Residents Angry at Detours and Delays by Road-Works on One Tree Hill Road

Published on: 19 Dec, 2019
Updated on: 19 Dec, 2019

The road works had today (December 19) reached the junction of One Tree Hill Road and White Lane.

By Martin Giles

Disruptive roadworks on One Tree Hill Road, near St Martha’s Chapel, will now not be completed until after the Christmas holiday.

The lane has been closed for the duration of the work, forcing residents south of the works to make long detours to reach Guildford. Road-work traffic lights on the A281 by Shalford Park, where a wall has collapsed, and on the A3100 Portsmouth Road, has only added to their frustration.

Traffic queues on the Shalford Road to pass wall rubble obstacle by Shalford Park.

Local residents are angry with what they see as “a lack of detailed planning” by the gas company SGN and Surrey County Council’s highways department. The work, to replace aged gas mains, should have been completed tomorrow, December 20 but now work is to cease over Christmas, restarting in the new year.

Ian Durrans, chairman of the Tyting Society Residents Association, said: “Why are they carrying out such a major project in the winter which requires a four-mile detour to get the Guildford town centre along often busy and congested roads?

“How do they expect vital services such as carers to carry out their daily work, or children to get to school on time or the elderly to do their shopping to give just three examples of neighbours experiencing considerable significant disruption over an extended period?

“Did anyone consider this major disruption coupled with the significant damage to the verges in an area of outstanding beauty? Many of the verges have been severely damaged and the roads are now covered in mud. Surely the summer months would have been a more appropriate time of year to do the work?”

Map showing One Tree Hill Road which runs from Warren Road to Halfpenny Lane.

Mr Durrans is also critical about the small number of workers allocated to the work. He says they have not worked at weekends to get the job done more quickly.

“Why did the council not consult with the affected households?” he continued. “Other than those directly affected by the gas-pipe replacement I am not aware that any consultation has taken place and indeed my earlier email to a SCC councillor appears to have been ignored.

“Overall I am very surprised about the lack of planning and lack of consideration shown to many households in the area, not only those in the roads where the gas pipe is being replaced but the surrounding houses of which there are many.

“The residents in this area of Guildford are very unhappy with the situation.”

Cllr Matt Furniss

Matt Furniss the Conservative SCC cabinet member responsible for Highways, whose Shalford division lies near by, said he was unable to comment until a site review had been conducted and he was expecting that today (December 19).

But his county councillor colleague and fellow Conservative Mark Brett-Warburton, in whose South East Guildford division the work is being done, said: “When granting street works licences SCC always look to protect residents’ interests, striking a reasonable balance between the needs of the utilities company carrying out the works and the needs of the residents.

Cllr Mark Brett-Warburton

“In this case, the utilities firm is working within the period of their licence, which ends in mid-January 2020. My understanding is they will clear the works as much as possible and come back to finish the works after the holiday. Their objective is to not disrupt the residents with noise and activity over the Christmas period.“

Dan Brown a spokesperson for SGN (formerly Southern Gas Networks) commented: “We’ve been replacing our old gas mains and services with new plastic pipe in the One Tree Hill area to ensure a safe and reliable gas supply to Guildford homes and businesses.

“These essential network upgrades began in mid-November and were agreed after close consultation with Surrey County Council.

“We’ve needed to close sections of One Tree Hill and install temporary traffic lights at its junctions to ensure everyone’s safety around our work areas during this project.

“Our engineers have made great progress replacing our old pipes and are now preparing to clear the site ahead of the Christmas period, to help minimise disruption to the local community during this time. We expect to be able to safely reopen One Tree Hill by Tuesday 24 December.

“However, our compound and welfare area will remain in position at the junction of One Tree Hill and Little Warren Close while the site is unmanned. We will continue to monitor this site over the festive period.

“Engineering work will recommence on Monday, January 6. We’ll need to install temporary traffic lights at One Tree Hill’s junction with Downside Road for everyone’s safety around our site.

“We expect to complete all our work and clear our site by Friday, January 17.

“We distributed letters to residents affected by the closure and its diversion route on Thursday 14 November, explaining about our upcoming gas network upgrade project. We also installed advance warning signs in the area on Wednesday, November 6.

“We’d like to thank residents and road users for their continued patience and understanding while we carry out this essential work. We understand that people can get frustrated by roadworks.

“However, the new plastic pipe has a minimum lifespan of 80 years. This means that when our work in Guildford is complete, residents will continue to enjoy the benefits of safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come.”

This article for a short period, when initially published, stated that SGN had not responded. That was incorrect. We apologise.