Autumn Update

 As the leaves start to drop it seems like the extremely hot temperatures of summer were a long time ago.  Fortunately, the weather is still decent for a nice bit of cycling.

Link to Country Park from new estate near Stanton

We’ve recently noted the ongoing progress between Swadlincote and Burton via the new housing developments and the Urban and Country Parks. 

We hope to be able to be report on further progress next year to promote new routes as well as old.  We will do this through the normal social media and blog ways but also hopefully with the support of others.

One of those is the Tourist Information Centre in Swadlincote which has recently re-opened in New Premises on the Delph near the town hall.  The TIC and Gail in particular have been very supportive of our work locally and I am very pleased to see the TIC back in Swadlincote.  The shop open from Tuesday to Saturday currently and not all services are available just now.  Already there are a good number of cycling leaflets on the new display wall.  We wish the TIC team good luck in their new premises and hope to be able to provide more cycling based information over the coming months.  

Already a decent range of leaflets.

I’d also shown concern about a number of articles about the new cycling infrastructure along the A444 within the local press.  Articles noted that the new section was confusing and also concerns about money being wasted and inconvenience caused by the roadworks required for the work to happen.

New TiC opposite the Delph in Swadlincote

Whilst the articles had valid points and I sympathise with drivers being held up in and out of Burton (a key reason I commute by bike) I felt the positivity of the work had been overlooked and there were a lot of comments that were ill informed. 

I am grateful to Samuel from the Burton Mail for taking the time to listen and write a more positive article which can be accessed by clicking here.

What I really wanted to get across was that the section will be part of something much bigger and will be complimented by more links.

As the primarily off-road route between the 2 towns develops it will hopefully lead to an increase in cycling. It is therefore important that the sections along the A444 are improved.

I also wanted to highlight that the imperfections with this particular section were common with most cycling infrastructure - no onward connection and a rejoining of the road.

The point of funding was well mentioned.  It is important to stress how hard funding is to come by and how much competition there is when it is available, so it was important to credit those who secured it and also the team that carried out the work.

I hope that as the routes develop around Burton & South Derbyshire that we can engage more with Samuel and the Burton Mail to spread the more positive aspects of cycling and walking.

Treefest

 Our work in the local area is well supported by a number of individuals and organisations.  One of those is the National Forest Company who are based near Conkers.

I'd like to share some information about a project currently under way.  Please help spread the word to those who would be interested in this project based on several walks around the National Forest, including Rosliston most locally.

The National Forest is excited to present Treefest – a Connected Treescapes research study in collaboration with the University of Derby, UK Treescapes and Go Jauntly.

 

Treefest aims to explore how the UK’s treescapes affect the public and evaluate how the form and function of these woodland and forests benefit society. This in turn will help to safeguard these environments for future generations and the rest of the natural world. We have designed eight walks across the National Forest, which can be found on the Go Jauntly app (free to download). Participants will be asked a few simple questions before and after the walk, and the data will be analysed by the researchers at the University of Derby to see how different treescapes can support wellbeing. The more people that join in this study, the better the data will be so we’re really keen to get as many people as possible engaged! You can find out more about the study and how to take part here:

 

https://www.gojauntly.com/Treefest

https://findingnature.org.uk/2022/08/02/help-discover-the-benefits-of-trees/

 

As an extra incentive, survey respondents who complete a walk before the end of October will be entered into a free prize draw to win one of twenty £100 vouchers as a thank you for taking part (T&Cs apply).

 

Summer Update 2022

It has certainly been a hot summer so far with some record breaking temperatures.  I write this update having completed another weeks cycling commute in some of the hottest weather I can remember although the morning ride in has been fantastic.

Moira Nature reserve in the sun.

There is a lot of activity around the area at the moment with a new scheme on the A444 in Stapenhill nearing completion and other parts of future parts of the National Cycle network now progressing.  

Away from the actual NCN, Sustrans have been busy in the Urban Core of South Derbyshire as part of a study looking at increasing activity in Primary school aged children particularly in Newhall and Woodville.  Any feedback given to project officer Alistair would be most useful.  I'd like to have been able to help more directly on this but will share as much as I can to help with the project.  Please keep an eye out on the Facebook page and person Twitter feed.

New surface near Measham

During a recent holiday from work I had the opportunity to do a couple of route checks, the first being on part of the future network and around Swadlincote and the urban core and a separate ride looking at the Heart of Forest area.

Both of these involved signage checks and general surface checks and a few signs were updated or replaced where necessary.  It was good to see some surface works have been completed on the section between the A42 and Measham village centre - a small section has been treated and rolled into a nice smooth and wide surface.  I've asked whether this is part of a larger scheme and hope to update further.  It is certainly an improvement on the stony surface put down around 3 years ago between Donisthopre and Measham.  Although the majority of that surface is now bedding in there are still stony sections.

The current link not bike friendly!

Back in Swadlincote progress is being made on the new estate off William Nadin Way which will link the route between Swadlincote and Newhall in the shape of the housing development growing at a pace.  More notable though is that work is now progressing on the Urban Park as previously mentioned in this link.  We continue to monitor progress to ensure that the route is fully accessible when completed.

Work started on Urban Park!

Currently there is still only a pedestrian bridge linking the newest estate with the Cobblestone Drive estate which then links to Swadlincote so hope there is a plan to upgrade this when complete.  Further along the proposed route is a new estate off Park Road, Newhall which is in the early stages of construction and just had a new roundabout built as part of infrastructure.  Suddenly a route which has been in the pipeline for many years is starting to come to fruition.

