Apologies were received from Councillor Holden (who was substituted by Councillor Janice Howard) due to his involvement in presenting the call-in request.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

The Chair invited Councillors Daniel Holden and Hamish Badenoch to explain why they had requested a call-in on this matter.

Councillor Daniel Holden said that traffic had been a longstanding issue for local residents and ward councillors in Wimbledon Village and Hillside and that traffic calming measures in nearby roads had resulted in traffic diverting to Belvedere Drive and Belvedere Grove. He said that ward councillors had received lots of complaints about traffic volume, speed and noise. He urged the Cabinet Member to continue to look for an equitable solution to these problems, particularly given the amount of time and money that had already been devoted to this.

Councillor Hamish Badenoch added that the issue had been highly contentious and that local residents’ associations held differing views. He confirmed that the call-in request was not to ask for the experimental restrictions to remain but for the Cabinet Member to spend more time in consideration of alternatives such as a twenty mile per hour zone or “build outs” to deter traffic.

In response to questions from Panel members, Councillor Badenoch said that it was not his place to identify a preferred scheme but for officers to work on alternatives and to consider the impact of displacement from other traffic calming measures. He said that they did not support road closures. Councillor Holden added that the objective was to encourage through traffic to use main roads rather than residential streets.

The Chair invited representatives of residents’ associations and a local resident to address the meeting:

Hilary Lewis-Ruttley, Murray Road North Residents’ Association

Hilary Lewis-Ruttley said that the view of the Murray Road North Residents’ Association was that the experimental restrictions had not been successful and should not be repeated. She said that they have similar experiences in the Ridgway and therefore have sympathy for residents in the Belvederes but also believe that people living near the High Street should expect and accept a higher volume of traffic.

The Murray Road North Residents’ Association would like Belvedere Road and Belvedere Grove to be kept open because closure would make matters worse for other roads. Hilary Lewis-Ruttley urged the council to adopt a community contextual approach in discussion with businesses in Wimbledon Village to avoid restricting access to local businesses. She asked the council to consider measures such as a 20 MPH limit for the local area or for the whole borough, signage and other visible deterrence of the type seen in other village areas.

Susan Cusack, Belvedere Estate Residents’ Association

Susan Cusack said that the Belvedere Estate Residents’ Association agreed with the Cabinet Member’s decision to end the experimental measures and to not undertake further volume surveys or traffic assessments for two years unless related to personal injury accidents and trends; and with his intention to look at the introduction of a 20 MPH zone. She said that they agree that there should be a holistic approach to traffic management and consideration of parking for customers to support local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.