Tag: towpath

NCN4 Gets Tar & Chip Surface

Posted on by Secretary

It’s been about a year since the section of the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath between Hambridge Road and the A339 was surfaced. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) consulted when this was first proposed, and the feedback was that people wanted the path to have a surface dressing to soften its appearance and make it appear less urban.

The C&RT have finally got round to finishing the job, and the finished result looks pretty good. However, it now means that there is a layer of loose stones on the surface, which is far from ideal for cyclists. The stones are laid on a thin screed of bitumen and are initially rolled in, but they then need to be compacted by people walking and cycling along the path, which is a process that takes place over several months.

This means that cyclists will needs to take extra care when using this section of towpath, since sudden braking or turning manoeuvres could result in skidding. The transition to and from the bridges now represent a particular hazard. This is a common maintenance technique for roads and schemes are usually accompanied by signs advising road users to slow down due to the presence of loose chippings. We will be asking for signs to be put up to advise cyclists of the issue and encourage them to slow down (or potentially dismount at critical locations) while the stones bed in.

Newbury Town Centre Vision Consultation

Posted on by Secretary

A consultation is currently underway on the draft Vision for Newbury Town Centre. West Berkshire Council has engaged Hemingway Design to help develop the vision and manage the consultation, which will run until 16 July.

The vision has been informed by a previous public engagement exercise, which ran from December 2020 to January 2021 and attracted over 4,000 responses. The results from this latest consultation will be used to inform the preparation of the spatial vision and masterplan, with a draft report expected at the end of August.

This will then form the basis of the Newbury Town Centre Vision Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This in turn will be subject to a formal consultation in the autumn prior to adoption later in the year. Once adopted, it will set the formal planning framework for the future regeneration and development of the town centre.

The Vision includes many elements that you would expect. addressing concerns about the retail and leisure offers within the town centre, improving Market Place and Northbrook Street, and making better use of the canal. It is good to see that the vision recognises what other studies have shown, which is that people who live close to the town centre and walk and cycle there, visit more frequently and spend more money.

Improving access for walking and cycling trips is identified as an aspiration within the Vision, but it is recognised that these options will not be viable for all and there will still be a need to accommodate travel by car in future, which is reasonable.

The need to improve access to parks and open spaces is recognised, particularly Victoria Park, as well as improving access to and between these areas by walking and cycling. Signage within the town centre currently focuses on walking trips, with cycling barely featuring on any of the signs and monoliths.

Some questions do remain in relation to proposals set out in the Vision document, such as how future usage of the towpath will be managed if flows of pedestrians and cyclists increase. The towpath forms part of National Cycle Route 4 and is a key route for through-trips as well as those with the town centre as its destination.

There is also a proposal for a new pedestrian bridge between Bridge Street and Parkway, but it is not clear if this will be open to cyclists.

The Vision indicates a desire to make better use of the alleys off Northbrook Street – again it is worth noting that NCN4 makes use of Northcroft Lane, which although narrow, currently has few shops and is relatively lightly used by pedestrians.

Finally, there are proposals to allocate more space to pavement cafes and landscaping in Northbrook Street. However, this will inevitably restrict the space available for movement, and it would be good to understand how this space will be managed in order to minimise conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. As with the towpath, it should be recognised that Northbrook Street is a key route for cycle trips through as well as to the town centre.

SPOKES would encourage anyone who cycles to and through the town centre to have their say and ensure that the needs of cyclists are properly taken into account.

Towpath Works at Colthrop & Thatcham

Posted on by Secretary
  • West of Midgham Lock
  • West of Midgham Lock 2
  • West of Midgham Lock 3
  • Potential to extend works towards Colthrop
  • Thames Water funded works at Thatcham

SPOKES has long been campaigning for the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath surface to be restored between Reading and Marsh Benham. With the exception of sections within Newbury, the surface has not benefited from any significant maintenance since it was originally upgraded 20 years ago to form part of National Cycle Network Route 4.

Grass encroached over time, leaving a deep, narrow rut, while boats pulling on mooring pegs tore chunks out of the bank, which cut into the towpath, creating major hazards for unwary cyclists.

