ePetition details

Burnham Lane & Station Road traffic project

We the undersigned petition the council to reverse the implementation of the current proposal from its Transport Team to implement an "Experimental" road closure to all motor vehicle traffic through the Burnham Station Bridge; without trying alternative road traffic calming measures first; ideally using width restrictions; improved signalling and realistic improvements to bus stops nearby. We also request full consultation with local residents and local businesses to be carried out first

This project is ill conceived in terms it being SMART in its objectives. Officers have applied for funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership to deliver the improvements across two stations, Burnham & Langley.yet they have not talked to the wider community about the project, time frames, noise from works, mess inconvenience or the actual impact on travel flows around and off the proposed routes.

Officers have not used best practice principles in fostering support from the community to deliver those SMART objectives and there has been no involvement of them shaping the scheme from the blank paper stage. SMART community planning tools such as "planning for real" have been ignored.

Businesses along the "Project Route" have been ignored for opinion and are worried about the impact of these changes on the overall viability of their businesses.

The idea of closing the under pass of Burnham Station Bridge is preposterous and it will mean that Haymill, Burnham and Lynch Hill will have only two entry points by car for approximately 5000 homes from the A4 and M4. The nearest points of entry being Huntercombe lane North and Dover Road Bridge two already heavily congested points serving two of Sloughs busiest cross roads.

We feel there has been little modeling of the impact from the strain caused by this project which is just pushing away of traffic problem to another area of north west slough without any thought to more strategic resolution such as partnering with neighboring LA's to have joint park and ride schemes

The timing is poor because implementation is happening in the school holidays which will give a false picture of congestion levels once everyone is back to work will thereby slowing down any changing orders in a timely manner.

There are some elements of the scheme which are OK but because they sit within a totally unacceptable change must be looked at in the same light.

This is a once in a generation for an opportunity for SBC to engage with the community to put in a real step change in traffic and pedestrian travel at and around this station. It needs to stop and re-evaluate this point or it will fail without the backing of the residents and businesses of Haymill & Lynch Hill. Residents will not be done unto.


This ePetition ran from 10/08/2015 to 30/09/2015 and has now finished.

118 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

I would like to respond to the petition submitted on 7th September, 2015 with regard to the proposed Station Road closure. As may be known by now, the scheme has been through a scrutiny panel and has been subject to a report to the councils Cabinet. The outturn from the Cabinet meeting was to direct council officers to proceed with the closure for Station Road.

To help to better understand the process the council has followed, I will explain how officers have recommended the closure. Firstly, a modelling report was completed in 2014 but was not conclusive as to which option was the best, all options had an impact. Officers discussed the implications at a working group and also with members and it was agreed that some of the options be trialled, this was captured in a significant decision report. The scheme proposal for Station Road is to close the road under the bridge so that officers can evaluate the actual impact on the road network rather than rely on modelling reports. The reason for the scheme is to address the congestion issues on Burnham Lane and around the station as well as improve access to the station. The closure will also help the council understand whether future development opportunities are viable so before the council commits to the final scheme, it needs to be sure which option works well, once this has been determined the design will be completed and included in a tender.

There has been some misinformation about what the council is actually proposing so for clarity, I can confirm that the entire scheme will include the following changes:
• Closure of Station Road except for pedestrian and cycle access
• Changing Burnham Lane to southbound but still maintaining access from the A4 to residents
• Alterations to the traffic signals along the A4 between Dover Road and Huntercombe Lane North
• Moving of the bus stops from Burnham Lane to outside the station
• Parking restrictions on Burnham Lane and Littlebrook Avenue

The permanent scheme will look at also the following:
• A new parking area for commuters
• Upgrades to the station car park
• New ticket hall
• Access to all the platforms at Burnham Station
• New zebra crossings on Burnham Lane
• Upgrades to the 5 points junction
• Improvements to drainage to reduce any existing flooding

The petition referred to alternate options being considered first; such as width restrictions, improved signalling and improvements to bus stops. Some of these options suggested are already incorporated into the experiment or will feature in the final scheme. We are not proposing to implement this scheme to stop bridge strikes though this does reduce incidents there is no business case to make this change on our network.

In terms of the consultation process it is clear that residents feel we have not consulted them. Experimental traffic orders do not require pre-implementation consultation but the consultation process will start as soon as the experimental scheme is implemented. The total period for the experimental process is 18 months, the first 6 months is used for consultation/feedback and the remaining 12 months affords the council time to make a decision. The consultation and the decision period do not have to extend to the full timescales and so the council can make a decision sooner if possible.

However, we are keen to engage with all those who live, work or pass through this area, to understand what the issues are once the scheme is in place and therefore we will be undertaking a leaflet drop to affected residents when a firm date for the closure has been agreed.

I hope this information is of some help to enable a better understanding of the process officers have followed, for any further questions please let me know.