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Welcomes Road Closure Update

The remaining schedule of work associated with 10 WR is as follows:

Tuesday 18th January (08.00 to 22.00) – Line 115m x 225mm sewer from outside 10 Welcomes Road to a point beyond No 2 Welcomes Road (Access for Nos 2 to 8 will be via the Kenley Lane End) Note extended closure time.

Wednesday 19th January (16.30 – 06.30) – Line 32m x 225mm sewer from the Junction of Welcomes Road / Kenley Lane to a MH in Valley Road. (No access to Kenley Lane for the duration of our works). Note this is overnight work.

Thursday 20th January (08.00 – 16.00) – Possible minor finishing off but this is unlikely to be necessary

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HGV Movements ongoing to mid February

Please continue to avoid using the lower part of Welcomes Road after 20th January, when the above road works are completed, as it will then be very busy with HGV muckaway traffic moving earth from No 42 WR. The routing for the trucks is via the Kenley Lane entrance to Welcomes Road and the contractors are Sivyer, www.hsivyer.com. If you see their trucks anywhere else on our road network, which includes Zig Zag and Uplands Roads, please report this to WURA using welcomesanduplandsroads@gmail.com as we require payment from the developers for the extra loading. Including photographs of the offending vehicles would be helpful, with a note of the date and time.

The task to remove 2000m3 from the site at 42WR  will involve around 170 trips by 32ton trucks x 8 loads each working day ending roughly mid February 2022. This means 16 muckaway truck movements (round trips) a day.

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A message from the Chairman for 2022

Richard Russell, our Secretary, has for many years stoically borne the brunt of the work associated with the Council planners and developers and it is acknowledged that (not wishing to belittle input from other Committee members) without him WURA would not be the recognised ‘street manager’ it is. He will be retiring after the next AGM in May/June 2022 leaving a massive hole in WURA – a hard act to follow and I’m sure every resident would join me in recognising his dedication and massively thanking him.

He has accepted a one day a week part-time post of a consultant enabling myself and the others to use his expertise and knowledge when required whilst keeping himself ‘remote’ from the daily demands of email traffic.

With Richard’s departure we need volunteers from Welcomes and Uplands Roads to fill spaces on the WURA committee to ensure that there is succession. If you are interested do please contact any member of the Committee. You can join a Committee meeting to see if the role is for you before you make up your mind finally. The next meeting will take place at some time in the New Year prior to the AGM.

The result of all this is that the Road Committee remit has to be considerably reduced, dealing only with core road matters and funding. This means residents will have to handle more issues themselves than was the case before. The website now contains a page of reference information specifically for residents, including a list of useful contacts.

With the retirement of our Secretary after the 2022 AGM and in the absence of a replacement, in spite of efforts to find one, the Committee will only be dealing with core road issues after March 2022. All emails will be assessed by the Chairman and where relevant will be discussed with Richard in his new capacity and relevant road representatives. Please see the ‘about WURA’ page for details of the Committee’s focus.

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Welcomes Road Closure from 4th Jan

Welcomes Road will be shut for 3 weeks (15 working days) between 8am and 4pm each day from 4th January 2022 for road works necessitated by the need to lay a new LV cable from Kenley Lane to the development at 10 Welcomes Road.

The excavation work, which is being done by the developers/builders themselves, will entail laying short stretches of conduit each day and then backfilling the resulting trench before 16:00hrs each evening. The road will then be open for vehicular traffic overnight until 08:00hrs in the morning when work will begin again until 16:00hrs. Pedestrians will be able to pass the road works at any time of day or night.

The developers, who are managing the civil works required to install the cable conduit, will arrange for appropriate traffic diversion signage to be put in place but there will be a route for pedestrians to pass the road works. 

Vehicular access to houses south of No 10 will be achieved by using Park Road or Hayes Lane to access Abbots Lane and entering Uplands Road from there.

Every effort will be made to complete the civil works as quickly as possible and in less than 3 weeks. It is not clear when exactly UKPN will pull the power cable through the conduit but we hope within the 3 week period.

UKPN have advised that there may also be the need for a power outage at a limited number of properties:

“With this kind of HV shutdown, we would be looking at around half a day with the power out for the customers that are fed from this substation, the field engineer would have to do a pre inspection of the network for the shutdown and then have to get the network back in line when it is switched back on. Unfortunately there is no other way of identifying the cable we need to connect to without excavating all the way back to the substation itself, and this is not a viable option. All residents that will be affected are usually notified by letter drop.”

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Construction Traffic – 4th November onwards

Please try to avoid using the lower section of Welcomes Road for the time being. There will be about 5 lorries a day visiting this construction site most clearing away spoil but some delivering building materials. They will also be pumping concrete.and building the first foundations of the new houses. They have been asked to confine operations to between 9 am and 3 pm to avoid the ‘rush’ hours.

