TROD FOOTPATH
Update 28 November 2013
The footpath has now been constructed from Gayton Road, into Station Road as far as the Village Hall. Effectively, there is now a viable footpath, along Gayton Road, between the old Maids Head and the Village Hall. The stretch between the Village Hall towards the A47 will follow in due course of time.
Update 14 September 2013
WORK WILL COMMENCE ON THE TROD FOOTPATH IN STATION AND GAYTON ROADS
WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS
THE WORK WILL START IN GAYTON ROAD AND THEN PROCEED FROM THIS INTO STATION ROAD DOWN TO THE VILLAGE HALL
THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE FOOTPATH FROM THE VILLAGE HALL TOWARDS THE A47 WILL THEN FOLLOW
The following are the notes taken by the Clerk to the Parish Council at the public meeting to discuss the proposed TROD (footpath) along Station Road.
EAST WINCH & WEST BILNEY PARISH COUNCIL.
Parish meeting to discuss construction of a TROD and the introduction of a variable speed activated road sign - Thursday 18 July 2013.
The following notes were taken at the above meeting. Meeting opened at 7.30pm.
In attendance :- Chair Nell Steele, Mr A Wilson, Mr R Cox, Mr N Velzeboer.
Cllr J Moriarty, Clerk Mr R Pannell and 26 Parishioners
Highways Engineer Mr A Wallace.
1. The Chair welcomed everyone and outlined the purpose of the meeting.
2. Mr Wallace gave an explanation of a TROD and the advantages of having one. He then agreed to answer questions.
a) Why can't we have a proper footpath with kerb stones ?
The cost is estimated at £70,000 to £80,000 and under the current funding would take in excess of 10 years to provide (County Council have £2m / year for the whole of Norfolk)
b) Why can't the TROD be constructed all on one side of the road ?
It is not practical as there are obstructions which cannot be moved.
c) Why can't it go right round to the post office ?
It is a question of how much money is available and the Parish Council feel at this time it is not affordable. However, it may be possible to extend it into Gayton Road in the direction of Town Close to meet up with the existing footpath.
d) How wide is the proposed TROD and what size are the marker posts ?
It would be 1.2 mtrs wide set back from the road edge by approx. 1 mtr. The posts are 6 inches square and approx. a metre high and would have reflectors.
e) Who would maintain the TROD ?
County Council would undertake this duty.
f) Could we have road signs erected on the A47 junction saying "Not Suitable For HGV" and "Beware of Pedestrians" ?
Mr Wallace agreed to examine this and see what could be done.
Discussions having ended the Chair called for a show of hands to determine the outcome of the debate. The results were :-
For the implementation of constructing the TROD 22 Against 7
Parish Council will proceed with the implementation.
3. The use of the Variable Speed Awareness signs were outlined by Mr Wallace who indicated that experience of using these devices showed that they were the most effective method of vehicle speed reduction.
Locations for the device, which requires moving every month to an alternative site, were discussed. The Clerk indicated that agreement with the Highways Authority on the sites would be necessary. Three Parishioners agreed to be involved in the operation of the scheme, which would cover both the changing of sites and battery charging, should the scheme become operational.
The Chair then called for a show of hands which proved to be unanimous in supporting the scheme.
The Chair thanked the volunteers for agreeing to undertake the duties.
Parish Council will proceed with the implementation.
There being no other business the Chair thanked all for attending and closed the meeting at 8.46pm.
Clerk to the Counci
Mr R Pannell
21 Baldwin Road
King's Lynn
Norfolk PE30 4AL Tele - 01553 775724
09 August 2013.
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Webmasters notes following the public meeting of parishioners to discuss the proposed TROD. 19 July 2013.
At the meeting held at the village hall on Thursday 18th.July 2013, (see below), the local council Highways Officer described the TROD, its construction and siting along the verge at Station Road. Following 'Open Discussion', when questions about the plans were answered, a show of hands indicated that the majority of those present were in agreement with the plan to construct the TROD footpath.
