Buchanan report available online
The Buchanan report that provides the basis for the Historic Core Zone proposals can be downloaded here. Be warned, though, the file is 12.5Mb.
Historic Core Zone – draft proposals published
The draft proposals for the Bradford on Avon Historic Core Zone – one of the promises that came out of the Taming the Traffic workshop in November 2008 – have now been published. They offer a set of ideas of how the centre of the town can be changed to provide improved amenities for pedestrians, as well as a better setting for our many historic buildings, streets and lanes – but without impeding traffic circulation.
We want to get people’s comments and ideas for any improvements to the plans. Each part will need detailed consultation and design and it will take a number of years to complete. Of course, timing is less than ideal in terms of budgets… the whole package will cost approx £2.5m but Wiltshire Council Highways’ budgets are being cut and squeezed. So we’ve proposed a Task Force – comprising the Priority for People Historic Core Zone Action Group, the Town Council and Wiltshire Highways – to look not only at funding, but also to agree on a ‘road map’ to plan our first steps.
Please have a look at the leaflet that is available at the Town Council offices, Library and at many retailers in the town centre. You can also download a copy here. The content of the leaflet is available here. Below is the design – you can download it without the text here. Let us have your views via this blog, or drop a line into the Town Council offices.
Hats off to the new Valley Parishes Alliance
The parish councils that line the 10-mile long Limpley Stoke valley have banded together to create the Valley Parishes Alliance - a great idea that creates a greater force for negotiation on issues that concern the Valley as a whole, particularly when they are dealing with the two local authorities of B&NES and Wiltshire. Highways is a key element.
PUBLIC MEETING — 23 June St Margaret’s Hall
Historic Core Zone? Getting rid of large vehicles? Reducing congestion? Making the town less intimidating for pedestrians and cyclists? What’s been happening since the Taming the Traffic workshops and the launch of Priority for People?
Changes envisaged to the town centre as part of the Historic Core Zone project will be revealed at a public meeting on Wednesday 23 June, starting at 7pm in St Margaret’s Hall. There will also be a briefing on our broader work across the Bradford on Avon community area, in particular dealing with large vehicles, inappropriate speeds and ‘crunch points’, where people and traffic come into conflict.
Members of the Priority for People working parties, the consultant from Colin Buchanan responsible for the initial designs for the Historic Core Zone and key Wiltshire Council officers will be on hand to answer questions and explore the work that has been done since the initiative was launched just over a year ago.
If you have any questions concerning the meeting, please call 01225 866612.
PfP recognised as partner to Area Board
Following a presentation to the Bradford on Avon Community Area Board in May, it was agreed that:
1. Priority for People should be given formal status as partners to the Bradford on Avon Area Board for all matters relating to the Historic Core Zone project.
2. Priority for People were invited to undertake work with parishes to ensure it fully represents transport issues across all of the community area to enable the group to become a formal partner to the board outside Bradford.
3. Priority for People would be invited to update the relevant chapter of the revised community area plan in partnership with the Community Area Partnership and is invited to propose how this should be done.
(Definition of ‘formal status’: Priority for People holds the same status as the Community Area Partnership in respect of issues relating to the Historic Core Zone.)
An Historic Core Zone (HCZ) for Bradford on Avon
People in Bradford on Avon want something done about the traffic: intimidation, difficulty crossing the road, etc. But most of us are sometimes pedestrians and sometimes part of the traffic. And the town’s economy depends on people wanting to come to Bradford to see it and to spend money here. We don’t like the way traffic now affects the town, but we don’t want to be without it either. How can we solve this one?
A number of old towns facing similar problems have created an “Historic Core Zone” in their central areas. The idea is now being developed for Bradford on Avon. It started as part of the “Taming the Traffic” consultation that you may remember from about 18 months ago; as part of this an Action Group was set up to develop the idea. Wiltshire Council have recently appointed consultants, Colin Buchanan, to develop proposals.
What would an HCZ in Bradford mean? The idea is to re-think our streets so that pedestrians and cyclists would have greater priority. Central Bradford would be somewhere where it would be pleasant just to stroll around on a summer evening. There are many possible ways of achieving this –
- widening footpaths and narrowing roads; or introducing “shared space”, without kerbs to separate pedestrian and vehicles;
- discouraging unnecessary journeys and reducing traffic speeds (a 20 mph limit is usual in other HCZs);
- making it less difficult to cross the road;
- using street-side parking to narrow the roadway and slow down traffic;
- keeping out heavy and over large lorries;
and many more. And it is not just about the relationship between pedestrians and motorists. An HCZ should also make the town look nicer: by reducing the number of street signs and of markings painted on the road, by careful choice of materials for paving and for lamp posts and seats, and by planting of trees and bushes.
We will all have a chance to comment on the consultants’ proposals in a few months time. In the meantime, if you would like more information, or wish to add your own comments, please do so here.