The following question was submitted by Mr Danny Bamping and answered by The Lord Mayor, Councillor Mrs Beer:

Question: "Can PCC confirm that Councillor Mark Lowry made the decision to rename Sir John Hawkins Square to Jack Leslie Square on the 11th June 2020? If PCC claim that this is not the date, can the Council then confirm when Cllr Lowry actually made the decision and in what form?

Answer: The Council has made various public statements about its actions in relation to the renaming of the Square in June 2020. It would be inappropriate to make further statements about this matter pending the resolution of the ongoing court proceedings. The council will make a further statement following the conclusion of those proceedings.

The following question was submitted by Mr Gregg Black and answered by Councillor Jonathan Drean (Cabinet Member for Transport):

Question: "Residents of Efford and Lipson are concerned about the speed people drive on Efford Lane, Blandford Road and Pike Road. They are concerned that a major accident could happen. Has traffic calming similar to Leigham been considered for these roads and if not could it?

Answer: There are currently no plans to introduce traffic calming on the three roads in question although the junction with Pike Rd and Old Laira Rd are included in a proposed 20mph Zone on Old Laira Road currently under design.

Works on these schemes were regrettably impacted by COVID19, however works are now on track, we intend to consult on the scheme soon and complete this financial year. The scheme will also include a section of Efford Lane from its junction with Old Laira Rd to a point North of Western Drive. Speed Surveys have recently been undertaken on all of these roads and have shown that average speeds are well under 30mph with the highest being Blandford Rd at 27mph.  The three roads in question total approx. 3km in length and Police records indicate that there a have been 11 injury collisions on these roads in the last 5 years.  10 of the collisions classed as slight and 1 as serious which did not involve inappropriate speed. In only 2 cases was inappropriate speed cited as a contributory factor. A collision rate of 3.6 per kilometre on a residential distributor route with a low incidence of speed rated collisions would not usually warrant further investigation. 

By contrast, the length of Old Laira Rd currently being considered is 1200m long has 13 injury collisions reported by the Police in 5 years of which 5 were speed related, a rate of 10.8 per kilometre.

The following question was submitted by Chanine Flood and answered by Councillor Jonathan Drean (Cabinet Member for Transport):

Question: "There is an un-named road in Plymouth – behind the Life Centre and connecting Home Park to Outland Road. Can the Council confirm if they are planning to now re-adopt this important road in Plymouth, maintain it and give it a name – such as Mariners Way?

Answer: The Council will deal with the official street naming of this stretch of road, when requested to do so by developers as part of the redevelopment proposals of Home Park. There are a number of stakeholders who are likely to have an input into this matter; prospective developers and/or owners of Home Park, Plymouth Argyle Football Club and Friends of Central Park. There are ongoing discussions between planning officers and the relevant applicants with regards to the proposed redevelopment applications at Home Park and whilst currently there are no final details, it is agreed that this will include improvement to this important area of public realm. At this time, however there are no plans for this road to become adopted highway. Streets do not have to be adopted in order to be officially named, therefore even if the road remains un-adopted the Council’s street naming powers enable us to give it an official street name. The street naming and numbering process would usually be dealt with once planning permissions are approved and the developer submits a street naming and numbering application to the authority along with the appropriate fees for this service. There have already been a number of suggested names put forward to the Council, which will be considered if they comply with the street naming criteria as outlines in the Council’s street naming and numbering policy. The final decision about the street naming must be agreed by the Peverell Ward Councillors, who represent the electorate for this area.