It’s taken a long time and a lot of work, especially by Kath Hudson, but everything needed for the traffic calming scheme (gates, signage, posts for the VAS) has been procured and should be with the contractor by next week. The contractor has to decide on the order he tackles the locations, the dates at each location, the exact position of the temporary lights etc. This involves a lot of paperwork but we have a provisional start date of 13th March – fingers crossed there are no more delays!
Several residents have kindly made donations towards the cost of the village gateways and the Parish Council is very grateful for their generosity. If you would also like to help towards these costs with a donation, however small, it would be very gratefully received. Please email clerk@stinchcombepc.co.uk if you would like to do so.
See the entries under Cam and Dursley for what is offered by our local support group #WarmGL11, coordinated by GL11 Community Hub. Local churches, the NHS, voluntary organisations and representatives from some parish councils are taking part. The resources page also has lots of guidance for organisations setting up warm hubs and their volunteers.
Along with a few others from Stinchcombe, I recently experienced the warm welcome at St George’s on a Thursday morning!
Donations
There is a cost associated with providing these much needed services. Stinchcombe Parish Council has not made a donation because it was decided that it should be a personal decision for individual parishioners. If you are in a position to offer financial support and would like to do so, you can donate via the funding platform
Donations can be general, specific to GL11, one-off or recurring.
Some of you might have joined in the consultation on Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Policy a few months ago. The Parish Council and Stinchcombe Speed Watch both participated and a few of our comments are reflected in the final version of the policy. https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/2116396/road-safety-policy.pdf
I wish to make it clear that this article presents my own views and not necessarily those of the Parish Council or Stinchcombe Speed Watch.
Why did Gloucestershire need a new policy?
We are the 6th worst local authority in England for people being killed or seriously injured on the road. Between 2009‐2011 and 2017‐2019, the number increased by 27%. Compare this with the best performing authorities, which saw reductions of more than 50% over the same period.
A fundamental change
Gloucestershire is following the most successful authorities by adopting a Safe System approach. The underlying principles are:
Humans make mistakes
Humans are vulnerable to injury
No death or serious injury is acceptable
Responsibility is shared
The key aspiration is Vision Zero https://visionzerouk.wordpress.com/ – the near elimination of all traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2050, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. The interim target is a 50% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on Gloucestershire’s roads by 2032.
Doesn’t sound that radical
It didn’t to me either but look at the comparison between Vision Zero and the traditional approach to road safety.
TRADITIONAL
VISION ZERO
Traffic deaths are inevitable
Traffic deaths are preventable
Aim for perfect human behaviours
Integrate human failing into the approach
Prevent collisions
Prevent fatal and severe collisions
Individual responsibility
Systems approach
Saving lives is expensive
Saving lives is not expensive
The Strategy 2022 – 2032
Gloucestershire County Council sets out its strategy around nine themes:
1. Reduce fatalities, serious injuries, number, and severity of collisions, with a key focus on using data to prioritise our approach
2. Expand data and evidence base, including research, and monitoring of existing approaches
3. Develop toolkits and programmes to give communities the tools they need to promote and improve Road Safety in their area
4. Increase levels of safety for walking
5. Increase levels of safety for cycling
6. Improve collaboration between partners and stakeholders
7. Embed the Safe System approach
8. Promote the Vision Zero aspiration to Gloucestershire’s public
9. Lead by example
What’s our next-door neighbour doing?
High level strategies can sound all “motherhood and apple pie” so it’s interesting to do some benchmarking against our neighbouring county, Oxfordshire. Road safety is a big subject, so forgive me if I home in on an aspect I consider relevant to Stinchcombe – the wider use of 20 mph limits.
The information about Oxfordshire mostly came from their presentation at the 20’s Plenty Conference last October. https://www.20splenty.org/oxford20conf
On the face of things, the two counties are similar:
both have adopted a Safe System/Vision Zero approach
both have set an interim target for reducing by 50% the number of people killed or seriously injured on their roads (2032 in Gloucestershire and 2030 in Oxfordshire)
both are broadly in favour of 20 mph limits where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix.
At a more detailed level, there are important differences as summarised in the table.
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
How will 20 mph limits be rolled out?
No targets published. Onus on communities to make the case for a 20 mph limit.
Three year roll out plan: 2022/3 80 Towns and Parishes 2023/4 87 Towns and Parishes 2024/5 40 Towns and Parishes
What are the criteria for 20 mph limits
Applications to be prioritised against a list of eight criteria and must also be supported by an evidence base.
Can be requested in any 30 mph built-up area or 30 mph area with heavy foot or cycle traffic. No evidence of a speeding problem is required.
How is an application for a 20 mph limit made?
Not at all clear. The recently relaunched Community Approach to Road Safety (CARS) Toolkit does not make a single mention of 20 mph limits.
Online application process for town and parish councils to complete.
Who pays for the implementation of 20 mph limits?
Communities are expected to find the funding except where collision data and fatality/serious injury statistics show there is a road safety concern. In such cases Gloucestershire County Council will fully or partly fund from its road safety budget.
Oxfordshire County Council will pay for the new signs and any road lining works.
