'Knock the steps down to improve the traffic'

By lbishop

A relic of an old railway station in Leatherhead should be knocked down for a new lane of traffic, according to a residents' association.

The chairman of the Leatherhead Residents' Association, Hubert Carr, believes that traffic problems in the Station Approach area of Leatherhead could be alleviated if an old staircase on the road was knocked down.

The staircase dates from when the town had two stations – but these were amalgamated back in the 1920s.

Mr Carr said: "Where the traffic builds up is on the left turn into Randalls Road, which is the most important single obstruction.

"Traffic can back all the way into Waterway Road, back towards Fetcham.

"Getting that staircase out of the way would free up the whole entrance into Leatherhead from Cobham and Bookham."

Caroline Brown, of Oaks Close, is also a member of the association and added: "It would be much better if we had three lanes. The only reason we don't have three lanes is because of the staircase.

"A third lane would siphon off people who wanted to go down Randalls Road towards Cobham. At the moment they have to wait in a queue with everyone else."

According to Mr Carr, Surrey County Council has said it would do something about the staircase for the past 10 years.

But despite being covered in scaffolding and green safety netting, the county council currently has no plans for getting rid of it.

A spokesman for the county council said: "The removal of the steps has been looked into but it was estimated the cost would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"Because the cost would be so high it is unlikely the steps will be removed in the near future."

Mr Carr, a highways and civil engineer, is now thinking of taking the unusual step of asking the council for permission to knock it down himself.

He said: "I have been in touch with a contractor and we have discussed how it could be done."

He added: "When we have done that then we will put it before Surrey County Council."