NEWBURGH NEWS SPECIAL NOVEMBER 2006
When the Parish Plan was prepared, the issue of greatest concern to residents was the improvement of pedestrian safety. Proposals were made by a residents’ working group and subsequently published in the Parish Plan.
The Parish Council adopted the Plan and has worked with the relevant agencies in Lancashire to try to translate the proposals into action.
The attached interim report summarises the progress to date. Some of the responses to our proposals are in the form of data explaining what governs the allocation of resources for making improvements. We welcome the provision of this data – most of it provided to us for the first time – even though it means some of our aspirations cannot be met. It at least explains the reasons and helps us re-direct our efforts to actions where we may be able to make changes.
The speed of traffic speed through Newburgh is a major concern of residents. Following discussion with Lancashire Constabulary, the Parish Council is considering the purchase of a Speed Indicator Device (SPID) of the type seen occasionally in Cobbs Brow Lane. This could then be deployed in rotation at various locations around the village.
The options open to us are: to continue having very occasional use of the device supplied by Lancashire Police (it has to be shared with 10 villages); to share a device with neighbouring parishes (reducing costs but presenting some logistical problems); or to buy our own. The recommendation of the Parish Council is for the latter.
The SPID will need to be financed by a small addition to the Community Tax for each Newburgh household. It is estimated that this will amount to about 50 pence per month for each household in the year 2007-2008. This is a one-off payment, with the Community Tax subsequently bearing the running costs of the SPID.
A problem that remains to be solved is the regular (probably weekly) movement of the SPID around the village. It needs to be lifted on to a lamp-post plate in order to be displayed. At this stage the Parish Council is seeking volunteers to help with this process.
The Parish Council will make its final decision on the purchase of a SPID at its meeting on Wed 6 December, starting at 7.00pm in Newburgh School. We hope to have the device available for inspection and would like to invite residents to attend the meeting. If you are able to help with the movement of the SPID, please contact Brian Howard (Tel 462423) or come along and discuss the possibility at the meeting.
That meeting will also be an opportunity for residents to raise any points arising from the attached report. We look forward to seeing residents at the meeting
on 6 December.
Issued by Brian Howard, Clerk of Newburgh Parish Council, Tel 01257 462423
In both the Newburgh Appraisal in 1999-2000 and in the Parish Plan completed in 2003, residents identified pedestrian safety – particularly on and around the A5209 – as a key issue of concern. Associated issues are frequently raised with Newburgh Parish Council.
The Parish Plan focused on four areas of concern:
The Parish Council has lobbied various agencies to try and make progress on these issues. We have made presentations to West Lancashire District Council, the West Lancashire Local Strategic Partnership and Lancashire Constabulary (who visited the village).
The main agency responsible for reviewing highways matters arising from Parish Plans is, however, Lancashire County Council (LCC).
The Parish Council sent our recommendations on the above areas of concern to Lancashire Country Council in June 2005. A response was received in March 2006 and the Parish Council subsequently made further comments. The LCC response to these is awaited.
The debate on possible actions is, therefore, a continuing one. In the meantime the Parish Council has decided to publish this report to residents on progress to date.
It should be noted that some of the responses from LCC are in the form of data (eg on accidents in the village) which have to be set against its criteria for allocating resources for road safety improvements. This can mean Newburgh does not qualify for funding, simply because we do not meet the criteria. The Parish Council welcomes the data as a means of explaining why actions cannot be taken, while at the same time sharing residents’ frustration that no action may be possible.
The Parish Plan argued that sections of pavement were too narrow and dangerous when heavy lorries pass. Pavements are also discontinuous. We asked for pavement extensions and additional protected crossings.
LCC has examined the pavements and the discontinuities. This is the response:
“The problem is that the routes that are available to provide funds…are very reliant on there being high levels of accidents and then of them being of high severity (the levels of severity are Killed, Serious and Slight…). Your village is fortunate in that although there were 10 accidents on the main road between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004…. All of them were of slight severity and none involved a pedestrian or cyclist. In fact there were in total 17 personal injury accidents within the Parish in the same period and none involved a vulnerable user”.
The Plan highlighted the importance of effective hedge trimming so as not to make the pavement problem worse.
LCC has offered to take up any particular instances of concern with the Area Surveyor. The Parish Council will pursue this offer as necessary.
The Parish Plan highlighted the size and volume of HGVs passing through the village, citing the ban on goods vehicles through Kirkby Stephen as a measure that might be explored in Newburgh’s case.
LCC provides this evidence in response:
“The only count data available which gives the proportion of HGVs in the traffic flow on the A5209 …is from a manual survey done on 22 February 2005 and this gave the HGV percentage as 5.56% (high is 10%, low is 5%, 6% is a general sort of figure). Again there are no pedestrian accidents, and of the 10 accidents on A5209, only one involved an HGV and this was a single vehicle accident”.