Final thoughts
It’s great that Gloucestershire has adopted Vision Zero and has set itself ambitious targets for reducing fatalities and serious injuries. I wish they had made provision for an efficient and widespread roll out of 20 mph limits, like Oxfordshire (and Cornwall and Wales and many other places). Can the same levels of reduction in fatalities and serious injuries be achieved with this more hands-off approach?
If there is community support, I would like to see 20 mph limits here in Stinchcombe. The 30 mph sections of Echo Lane and Wick Lane and all of “Church Lane” would be my top priorities. It is disappointing that the application procedure has not been defined and that more County-level funding is not available. That wouldn’t stop me trying if I were convinced that a majority of villagers supported 20 mph limits in these locations. Please let me know what you think.
We are fortunate to have a network of public footpaths through fields and playing fields in the parish. At the request of local landowners, the Parish Council reminds everyone to stick to the public rights of way. The presence of a public footpath does not give the public any right to use other parts of the field. That applies to dogs as well!
Heel!
Unless your dog reliably walks to heel it probably needs to be on a lead to satisfy the legal requirement for “close control”. Letting your dog run free is not permitted except where the landowner has given permission, or you are the landowner.
Not only unpleasant
The widely held belief that it’s OK to leave dog mess uncleared providing it’s not actually on the path is ill-founded. It can transmit parvovirus, intestinal parasites and harmful bacteria to people and other animals. Furthermore, two livestock diseases have been linked to the presence of contaminated dog waste. Neosporosis can cause abortions in cattle. Sarcocystosis can cause neurological disease and death in sheep. There have been suspected cases of both these diseases here in Stinchcombe.
A reminder for landowners
Stiles, gates and other structures across public footpaths belong to the landowner. You have a legal duty to maintain them in a safe condition. A range is available from the County Council at subsidised prices and you may be able to get help with installation. Look out for an article by our new Footpath Warden, Andrew Davidson, in the Spring.
Stinchcombe Parish Council applied for automated traffic surveys at three locations under the first tranche of Gloucestershire’s new Community Speed Watch Fund. We chose locations where we believe there is a speeding problem and manual speed monitoring is not possible. Our community speed watch teams are not allowed to monitor at locations where the speed limit is greater that 40 mph. Even where the limit is 30 mph or 40 mph we cannot monitor if the Police have not approved a safe location.
There are also restrictions on where automated traffic surveys can take place. There has to be street furniture to which the survey equipment can be secured and Highways personnel need to be able to install the equipment without putting themselves at undue risk.
The three locations that we have subsequently agreed with Road Safety Engineers at Highways are shown in the maps StreetView images:
1) bottom of Taits Hill (50 mph area)
2) residential area on Berkeley Rd (60 mph area)
3) B4060 between Yercombe Lodge and Piers Court (30 mph area)
Obtaining traffic data can be the first step towards seeking a speed limit reduction and/or other road safety measures. The recent serious accident on Taits Hill, the second in 2 years, can only strengthen the case at that location.
The Lucky Severn Lottery keep urging me to promote it and raise more money for Stinchcombe Speed Watch. I’ve been reluctant when progress is slow on our traffic calming aspirations, but in case anyone fancies trying their luck for the £1,000 bike voucher, here is their latest poster.
Rest assured it isn’t Stinchcombe Speed Watch or the Parish Council holding things up. The ball is firmly in Gloucestershire County Council’s court. As soon as they sign the legal agreement, which the Parish Council signed back in July, we can go out for quotes from installation contractors.
We don’t anticipate a shortfall in our funds for the vehicle-activated sign and village gateways. If there is, monies from the lottery will help plug the gap. The rest will go towards community speedwatch cameras, now permitted in Gloucestershire, as a further line of defence. These could be deployed on the posts to be installed for the VAS.
The Parish Council has received complaints about smoky, smelly and ill-timed bonfires in the village. These spoil neighbours’ enjoyment of their own gardens and force them to close windows and bring in washing.
… think about the fire risk
In this unusually dry year there is a real risk of the fire spreading. There has been a record number of wildfires causing serious environmental damage and sometimes destroying homes. With a further heatwave forecast and everywhere already tinder dry, this is not the time for bonfires.
… consider the alternatives
Stroud District Council recommends that we don’t have garden bonfires at all. They suggest various alternatives for getting rid of garden waste.
If you are experiencing nuisance from a garden bonfire
You can report it to SDC using this link. Even a single highly polluting bonfire can qualify as statutory nuisance.
SDC can serve a legal notice on the person responsible, requiring them to stop causing the nuisance. If necessary, this can be followed up with a prosecution, potentially leading to a fine.
Anyone affected by a bonfire also has the option of lodging a complaint at the Magistrates Court. If the Court agrees that nuisance occurred, it can issue a fine.
The maximum fine is £5,000 – an expensive bonfire!
If you still want a bonfire
There’s no doubt about it, us country dwellers are pretty attached to our garden bonfires. If you decide to have one after this exceptionally dry period has ended, please follow SDC’s guidelines:
Only ever burn dry material.
Never burn household rubbish or anything with plastic, foam, paint, or rubber in it.
Never use old engine oil, methylated spirits, diesel or petrol, which cause smoke and are very dangerous.
Avoid lighting fires in unsuitable weather conditions such as damp, still days.
Avoid times when the wind will blow smoke over roads or into neighbour’s gardens.
Avoid burning when people want to enjoy their gardens such as at weekends or Bank Holidays.
