Decluttering the Surrey Hills
One of the key threats to the Surrey Hills is the impact of clutter on country lanes. This is often to do with the state and condition of roadside furniture, particularly signs, as well as the number of signs. Over the past 7 years, the Surrey Hills partnership has worked with colleagues in Surrey County Council on a range of related activities which were aimed at promoting and reinforcing the rural character of country lanes, including:
- the provision of boundary markers
- the use of oak posts to replace plastic verge posts
- Surrey Hills style directional posts
- Village gateway signs
- Various rural traffic management initiatives, including “Quiet Lane” measures at Chapel Lane, Blackheath, Hambledon.
A lot of the activities were supported through research with the University of Surrey which looked at influencing driving behaviour and in 2006 the best practice was collated into a publication entitled “Country Lanes in the Surrey Hills” (click here to download the publication).
The Decluttering the Surrey Hills Highway Working Group is currently developing a definition of clutter; looking at the routing of HGVs and looking at the specification and maintenance regimes for Surrey Hills signs and other highway furniture.
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"The aim of the Working Group is to promote and reinforce the rural character of country lanes in the Surrey Hills through sensitive design and measures. It creates an environment that is more attractive and helps to encourage a safer and more considerate approach to driving in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”
Lynne Hack, Chairman of the Decluttering the Surrey Hills Working Group.
Members of the Decluttering the Surrey Hills Working Group
Chairman - Dr Lynne Hack, Surrey County Council and Surrey Hills Board
Support Officer - Gail Sperrin, Working Group Coordinator
- Dave Symonds, Landscape Officer, SCC
- Rob Fairbanks, Surrey Hills AONB Director
- Tim Harrold, CPRE Surrey Vice President and Surrey Hills Board
- Nick Morris, Wonersh Parish Council
- Bahram Assadi, Surrey County Council Highways
- Liz Cutter, SCAPTC Vice Chairman
- Peter Hitchings, Transport Strategy SCC
- Clive Batchelor, Senior Engineer, Transport Strategy, SCC
- John Hilder, Surrey County Council
For further information on the Decluttering the Surrey Hills Working Group, please contact Gail Sperrin, Working Group Coordinator on 01372 220 651 or email gail.sperrin@surreyhills.org.