In the case of the Kirkby Stephen ban, LCC observes that the restriction was introduced to deal with “exceptional circumstances…. The percentage of overall traffic which comprised HGVs was between 9.5% and 14.4% ….Over 75% of these HGVs were of three or more axles (ie >18 T). Hence the circumstances in Newburgh are favourable by comparison with Kirkby Stephen.”
LCC goes on to say that successful completion of the Ormskirk by-pass might allow the possibility of reducing HGV usage along the A5209.
On the issue of total traffic volume, LCC notes that a continuous traffic flow counter near the Ring O’ Bells junction was active between March and October 2005 and measured the average two-way flow at 8,187 vehicles per day. The manual count in February noted above gave a two-way flow of 10,898. These are described as “moderate for a typical A road in Lancashire”.
The Parish Council accepts the data and explanations. At the same time, it will continue to lobby for the Ormskirk by-pass. It is also currently addressing the problem of increased Round O Quarry traffic through the village, by direct contact with the operators.
On traffic speed the Plan identified the need to prevent or reduce excessive speed and the desirability of affording priority to pedestrians in a number of locations (eg residential streets where children play).
LCC has provided data on speed on Course Lane, resulting from the occasional use of the mobile safety camera. (Details are also available on the Safety Camera Partnership website www.safe2travel.co.uk )
The data show that since being established in April 2003 the average speed has stayed the same at 32mph; the speed exceeded by 15% of vehicles (the “85 th%ile speed”) has reduced from 39mph to 37mph; and the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit has reduced from 82% to 67%. Monitoring of the accident rate shows a reduction from 4 personal injury collisions to 1.5 a year.
However, further monitoring of the data for January 2006 compared with January 2005 shows measured speeds “have crept up by more than 1mph and the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 10%”.
LCC says measures to reduce inappropriate or excessive speed would require funding which was accident-justified and questions whether further use of the trailer-mounted speed indicator or re-siting of the SPID (speed indicator device) now used occasionally in Cobbs Brow Lane may be of help.
The Parish Council, while accepting the above data, recognises the ongoing concern that residents express about speed in the village. To that end, discussions were held with Lancashire Constabulary, one result of which was the offer to install a SPID in Cobbs Brow Lane. Funding constraints mean we have to share this with 10 other Lancashire villages, which in turn means its use is infrequent.
It does appear to be effective in reducing speed and the Police report successful results from trials in East Lancashire and from local observations.
If the village wants to take action to try and reduce speed there is the option of purchasing a SPID itself. An attraction is that it may be moved between locations in the village, for example between Ash Brow, Cobbs Brow Lane, Course Lane and Back Lane.
A further opportunity for self-action to control speed is called Community Speedwatch, under which residents are trained to operate hand-held cameras and monitor traffic speed. The scheme has already been successful in other counties and trials have now been run in Lancashire. When the results are available, Lancashire Constabulary will consider whether to roll out the scheme more widely. When last raised in Newburgh the scheme met with no enthusiasm. The Parish Council will await the results of the trial and will publicise them to residents. If full evidence of the way the scheme operates proves more persuasive, the village may wish to reconsider participating.
On the issue of providing priority for pedestrians in residential areas, LCC says a pilot scheme for Quiet Lanes has still to be concluded and that, subject to its findings, a review of other areas may take place. The Parish Council has asked to be told the results of the review.
The Parish Plan recognised the importance to Newburgh residents of access to key services located in Parbold and sought means of improving pedestrian routes, both on and off-road.
LCC has in the past had funding available for upgrading footpaths and, in March this year, said that, in principle, “improvement of footpath routes between settlements has some priority”. It was hopeful that resources could still be available.
In April, LCC sent a further letter to the Parish Council reporting that there was a “semi-formal method for assessing the feasibility of schemes which are put forward for Pedestrian Priority Funding”. It requested more details about the services we use in Parbold and an assessment of the usage an improved route would have – whether by road or footpath. The Parish Council has responded and awaits a further LCC response.
The Plan envisages working with the school to try and reduce the number of cars involved in delivering children and to raise awareness of the need for safe parking and controlled access for children, including wider awareness of the voluntary one-way system followed by most parents. Control of traffic speed as noted above is also an issue.
LCC says results of the trials of a 20mph advisory speed limit outside schools in Lancashire is due this year. The Parish Council has requested results of the trial.
Newburgh School is reviewing the preparation of a School Travel Plan. In the meantime, part of the answer is in our own hands through observing sensible driving and parking behaviour in the area of the school and encouraging others to do the same.