At the same meeting it was also agreed that the Parish Council should purchase a Variable Speed Road sign. This sign is of the type that indicates the actual speed of an oncoming vehicle. The sign is portable and will be moved around various sites in the village that have been identified as being suitable.
Volunteers were required to arrange the regular re-siting of the sign and for the re-charging of the batteries that power it.
(Note that the Borough Council does have a small number of these signs which may be temporarily installed, but these do have to be moved on to other parishes. At East Winch the Parish Council intends to purchase its own sign so that it may be sited somewhere in the village at all times). 19/07/2013
________________________________________
EAST WINCH PARISH COUNCIL
INVITE YOU TO ATTEND A MEETING ON
THURSDAY 18 JULY 2013
IN THE VILLAGE HALL
COMMENCING AT 7.30PM
TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FOOTPATH ( TROD)
ALONG STATION ROAD
AND
THE PROPOSED SPEED REDUCTION SIGNS FOR THE VILLAGE
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT OCCASION AND THE
PARISH COUNCIL ASK YOU TO MAKE THE EFFORT TO ATTEND
Note that Mr Toby Coke - our County Councillor - and Mr Andy Wallace, Highways Engineer, will attend the meeting.
R Pannell (Clerk) 21 Baldwin RoadKing’s Lynn Norfolk PE30 4ALTele 01553 775724
The following is a letter sent by Mrs Steele, the Chairman of the Parish Council, to Toby Coke,our County Councillor, raising matters of concern with regard to Highways and inviting him to attend the meeting about the proposed footpath and 'Speed Signs' - see the notice above.
Dear Mr. Coke,
East Winch and West Bilney - traffic matters.
Firstly, I need to enlist your help to get something done about the A47, which cuts right through both villages.
The immediate problem is that the paint on the road has been worn out for 2 years, and now has virtually disappeared. Though the Parish Council has reported the need for a repaint several times, we are constantly fobbed off. The invisible signs should say "Slow"and "50" and are essential for the safety of the people of the village.
We are told that the footpaths along the A47 are the responsibility of the national highways agency, but they are not being well maintained. At the junctions of the A47 with Common Road and Gayton Road they are in a particularly dangerous state.
In West Bilney, the parapet of the bridge has been broken for years, and is festooned in hideous plastic tape. All we are told is that it isn't dangerous!
Many residents would really like to see the speed limit reduced to 40, and there are other villages along this trunk road where that is the case; Little Fransham, for example. But we are told that the police don't recommend it; that the purpose of a trunk road is to get traffic through quickly, and that there haven't been enough accidents to warrant a speed reduction. No matter that our old people can't use the bus service because they aren't spry enough to cross the road safely!
On a different matter, a public meeting is to be held at the village hall on 18th July at 7.30. The residents of Station Road, 90% of whom are senior citizens, have been campaigning for a footpath for years, because the road is used by many oversized agricultural vehicles and by the young workforce travelling to Adrian Flux. Not all drivers of either sort observe the 30 mph speed limit and residents don't feel safe.
The Parish Council has obtained a 75% grant from NCC to install a trod along the road, and a further grant towards the cost of a flashing light which tells the driver what speed he's doing. Residents concede that these measures will be better than nothing, but want more information and, I think, wish to put across their belief that a kerbed footpath would stand up to the onslaughts of large lorries and tractors better than a trod. Mr Wallace from NCC Highways is attending the meeting, and it would be helpful if you could be there too.
I look forward to hearing from you: can you do anything to help? Can you attend the meeting?
Yours sincerely,
Nell Steele, Chairman of East Winch Parish Council.
Below see a letter from the County Council, addressed to the Clerk of the Parish Council, Bob Pannell, regarding the availablity of funding for a footpath along Station Road.
Note however that at the Parish Council meeting on 1st July, some residents of Station Road expressed concerns and doubts that the planned 'TROD' type of footpath will not prove to be satisfactory and might be unsafe.
At the meeting it was pointed out by members of the Parish Council that the 'TROD' path, that was to be 75% funded by the County Council, was the only option on the table. There were no funds available to finance a hard surface path with kerbs. It was also noted that the need for a footpath along Station Road had been discussed many times over a number of years. To date no progress had been made - largely because no funds had been available. There was now presented a viable, funded, option.
