Lindfield Pond Roadside Wooden Posts Update

Published: 27 September 2024

Since late May one of the white wooden posts has been missing from the roadside section of the posts and railings by Lindfield Pond. This post and railings are the responsibility of West Sussex County Council. Lindfield Parish Council (LPC) is extremely disappointed to advise that WSCC have declined to repair and maintain the posts citing financial restrictions. WSCC’s apparent approach is to allow the posts to rot away with no replacement. LPC believes the posts and railings are a safety feature and not just a decorative feature. We reached this conclusion because of the lack of alternative footpath on the other side of the road and of the proximity of traffic to pedestrians including children walking to the nearby school and the common. Cllr Blunden LPC Chair stated that: ‘I am personally extremely disappointed at WSCC’s decision not to repair and replace the posts and railings roadside of the pavement by Lindfield Pond. Not only are these posts and railings a historic feature they are also a very important safety barrier.’

LPC wrote to a Senior WSCC Highways officer, our WSCC Ward Members (Cllr Garry Wall) and the WSCC Cabinet Member for Highways (Cllr Joy Dennis) asking that their position be reconsidered. Lindfield WSCC Ward Member Cllr Wall has stated he understands and fully supports LPC’s position that the damaged posts and ironwork adjacent to the roadway should be repaired or replaced. In late August we received the following reply from the WSCC Cabinet Member for Highways:

‘I would completely agree with your sentiment regarding the white posts and bollards being an integral part of the street scene.  However, my officers’ view is that the only section required for safety purposes is that protecting pedestrians from inadvertently falling into the pond.  We will continue to maintain that section.  As the highway authority we are tasked with maintaining fencing required to mitigate highway risks, or that is in place to meet highway design requirements.  Even where these requirements are met, a surplus of requests end up falling into subsequent financial years due to budget constraints.  In order to address this we have, over the last couple of years, unfortunately had similar conversations with parishes and members of the public across the county, where damaged fencing serving no obvious safety purposes has not been replaced when damaged.  Whilst I appreciate in some circumstances historically the County Council has maintained these assets the demand to undertake such work county wide far exceeds the resources available to do so and as such some difficult decisions have had to be made.

Whilst I note the concern around protecting pedestrians from walking into the road, I would point out that the fencing ends immediately south and north of the pond and hence there is no protection in these areas.  Officers don’t consider there to be any additional risk associated with the pond that would make it more likely of someone moving into the road.  There is no precedent for providing a barrier between a footway and the road and this example is an exception. In this instance the fencing would not provide any crash protection should a vehicle leave the road in this location, and I am not aware of similar arrangements at other ponds around the county.’

LPC will continue to lobby WSCC to maintain and replace the posts. LPC does not have available funds to replace the missing and failing posts in its current budget as it does not budget to maintain other authority's assets. If it were to take on the responsibility for the posts in the future this would have a significant impact on the level of our council tax charge in subsequent years. We understand that the cost of a complete replacement would be in the region of £30-40k. This reflects traffic management, removal and replacement of 41 oak posts & 87 meters of metal railings and decorating.

We would like to hear from residents on your thoughts regarding this issue. Would you support the LPC raising its council tax to replace and maintain the roadside posts & railings? Would you be willing to contribute towards a crowdfunding campaign? Alternatively, do you support the WSCC approach to let the posts deteriorate without a replacement? We are mindful of arguments both for and against, including the precedent that this potentially sets. LPC is not in the position to routinely take on the responsibility for other local authority's assets. Comments can be sent to feedback@lindfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk 

West Sussex County Council can be contacted using the following online form.