MP sees why Bramber villagers have the hump

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert went to Bramber on Saturday (2 March) to hear local residents' concerns about damage to their properties caused by road humps in the village.

Mr Herbert was invited by local campaigner David Barling to meet residents in The Street who are asking for the road humps to be removed without further delay.  Vibrations caused by heavy vehicles driving over the humps are damaging nearby houses, including listed buildings.

Bramber's picturesque main Street includes St Mary's House, an historic 15th century Grade I listed timber-framed house.  The owner of St Mary's, Peter Thorogood, threatened to sit in the road to protest against the installation of the road humps in 1993, saying that the protection of a building of national importance had been ignored.

West Sussex County Council have finally agreed to remove two out of the three humps, but one resident, living in a Grade II listed cottage adjacent to the third speed hump, has already experienced significant damage to her home.  Susan Neufeld, the owner of the 500 year-old Yew Tree Cottage, is angry that the hump outside her home will not be removed because the highways department says it is fit for purpose in calming the traffic.  

The speed humps have been in place for over 20 years to act as a traffic calming measure, and to deter drivers from using The Street as a rat-run to avoid the Steyning by-pass.  However, residents believe that since the village now has 20 mph signs the road humps are redundant.

After much consultation between residents, the Parish Council and the County Council, including discussions with the local Highways department, it has been agreed that two of the three humps will be re-faced in a new programme of works.   However, that programme is a low priority while the County Council addresses other works.  The timetable for this is expected to be 2014/15.

After meeting local residents with Mr Barling and seeing the damage caused to their properties, Mr Herbert agreed to write to West Sussex County Council to ask them to reconsider their decision and remove all of the road humps in The Street as soon as possible.

Ends

Notes for Editors

1. For further information about St Mary's House, Bramber, visit http://www.stmarysbramber.co.uk.