The Canal and River Trust is responsible for maintaining the towpath, but has been unable to fund the extensive works that are required to bring it back up to the required standard. So we decided to help by raising funds to tackle some of the worst sections, starting with the section to the west of Midgham Lock.

We put in £10,000 of our own funds and raised over £100,000 of additional funds through the Good Exchange, including grants from West Berkshire Council, Thatcham Town Council and Englefield Trust, with match funding from Greenham Common Trust.

As with any project like this, there are risks, and an ecology survey carried out just before the works were due to start highlighted the presence of water voles. While it is fantastic news that this endangered species is present on this section of the canal, it did mean that some significant constraints had to be imposed on the scheme’s construction. These included: limiting the depth of excavation, not being able to use timber edging, and not being able to use vibratory rollers when laying the surface.

However, the contractor was able to progress with a scheme and works were completed earlier this month. As you can see from the photos, the towpath is almost unrecognisable when compared to its previous state.

Also, the reduced specification has resulted in a significant under-spend, so we may be able to extend the length of the improvements as part of a second phase of works. We are in discussion with our funders and the Canal and River Trust about this. We will keep you posted on progress!

The other bit of good news is that Thames Water has also funded some improvements to the towpath to the west of Crookham Hill. Although this section does not form part of NCN4, cyclists are still permitted to use this stretch. The improvements have covered exposed tree roots and repaired significant hazards such as dips and holes in the embankment. The result is a more usable route, but one that is still more suited to mountain bikes and hybrids with suspension.

Towpath Updates

Posted on by Secretary

The section of towpath between the A339 and Hambridge Road reopened this week. The Canal and River Trust has been making extensive improvements to this stretch, including a new tarmac surface.

Although some of the towpath had been improved in recent years, the eastern and western sections were previously in a very poor state. The section past Greenham Island suffered badly with puddles whenever it rained, while the path between Tesco and Hambridge Road had lost its top surface, exposing larger stones underneath, with large level differences appearing where the path joined the bridges.

The new path not perfect – the path is still very narrow in places, particularly past Greenham Island where you need to slow right down or stop for pedestrians or cyclists coming in the other direction. But the eastern section seems wider, making it easier to share.

Inevitably, we have already had one complaint that cyclists are now travelling too fast, so we would remind everyone to please respect other users of the towpath – please slow down and pass with care.

We have also heard people complaining that the tarmac surface is not in keeping with the rural feel of this section of towpath, with does feel very green and leafy in places. Thankfully, we have confirmation that the Canal and River Trust is coming back to surface dress the path with a buff coloured stone, which should soften its appearance. This should be done by the end of October.

The other bit of good news is that SPOKES has successfully raised enough funding to upgrade another section of towpath to the east of Colthrop, with works due to start within a few weeks. We raised £109,000 from Canal and River Trust, West Berkshire Council, Thatcham Town Council and Englefield Charitable Trust and we are putting in £10,000 of our own funds towards the project.

This will tackle one of the worst sections of the towpath where the old path has reduced to a narrow, deep-sided rut, which is extremely hazardous to cyclists and makes the path unusable by people in wheelchairs and families with pushchairs. We will keep you updated on progress with the construction.

Newbury Towpath Closed for Upgrade

Posted on by Secretary

The Canal and River Trust has closed the canal towpath in Newbury between the A339 flyover and Hambridge Road until 9 September to upgrade the towpath and carry out bank repairs. The works are being funded by developer contributions from the Newbury Racecourse development.

The towpath surface had become badly eroded, particularly on the approach to Hambridge Road, where the top coating of fines had been eroded over time, exposing larger stones underneath, which made it uncomfortable to ride on. At the other end, the path was muddy and tended to attract puddles after it rained, which wasn’t great for walkers or cyclists.

There was also a problem where the path meets the bridges along the route, since the softer material on the path surface became eroded, creating a lip that was dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists alike and pretty unmanageable for anyone in a wheelchair.

SPOKES lobbied hard for the improvements to feature an all-weather, bound surface on this section, since it is so well-used and is essentially within the urban area and therefore appropriate in character. This should be much more durable and should not suffer from the same problems as the old crushed aggregate surface. We look forward to this being opened up for use in September.

We are also continuing to lobby for improvements to the towpath elsewhere across West Berkshire and hope that further works will be completed soon.