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Resurfacing complete

After successfully completing the preparatory works, the road was resurfaced for about the first 180m down from Hayes Lane on Wednesday 15th September after a delay in delivering the SMA caused by the Insulate Britain protestors. Delivery of the tarmac was unimpeded by demos on Thursday and the work progressed well. The 40mm depth of SMA should be good for many years.

The new speed ramp between Maryhill Close and Simone Drive is also now installed and the line markings complete.

Many thanks for your patience while the work was being done. The London Surfacing Company asked us to pass on thanks for being ‘courteous and understanding’.

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Community Infrastructure Levy

WURA have received these letters (PDF file) from our MP and the Minister of State for Housing about the use of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds to upgrade private roads and in the case of Welcomes Road, a designated footpath which needs to be made safer for walkers.

Although millions of pounds in CIL is being collected by Croydon Council in respect of developments fronting Welcomes Road, the Kenley Transport Study, though recognising problems with Welcomes Road and the safety of pedestrians, shows that nothing is earmarked to be spent on the road by the Council.

The letter from the Minister suggests that CIL can be spent on footpaths and the matter will be taken up with the Council particularly as funds should have been set aside from the development at No 10 for this purpose.

For reference, the final report from the Kenley Intensification Zone Transport Study from February 2020 can be viewed here (PDF file).

We will be including a reference to paragraph 3 of the Minister’s letter in future objections to inappropriate development applications in the WURA area.

Secretary

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Sept 13th – 20th : Road Works : Hayes Lane to Uplands Road

At our last pre Covid AGM a member suggested that we ‘get on with resurfacing the (Welcomes) Road instead of just talking about it’. Having received quotes from Swift Surfacing, TTS Surfacing and London Surfacing Co Ltd. The latter company came with an informal ‘introduction’ from the Council Highways Dept. We met the various personnel from each of these companies and the result was that we felt we could work best with the road engineer (Chris) from London Surfacing Co. Ltd. Each quote was similar in terms of price. Anyway we are now ‘getting on with it’ by making a start with resurfacing the section of Welcomes Road from Hayes Lane to Uplands Road (Phase 1). Phase 2 will cover Uplands to Zig Zag Road (2022) and Phase 3 from Zig Zag to Kenley Lane when construction traffic has tailed off.

To be clear : the road will be closed at the Uplands Road junction on the south side and at the Hayes Lane end near the white posts. Traffic from the Welcomes Road from the north (lower end) will be able to turn right into Uplands Road.

Specification : The intention is to apply an overlay of 40mm of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) after regulating the existing surface and re-profiling one speed ramp and installing a drain pipe by the top ramp near Hayes Lane. The works include a 12 months guarantee.

The impending works will commence on Monday 13th September 2021 for 5 days as follows, with working hours from 9am to 5pm :

Monday 13th
NO PARKING ON ROAD
Set up site and start the following prep works, Adjust iron work and install drainage pipes. Cut joints at all tie in points.
Road open but with traffic management.

Tuesday 14th
Preparatory works
Road open but with traffic management

Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th
Start resurfacing works from Hayes Lane working towards Uplands Road laying in 3 stages over this period.
ROAD WILL BE CLOSED WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY WITH SOME ACCESS AFTER 5 PM.

Monday 20th September
Install new speed ramp between Maryhill Close and Simone Drive near telegraph pole. Carry out line marking.
Road open but with traffic management.

IMPORTANT

Members fronting Welcomes Road between Uplands Road and Hayes Lane will need to bear in mind that the contractors need to be allowed to get on with their work uninterrupted. When the overlay is being applied it is vital to keep away from moving machinery. Walkers should be able to find a way round the road works but are encouraged to keep away from the site. If you need to use your car please park it on Uplands Road considerately but do not park near the junction with Welcomes Road as this area will be set aside for the contractors plant and machinery. The postman will need to walk to houses having parked in Uplands Road and other deliveries avoided that week unless essential.

If you have space on your drive for an extra car please let me know  in case any of the  people who will lose access to their own drives from Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th could use it. Otherwise parking will need to be in Uplands Road or other public roads nearby. The section of Uplands Road leading to the junction with Welcomes Road will be reserved for the contractor’s plant and machinery.

SMA curing time 24 hours. No HGV traffic during this period.
Monday is, of course, a refuse collection day for food waste and plastic. This should take place before 9am when the contractor starts work each day.

Site Manager: Chris Stylianou Mobile 07808 318328. Please approach Chris if you need help.
Other contact Nos. Colin Brown 020 8668 2101, Richard Russell 07563 723809 and 020 8668 7293.

PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE THE WORK PROCEEDS.
Working in Welcomes Road is never easy and your patience will be appreciated

MANY THANKS.