Tag: funding

Sustrans South of England NCN Review

Posted on by Secretary

The National Cycle Network is over 20 years old now, with over 16,500 miles of signed cycle routes across the UK. Over a period of two years from 2015-2016, Sustrans has been working with partners, stakeholders, staff and volunteers to conduct a comprehensive review of the network. SPOKES attended the launch event for the review of the South of England portion of the network.

As part of the review, Sustrans developed a Level of Service scoring system based on four route quality indicators:

  • Surface quality
  • Wayfinding and signage
  • Flow
  • Traffic-related safety

Each section of the NCN has been assessed and scored using these criteria, and have then been assigned to one of four classifications ranging from Very Poor to Very Good. Across the South of England, the network has been graded as follows:

  • Very good – 38 miles
  • Good – 2,294 miles
  • Poor – 207 miles
  • Very poor – 1,259 miles.

Just  over 40% of the issues on the NCN in the South of England are related to traffic safety concerns, with 22% due to surface quality, 20% signage and 17% flow issues.

Physical review and action plans have been developed for each of the Sustrans geographical regions. These define the state of the network and outline strategic priorities. 

A series of ‘Activation Projects’ has been identified for each area. These have been chosen to reflect a range of project types, geographical areas and deliverability. It is hoped that these projects will build momentum for the wider revitalisation of the network. The action plans are backed up with full network development plans that set out long-term, detailed plans for the entire network. 

We were delighted to hear that the Kennet and Avon Canal between Thatcham and Southcote Lock has been selected as one of the Activation Projects for the South of England. This section has been highlighted by Sustrans as being in urgent need of surfacing improvements.

SPOKES is seeking to prioritise the section between Colthrop and Cranwell’s swing bridge. We have costed the repairs for this element at around £250,000. We have set up a funding proposal on the Good Exchange in an effort to secure funding from the Greenham Common Trust and other grant-making bodies.

We hope to submit a further bid to secure funding from Veolia’s Landfill Trust scheme and we are also liaising with West Berkshire Council to see if there are opportunities to secure developer funding from sites along the canal.

The initial responses to our fund-raising efforts have been positive and we hope to be able to make an announcement soon.