Nutley Lane to get Home Zone revamp

9:37am Monday 19th May 2003

Innovative plans to improve the streetscape of historic Nutley Lane in Reigate by turning it into Surrey's first Home Zone in Reigate received an enthusiastic response from hundreds of local people who attended the event.

The £447,000 scheme, managed in partnership by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council, was given the go ahead after a successful bid for a grant from the Department for Transport.

Following the successful exhibition which ran from May 8 to 10 open to people living and working in the area surrounding Nutley Lane work is expected to begin at the end of the summer.

The design promises to recapture the ambience of the lane from days gone by while improving the look and feel of the area.

By changing the way the public highway is used, it aims to improve the residential quality of the street, by reducing the impact of traffic.

Home Zones were successfully piloted in Holland and are being heavily promoted by the government.

The Department for Transport ran a competition for local authorities and the Nutley Home Zone project was one of just 61 bids selected from 258 submitted.

Councillor John Lyndon Morgan, the executive member for transport and planning, said: "We were delighted to win the government grant and to have the opportunity to build the first home zone in the county.

"Since then we have been working closely with local residents to provide a Home Zone to benefit the whole community. We got an excellent response from residents who visited the exhibition, which is very gratifying."

The project involves resurfacing, creating new communal areas for people to relax with neighbours, and helping other road users.

Options the Councils are looking at include new trees and other soft landscaping, as well as putting in posts and other measures to slow down motorists who currently use the road as a rat-run.

There are also plans to re-arrange the road area in front of Nutley Court to provide an attractive feature with trees, bushes and a bench.