The Parish Council have therefore decided to hold an extraordinary, open, meeting to allow parishoners to look more closely at what is planned and to express their views. Following this meeting the Parish Council will make a decision on whether to take the matter further or to abandon it.
The meeting would be arranged for as early a date as possible. It is hoped that a representative of Norfolk Highways Dept can be present to speak about the plan; there may therefore be a slight delay to allow arrangements for this to be made. When the date of the meeting is made known known it will be posted on this website.
(Note: All is now arranged - see the notice at the top of this page)
Below see the letter from the County Council to the Parish Council in response to a bid for a 'TROD' path on Station Road.
From: Girling, Linda
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:27 PM
To: Pannell, R G
Cc: Coke, Richard ; Wallace, Andrew
Subject: Delivering local highway improvements in partnership with Town
and Parish Councils 2013/14
Sent on Behalf of Paul Donnachie
Delivering local highway improvements in partnership with Town and Parish
Councils 2013/14
Dear Bob
We have assessed your bids and am pleased to say that East Winch Parish
Council have been successful in their bids and we will be fully funding
your bids for the reasons stated below. I will be sending you a letter
shortly with the full details of any conditions that may apply and
information as to payment of the 25% contribution due from yourselves less
any refunds due from complete schemes in the 2012/13.
Last December the County Council invited Town/Parish Councils to identify
and submit bids for highway improvement schemes, offering to support up to
half the cost of successful bids from a £100,000 fund, with Town/Parish
Councils contributing the balance. The intention was to ensure that
limited funds could be used to meet local needs, helping promote the
developing localism agenda. The offer was the same as that proposed the
previous year which resulted in 32 viable bids being supported.
In January, the County Council decided to increase the available funding
by a further £1,000,000 and, to help make the initiative even more
accessible to as many parish/town councils as possible, to support up to
75% of the cost.
The 30 April deadline was extended into May to accommodate some Parishes
who needed more time to assemble their bids. 179 bids have been received
and assessed for compliance with the funding criteria. The total value of
bids was around £3,000,000, meaning the available funding was well
oversubscribed.
After the work put into bids, with advice from our local Highway
Engineers, we wanted to support these as far as possible to help deliver
local priorities, so have agreed to take the following approach.
51 bids were for installation of low-energy LED lighting in streetlights
to help cut energy bills, maintenance, and carbon footprint. With a total
bid value of £1,200,000, rationing has been applied, we will support a
maximum of 30 streetlight installations for all bids received. This will
deliver some 1250 lamp replacements with annual associated energy savings
of 100,000 kwh equivalent to a carbon reduction of 50 tonnes.
30 bids were for Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) which flash up warnings to
drivers. After being assessed against road safety criteria, 12 bids will
be fully funded, 16 will be partly funded (ie will receive some of the
requested VAS), and 2 bids will not be supported. A further 15 bids for
mobile VAS (SAM2) will be fully funded. All viable bids will help support
road safety.
The above approach means that all the remaining, viable highway related
bids can be supported. This means that out of 179 bids, 129 can be fully
funded, 45 can be partly funded, and 5 have been rejected. This means
£1.7m worth of bids can be delivered, from the £3m worth of bids made. The
County Council will fund around £1.26m, with Parish/Town Councils funding
the remaining £440,000.
In delivering your scheme we will need to work together in partnership,
and to agreed conditions which will depend on the nature of your proposals
- for example, whether these are on or off highway and who will be
constructing them. We will send you a formal letter shortly setting out
the conditions and any associated requirements including payment.
Finally, I would like to thank you for the thought and effort you have put
into your submission, as well as for supporting this initiative and being
prepared to contribute funding towards it. I hope that through working in
partnership we can deliver a scheme that will benefit your local community
for many years to come.
Officers will be in contact with your Council shortly toward delivering
the scheme. Should you need any further information meantime, please
contact our Area Programme Engineer, Linda McDermott on 01603 228905 or
email her at: linda.mcdermott@norfolk.gov.uk