A23/M23 HOOLEY INTERCHANGE - Surrey County Council

Item 28SA23/M23 HOOLEY INTERCHANGESURREY COUNTY COUNCIL’S LOCALCOMMITTEE FOR REIGATE AND BANSTEAD3 NOVEMBER 2003KEY ISSUETo inform Members of proposals by the Highways Agency for the A23/M23 HooleyInterchange and seek the Committees support for one option.SUMMARYThe Highways Agency has recently prepared two options for the long awaitedA23/M23 Hooley Interchange. Alongside this some local residents have produceda third option, which the Highways Agency have developed and is included in theirpublic consultation.The public consultation process commenced with an exhbition of the optionstaking place in Hooley on 31 st October and 1 st November. The exhibition materialfrom this exhibition should be available for the Committee meeting.As the scheme is not being promoted by the County Council we will not have allthe details until the exhibition and therefore the schemes are not detailed in thisreport. However we are aware of the locations of the three options and officersconsider that one option is highly preferable over the other two.As part of preparations for the exhibition officers have heard comments fromseveral resident groups in the area and have become aware that there isconsiderable concern regarding high vehicle speeds on the A23 Brighton Roadbetween Dean Lane and Star LaneCommittee is recommended to support the introduction of the interchange and tosupport the south most option being consulted upon. Committee is alsorecommended to support the introduction of the toucan crossing and footway andcycleway, and that the Highways Agency address the problems of vehicle speedon the A23 north or Deans Lane.47

Item 28OFFICER RECOMMENDATIONSThe Committee is asked1. To instruct the Local Transportation Director to respond to the HighwaysAgency consultation on their behalf as follows:• To strongly support the provision of an interchange between the A23and M23 at Hooley• To strongly request that the scheme be constructed at the earliestopportunity and that it is not put aside again as has happenedpreviously• Top strongly support the southern option, detailing the reasons asoutlined in this report2. To suggest that:• The provision of the pedestrian and cycle crossing and route on thewest side of the A23 be progressed without reference to theinterchange delivery timescales.• That the issue of vehicle speed on the A23 north of Dean Lane beaddressed without reference to the interchange delivery timescales.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND1.1 The Highways Agency has at various times for many years been looking topromote the introduction of an all movements interchange between the A23 andM23 in the location of Hooley.1.2 This Committee has for some time been receiving verbal updates on this andother matters in the locality. Members may recall that in Autumn last year theHighway Agency announced funding for a number of highway improvementschemes on Trunk roads, one of which was the A23/M23 interchange.1.3 The provision of this interchange is seen as a very high priority by the CountyCouncil as it will provide easier access to the Motorways especially from theRehill area. This in turn will offer some relief to areas such as Reigate and A25routes east, which are at present the only routes feasible for most vehicles.1.4 At the time of writing Officers have not received full details of the three optionsbeing promoted at the exhibition. This report provides some general back groundbut the Local Transportation Director will give a detailed presentation at theCommittee.2 PREVIOUS SCHEME OPTIONS2.1 In 1995 the Highways Agency undertook a public consultation on options for theinterchange, of these the roundabout was seen as the only option to provide easymovement of the traffic between the two southern arms of the A23 and M23.However, there were concerns about the large size and capacity of this junctiontype.2.2 The scheme failed to proceed for unknown reasons although funding wasapparently a key factor.48

Item 284 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS4.1 There will be financial implications for the Highway Agency as there are varyingcosts for the schemes, however there is also likely to be a large variation inscheme benefits as well. It is hoped that figures from the public exhibition willenable the Local Transportation Director to inform the meeting of these costs.The County Council may incur some costs in changes to its highway dependingupon the final approved scheme. These are unidentifiable at present.5 CONCLUSION5.1 The scheme has been long awaited and any of the options would greatly improvethe ease of the movement between the two southern arms of the A23 and M23.There are benefits for all the schemes, however officers consider that thesouthern option most suitably deals with the purpose of the scheme and offersthe most benefit to road users and the local residents.5.2 The County recognise the issues of speed on the A23 north of Deans Lane andconsider that this should be dealt with as a separate issue without reference tothe provision of the interchange.5.3 The provision of the pedestrian and cycle crossing and route is stronglysupported and should also be progressed without reference to the provision ofthe interchange.Report by:Local Transportation DirectorLEAD/CONTACT OFFICER: PETER PHILLIPSTELEPHONE NO: 01737 737339BACKGROUND PAPERS: NONEVersion 2 15 January 200350