Lack of Safe Pedestrian & Cycle Access
Your Concerns CountIn 2012 the Herefordshire Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment noted: “The local road network would not sustain intensification of use”.
Much of Old Church Road is single track – used by pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders. It forms an important part of village amenities. Stone Drive is narrow, frequently restricted by parked vehicles. Pedestrian safety here is paramount for access to the pharmacy and Doctor’s surgery.
The application only allows for a 1.2m pavement on Old Church Road, narrowing to 90cm, which meets no modern standards (pavements are 2m wide in the proposed development), and that involves significantly cutting back mature hedgerows.
Are you concerned about the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders on Old Church Road and Stone Drive?
Scroll down for more information
The application
Visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk and search for application no. 230457.
Commenting on this application through has closed as the application has been decided.
A village poll on this application took place on Wednesday 14th June '23. The poll was requested at a recent parish meeting by a large number of local residents who were asked: “Do you oppose the development of a new housing estate on the Grovesend Field site in the Conservation Area off Old Church Road?”
The poll is not binding but was held to get a clear understanding of the views of the village. There was an emphatic answer with 92% voting against the proposed development. For full poll results please see here
Contact us on: [email protected]
The change in approach to site access over the course of the NDP iterations has always caused concern. The 2012 Herefordshire Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment noted: “The local road network would not sustain intensification of use” in reference to development of this land.
The following was then used by Colwall Parish Council in the NDP to justify the field’s inclusion for development, and the Freedom of Information Act was needed to obtain this detail. The Highway Authority was content for the Grovesend development to go ahead ‘subject to the provision of a safe and suitably surfaced (suitable for all seasons of the year) pedestrian link or links to the amenities and facilities of Colwall Village’. Specifically, ‘Providing a 2m footway along Old Church Road / C1165 from any proposed means of vehicle access to Stone Drive (U66612)’. Link
The applicant’s Design & Access Statement (section 2.15) shows that no alternative vehicle or footpath or cycleway direct to the centre of the village has been secured, despite bids to purchase private properties & gardens on the site’s eastern & southern borders. The applicant proposes a pedestrian and cyclist route along the existing footpath (CF30) from the south-west corner of the site to the Crescent, described on P. 30 of the Transport Statement as “the first part of a strategic link to Colwall C of E Primary School”. That path can only be accessed via kiss-gates and is narrow and ankle deep in mud in wet weather. It would also need permission from a different landowner to create a hard path across grazing fields.
Highways England: Two lane rural roads min. width for two cars to safely pass each other is 5.5m. Where there is occasional heavy goods vehicle use, as here, the minimum is 6m.
Delivery vehicles and cars often enter Old Church Road from Mill Lane. Much of Old Church Road, up to Old Orchard Lane, is single track (only 3.0m in places), and it remains narrow thereafter right up to the junction with Walwyn Road. In addition, Stone Drive is narrow, with poor sight lines, and is frequently restricted by parked vehicles.
The 80 cars provided for by the developer (and delivery vehicles etc.) will exacerbate existing issues. The applicant’s response to NDP objections (28th July 2020) stated that: ‘3.1.5 Old Church Road is shared use as there is no separate provision for pedestrians or cyclists. This can be a benefit if it is well-used by pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders, as it significantly calms the traffic. Provision of a footway may appear beneficial but can just lead to increased traffic speeds in the belief pedestrians will not be in the carriageway.’