local people.
Parking
Introduce “fair” car park charges for residents and workers – ensuring that our car parks are utilised as much as possible with on-street parking being reduced.
Cycling
Balance the rights of residents, cyclists, horseriders and other road users – with regulation for sportives and investment in cycling infrastructure such as the Leith Hill mountain bike trail.
Traffic Speed
Introduce a 40mph speed limit on rural lanes (as opposed to the default national speed limit) with a policy of “20’s Plenty” outside schools and in residential areas where homes front onto roads without a pavement.
Quieter Surfaces After Road Resurfacing
Promote the use of quieter road surfaces when roads are “surface dressed” to improve the quality of life for residents who live nearby..
Flooding
Work with the County Council and the Environment Agency to introduce the necessary flood prevention measures in the Middle Mole area to prevent a recurrence of the flooding experienced over Christmas 2013.
Chalkpit Lane Crossing
Install a pedestrian crossing on Chalkpit Lane near Triangle Stores to create a safe walking route to St Martin’s school.
Hazel
Thanks for your continued excellent work that you carry out on behalf of mole valley residents.
Yesterday, my daughter who lives in Fairfield Drive Dorking commented on how much her four children – four year old son and triplet daughters of 20 months – enjoyed playing and riding in the closed off street for the whole of Sunday afternoon – The residents also had a street BBQ which lasted all afternoon.
Cars are a curse in Dorking and I would like to bring the following to your attention: –
1. London road is dangerous for pedestrians – narrow pavements and fast moving two way traffic in narrow road sections is an accident waiting to happen. Solution – make this road one way on the section after Fairfield drive and widen the pavements.
2. Rothes Road used as a cut through – during peak periods traffic use this as a fast cut through from the A24 to the high street to escape the queues up to the cockerel roundabout and into town – and those vehicles travel fast and then brake heavily at the narrow town end of Rothes road. They are not always successful because the road is only one vehicle width and they often meet vehicles coming the other way. Solution – traffic calming methods are required.
3. Pollution in the town centre is at a record unsafe high at peak periods – I have never seen low level ‘smog’ in Dorking until this year and the smell of vehicle emissions is pungent – Diesel vehicles in virtually standstill traffic are causing worrying levels of pollution on the High street, West Street (especially so, as it is narrow and hence poorly ventilated) and South street. Solution – make the centre of Dorking traffic free from St Martins walk on the high street to Head for the Hills in West street and Waitrose in South street. This would still give access to all carparks and superstores.
4. In an attempt to make Dorking a clean air town, what are the plans for electric vehicles. For example, I live in a road with street parking therefore how will I charge my electric vehicle?
Just back from holiday. Many thanks for your kind comments – yes we need to improve the air quality in Dorking and plans are being developed for electric car charging points and some already exist at the Station. I recognise more are needed.