Early 2019 news

Our first route checks of the year were done early due to a relatively mild start to 2019.  Our local National Cycle Network sections between Church Gresley and Moira are looking in decent condition thanks to a largely dry 2018.

We've benefited not only from our own work and those with the payback teams but we're also lucky to have several other groups that have done some very good work around parts of the network .  On the Ashby Wolds Heritage Trail embankment in Moira the ranger team and volunteers have done more work on thinning the vegetation around the path which will reduce the amount of vegetation which mulches on the path.

Further round the route the volunteers of the Ashby Canal Trust and Moira Furnace museum have done some good work on the paths and banks of the canal sections and seen significant improvements.

The sections descending to Albert village lake from Reservoir Hill were starting to get overgrown and almost restricting the path to single file in parts but have now been pruned and tidied by teams engaged by the National Forest Company.  Again it looks so much better and should remain so for several months.

A small section between Swainspark Wood and Spring Cottge could benefit from a sweeping back of vegetation so hopefully we'll arrange a session on there soon.

We'll be looking at the sections towards Measham in the near future too.

As well as looking after our current sections we are also glad to report on future links.  Although the link to Hicks Lodge from Moira Furnace is not an NCN route we will certainly be signing links to and from the NCN from it.  The final section of this link is close to completion as is the housing estate that carries it.  Our only concern is the crossing of Measham Road as we have noticed speeding there and there is no specific crossing as development money has been spent elsewhere.  As the road is straight with good visibility it should not be too much of an issue  but a crossing would have been useful.

Once the link is completed we will sign it from the Conkers and Furnace area.

A few miles away in Swadlincote the new community fire station is nearing completion and this will feature a new access from Civic Way behind the fire station onto the quiet Toulmin Drive to Darklands Road rather than down the unsuitable and ambiguous shared path down Civic Way.

The old council depot on Darklands Road now has planning permission for a KFC restaurant, a family pub and some sheltered accommodation and the entrance to this will cross NCN 63.  We were concerned about the lack of information about the route of the path around the development and this was addressed following the submission of our comments.

Further down William Nadin Way the latest development has been approved and initial work has started.  This will carry the next stage of NCN63 towards Newhall, then Burton.  The neighbouring development carries a section of path which currently ends on the boundary but will be linked with the new development.

Recording Camera footage with Derbyshire police

Although most of our activities take place on off-road sections of the cycle network and we focus on the positive of safe family cycling, we all cycle in places where there is a certain level of traffic and risks associated with that.

Whilst most drivers behave very well and give cyclists and other drivers plenty of room there are occasional moments of inconsideration and sometimes this includes speeding, aggressive driving and other illegal manoeuvres.

Dashcam footage is becoming an increasingly popular source of evidence in terms of behaviour on the roads and cyclists are also choosing to carry cameras on bikes.  Nationally there is an inconsistent approach to how the evidence is handled but Derbyshire Police have launched a new system called Derbyshire Capture which is a specific place for downloading dashcam and digital images relating to a road based crime.

As the site says: Derbyshire Capture will investigate offences of dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, careless driving, using a mobile phone, not wearing a seat belt, contravening a red traffic light, contravening solid white lines, and other offences where the driver is clearly not in proper control of the vehicle.

Click here for a link to the Derbyshire Police website page which will give links to Derbyshire Capture and also gives a list of advice and conditions relating to the site.  For example it advises not to put the footage on social media.  The system can also be used to report dangerous cycling too.  There are a crazy amount of people on bikes after dark with no lights on - a worryingly increasing trend.

I found out about this via an email to Derbyshire alert which informs me of any alerts relevant to my area in South Derbyshire.  If you are interested in subscribing or want to learn more have a look on the Derbyshire Alert website.  Click here to go to the Derbyshire Alert website.