Council Responds to Tunsgate Lock In Incident

Published on: 20 Sep, 2018
Updated on: 22 Sep, 2018

Anthony and Clare Cox’s trapped car by the Tunsgate barrier on Tuesday. In the background, a Guildford Ranger can be seen on her phone.

It took only 30 minutes to unlock the Tunsgate barrier once Guildford Borough Council officers were alerted to the problem of an elderly couple, blue badge holders, having their car locked in when the barrier, preventing vehicle movement in or out, was locked at 11am on Tuesday (September 18, 2018), according to a statement from GBC Deputy Leader Matt Furniss.

But this is disputed by a witness to the incident Ben Darnton, shopkeeper of Ben’s Records. He said: “No way! The warden knew about it straight away and complained that it was the fifth time that a vehicle had been locked in Tunsgate by the barrier. The gate was not opened until 2.30pm.”

Anthony Cox responded to the claim this afternoon saying: “This is simply not true.”

Cllr Matt Furniss

Cllr Furniss (Con, Christchurch), the lead councillor for infrastructure and governance at GBC and a county councillor for Shalford, did apologise to the couple and undertook to work with work with Surrey County Council to, “…ensure we reduce the time taken to raise the barrier in emergencies”.

He said: “Recent improvements to revive and enhance the Tunsgate area included making the historic quarter a pedestrianised zone. This has created a safe and vibrant environment for high-quality retail and independents to thrive and encourage more visitors and shoppers.

The sign at the Tunsgate entrance.

“New signage has been put in place to ensure the public are aware that the area is pedestrianised and the barrier remains closed during the prescribed times of day. We apologise that in this case the residents were unaware that the area was now pedestrianised and that their car was locked within the quarter.

“As always the safety of our residents is a priority and we acted as quickly as was possible to help the couple who had parked and been locked into Tunsgate yesterday. It was 30 minutes from officers being alerted to the situation to the barrier being raised. It was necessary to obtain permission from Surrey County Council to raise the barrier as they are responsible for the highways in the borough and this took longer than anticipated.

“To ensure this situation does not happen again we will work with the county council to ensure we reduce the time taken to raise the barrier in emergencies.”

No comment has been received from Cllr Graham Ellwood (Con, Merrow) to whom Mr and Mrs Cox reported the incident as their local councillor.

Anthony and Clare Cox

Speaking to The Dragon this afternoon, Anthony Cox said: “This [the claim that GBC unlocked the gates 30 minutes after they were informed] is simply not true. Phone and photo records could show what happened and who was contacted when.”

“I spoke to both GBC and SCC officers on different occasions. The first time I spoke to them was at about 1130.

“The 30 minute claim cannot be true. The Ranger had to call again an hour after her first call.”

Responses to Council Responds to Tunsgate Lock In Incident

Adam Aaronson Reply

September 20, 2018 at 2:30 pm

Why not equip Guildford Rangers with the key to the barrier and give them discretion to open the barrier where necessary?
Bernard Parke Reply

September 20, 2018 at 3:20 pm

The sign states “no vehicles” but one could assume that this could be read to be between 1am and 11am.
John Ferns Reply

September 20, 2018 at 4:56 pm

The update should be a wake-up call to Cllr Furniss if ever his aspirations for further political advancement are achieved. Cllr Ellwood’s response still awaited. Enough said.
Paul Robinson Reply

September 20, 2018 at 8:39 pm

Why do they need to contact the SCC to get a single car out? The barrier will be open for less than a minute. All it needs is common sense.

Perhaps Cllr Furniss can answer that?
A Tatlow Reply

September 21, 2018 at 7:22 pm

What happens if there is a fire?
Bernard Parke Reply

September 21, 2018 at 7:31 pm

A good point, or indeed if an ambulance is needed..
- Wayne Smith Reply
  
  September 21, 2018 at 8:05 pm
  
  I raised the same question regarding the proposal of a barrier closing Walnut Tree Close. The council response was that the Emergency services would have a key or know the code for a combination lock.
  
  Only partly tongue in cheek – I wonder if they would also have to get permission from Surrey County Council before unlocking the barrier?
  
  As others have stated, common sense has been proven to be sadly lacking in this fiasco.
Keith Parkins Reply

September 21, 2018 at 10:41 pm

Who do we believe, a councillor who was not there or Ben Darnton who was witness to what was happening?

I go with Ben.

Cllr Furniss is supposed to be the lead councillor for governance. Really? You could not make this up if you tried, it is like a Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch.

Guildford jobsworth opens gate, but Guildford jobsworth cannot open gate until Surrey jobsworth agrees it is ok to open the gate.

This would do justice to a novel by Franz Kafka.
Olivia Pattullo Reply

September 22, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Just to be clear: Guildford Town Ranger is on the phone, making one of many calls to various authorities to try and help find a resolution to the situation.
- Paul Robinson Reply
  
  September 24, 2018 at 4:14 pm
  
  For goodness sake, not the words I want to use, it was one car. I can possibly see the need to contact SCC if it was 50 vehicles that may cause traffic congestion but it was one car that needed to be let out in less than a minute.