Tag: Newbury

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.

Cycle Hub Opens at Newbury Station

Posted on by Secretary

A new cycle hub has recently opened on the south side of Newbury Station with 180 spaces provided in two-tier racks and a further 50 spaces provided via Sheffield stands outside. The cycle hub is fitted with multiple CCTV cameras and motion-sensor LED lighting. It also comes equipped with a pump and bike repair stand with tools attached.

A second cycle hub is proposed on the north side of the station. Opening later this year, it will provide an additional 176 spaces. Together, they will increase cycle parking for passengers by over 300 spaces.

The £1.2 million facilities are funded with support from the Department for Transport and the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The hubs are welcome additions at the station. Previously, cycle parking on the south side was confined to a handful of stands, open to the elements in the corner of the car park. These were always full, requiring many cyclists to chain their bikes to the railings. Conditions on the north side were better, with Sheffield stands under cover on the platform alongside a handful of lockers.

The new cycle hubs provide secure and attractive parking facilities for cyclists, and combined with the filtered permeability scheme on the one-way section of Station Road, they should hopefully encourage more people to cycle and from the station as Covid restrictions are relaxed and things return to normal.

Have Your Say on the LCWIP and Active Travel Schemes

Posted on by Secretary

West Berkshire Council has launched a series of consultations on their Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and various Active Travel Schemes.

These proposals set out ambitious plans to improve conditions for walking and cycling journeys across the district to help make these modes of transport the default choices for local journeys.

As such, we would encourage everyone to take a look and have their say to ensure that we get the schemes right first time and address any concerns / issues at the outset.

LCWIP

The LCWIP provides a new, strategic and long-term approach to developing cycling and walking improvements, in line with the government’s Gear Change Strategy.

The Council has worked in partnership with SPOKES and other local stakeholders to identify priorities for cycling and walking infrastructure.

This first version of the LCWIP focuses on routes in Newbury and Thatcham. Eastern area settlements, such as Calcot, Pangbourne, Purley-on-Thames and Theale, have already been covered in the Reading LCWIP , which was prepared jointly with Reading Borough Council and Wokingham Borough Council, and adopted in 2019.

The LCWIP focuses on the main urban areas, which have the highest existing demand, and greatest future potential for increasing cycling and walking trips. However, the intention is for it to be a live document that can be expanded to include new developments, and journeys in and between more rural settlements.

The LCWIP process has a particular emphasis on utility journeys, such as commuting to work, and accessing education, healthcare or shops, but it also identifies leisure corridors to be developed. These were informed by public feedback from previous council consultations, and stakeholder comments.

A4 Proposals

The LCWIP has identified the A4 as a key active travel route for east-west journeys. The long-term ambition is to improve the whole A4 corridor, but the intention is to do this in sections and the Council is currently consulting on proposals for two key sections.

Crown Mead, Thatcham:

  • Features kerb separated tracks on both sides of the A4.
  • Removes the staggered pedestrian crossing island, which is currently a pinch point for cyclists, and replaces it with a single stream crossing.
  • Installs raised entry treatments in side roads to slow down vehicles when turning.
  • Reconfigures the layout of the bus stops to separate the cycleway from the footway and carriageway.

Western Avenue, Newbury:

  • Reduces the width of the carriageway to provide space for segregated cycle tracks.
  • Provides separate routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • Widens the crossing islands to cater for dual usage.
  • Replaces the staggered crossing with a single stream crossing and remove the staggered crossing island.
  • Gives pedestrians and cyclists priority over side roads via raised road humps and parallel zebra and cycle crossings.

Active Streets

This has a number of components including:

Parking restrictions to improve active travel routes:

  • Kiln Road / Turnpike Road, Newbury
  • A343 Andover Road, Newbury
  • A4 London Road, Newbury
  • A4 Bath Road, Calcot
  • Lower Way, Thatcham
  • A4 Benham Hill, Thatcham

Lawrences Lane, Thatcham:

  • Closes the route to through traffic
  • Creates a quiet route for recreational access to the countryside

Deadman’s Lane, Theale:

  • Stops motor vehicle access
  • Creates a quiet route for recreational access to the countryside

Active Travel Heat Map:

  • Provides a tool for you to identify locations in your neighbourhood where you would like to create more accessible streets, including better public spaces, secure cycle parking and high quality environments suitable for cycling and walking.

Calcot School Streets:

  • Proposals for Royal Avenue and Curtis Road.
  • Restricts motor vehicle access Monday to Friday during school term-time only to coincide with school pick-up and drop-off times.
  • Creates pedestrian and cyclist zones around schools.

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.

Social Bike Rides Start Up Again

Posted on by Secretary

Our programme of social bike rides for 2020 was knocked for six when the COVID lockdown was announced. However, as restrictions are starting to be relaxed, we are finally able to start our social rides again, albeit with some restrictions in place.

British Cycling has announced that in line with government guidance, HSBC UK Ride Social activities can start from 4 July. However, all rides must comply with the relevant Government guidelines on social distancing and group size.

For now, we have to keep to a maximum of six in a group (one ride leader to five participants), and maintain social distancing of at least two metres at all times (except between members of the same household).

In line with government guidelines, masks or face coverings are not required if social distancing is
maintained; the use of face masks or coverings is a personal choice, but they should not restrict breathing.

If you are within the ‘clinically vulnerable’ group, then the advice remains that you should stay at home as much as possible and avoid contact with others outside your household.

Further information for participants can be found in Section 2 of British Cycling’s COVID-19 guidance, ‘The Way Forward‘. We would ask all ride participants to read this before booking on a ride.

We have planned rides on the first and third Saturday of each month starting on 18 July and running through to 17 October.

In previous years, we have planned rides with the option of a cake stop at a local café. However, this introduces an unnecessary risk and unless we can be certain of sitting outside, we will need to skip the cakes until the COVID risk is reduced.

As ever, all our rides are published on LetsRide, which is a free to use website run by British Cycling and we ask riders to book a place on each ride you want to attend. This lets us know to expect you and ensures that we have a manageable number of cyclists. This is even more critical now, since rides are limited to 6 people.

Please note that our rides are not aimed at complete beginners. Rides are typically 25-35 miles and while we try and go at the pace of the slowest rider and are happy to wait at the top of a hill for slower riders to catch up, we do recommend that you get a few miles under your belt before coming on your first ride so you are confident that you can do the distance and take on a hill or two.

If you have any queries or concerns, then please do contact us.