Once the Swadlincote to Stanton link is fully open this will hopefully encourage more people to cycle between Swadlincote and Burton and the route into Burton from the Derbyshire border is now being upgraded in readiness.  As part of the NCN review for paths for everyone the section through Stapenhill on the A444 does not meet the criteria for NCN standards due to the large amount of traffic using the route.

A sign shows completed estate & infrastructure

With funds secured from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Sustrams Paths for Everyone scheme, Stafforsdhire County Council have been able to upgrade the route from Sycamore Road through the Saxon Street.  More about the reasoning behind the scheme can be read here.

The scheme has led to roadworks for around 15 weeks which has not always been well received and the local press does seem to focus on the negativity of the impact on traffic rather than the benefits of the scheme in the longer term. 

As a cyclist it clearly has less of an impact as we can dismount and walk past but this has been necessary at times due to the narrowness of the roadworks and no safe overtaking space for most vehicles - as a point of personal safety I've generally chosen to walk around, especially if going uphill.  Also the timings on traffic lights between red and green do not always allow time for cycles to get through, not that the colour of the traffic lights seems to matter to a small minority of drivers during these roadworks judging by some observations.

The scheme is very nearly complete with surface work done and some signage already up.  Once the new toucan crossings are in I will update with a feature on the completed works which look to have been done to a high standard.

The works look great but roadworks very narrow. 

Other schemes under investigation in Burton included a new pedestrian bridge to link Winshill and Stapenhill to the Washlands and this did have a consultation period to evaluate viability.  We'll monitor this for any further updates but it is more a of a longer term aspiration.

Another scheme in Station Street in Burton to improve walking and cycling links in between the Railway Station and town centre has been delayed until early 2023.  This will see a 20mph zone and cycling infrastructure on Station Street.  Again, the way this scheme has been poorly promoted within the local press and attracts a lot of ill-educated comments about whether the money should be used for other things.  The fact is that it is funded through a scheme where the money would have been spent somewhere else if there had not been a good justification to make the improvements.

The worrying aspect of this probable click-bait media approach is that the local newspaper made a point of of counting the number of cyclists one morning.  This was done during a school holiday and period of roadworks due to crucial gas main works so it would be likely that most vehicles would be avoiding the area, including bikes, so was hardly a fair reflection.  Also, in it's current format the road and the behaviour of a small minority of motorists speeding excessively, it will not encourage cycling and that's pretty much the point why the improvements are required.

I'm hoping to engage with the local press to see if we can do something positive once the works are complete.  If this happens, you'll read it here too!

New Cycling Developments around Swadlincote

Although a lot of our cycle network is based on rural sections around the Heart of the National Forest and the Conkers area, we also monitor more urban sections.  Where possible we try to avoid using roads.  When avoiding roads this is normally done by a shared path.  There are quite a few of these paths now being developed around Swadlincote.

We are monitoring the formation of cyle routes around new developments either side of Swadlincote Town centre and recently carried out a quick check.

The first part of the ride was a check on the new estate off William Nadin Way that will carry NCN63 towards Newhall and Stanton once complete.  The estate features a stone based theme with Ruby, Emerald and Marble amongst the new street names.  The estate has expanded fair bit in terms of houses from when I reported the initial progress last Spring as featured in this link.  However there is nothing more to report in terms of any notable cycling infrastructure but will continue to monitor throughout the coming months.

Explanation Sign

Between the new estates and the route through Swadlincote there have still been no significant changes.  The new development Cadley View Care home looks finished but there have been no noticeable amends to the route carrying NCN63 past the site from Darklands Lane.  The resigning of the route away from Civic Way via Toumlin Drive to the back of the Fire Station has still not been done.  One of our planned early rides next year will look at this more closely.

Picture 1 - looking back towards Ski Centre

Away from NCN63 there is now shared path provision along the new Woodville to Swadlincote Regeneration Route.  This route has recently been completed and will feature housing and industrial use and also form an alternative route for local traffic avoiding the busy Clock Island on the A511 in Woodville.

This means there is an off road cycle route from Morrisons Petrol Station / Ski Centre all the way to the edge of Blackfordby via the relatively new housing estates on the Moira end of Woodville.

Picture 2 - Derby Road Roundabout

I took the chance to ride the new route using the newly created shared path and although I am pleased that there is now a new section of cycling infrastructure there are aspects of the design that are not ideal.

The main issue with the route is that on the new sections and the linking section towards the ski slope, the shared path is only on one side of the road, which does offer an off road route into Swadlincote Woodlands Park as shown in Picture 1. For access to the regeneration route this means that potentially busy roads have to be crossed unnecessarily despite there being ample room for a shared path either side.  Only at the Ski Centre / Morrisons petrol station junction is there a protected toucan crossing.

Picture 3 - Crossing point on new route

The next crossing point as shown in picture 2 is across 2 lanes, a refuge then another lane adjacent to the new roundabout at the former Woodhouse Street junction.  This roundabout looks like it will be busy, so a shared path on the Ski-slope side (an upgrade to an existing path) would be very useful and avoid the need to cross here.

Picture 4 - View towards Woodville

The next point to negotiate is the crossing of Woodhouse Street which is offset from the roundabout and traffic accessing Church Gresley has to use the new by-bass and double back at the first roundabout, but care needs to be taken when crossing.

At this point it looks like the route is now free and easy to ride, however the path on the right hand side towards Woodville is not actually a designated shared path, so following the letter of the law another crossing is necessary as shown in picture 3. This seems a bit daft, particular as the shared path side is punctuated with more junctions, mainly from a local business access points and the shared path is not given priority at these junctions.

Picture 5 - Good wide smooth surface

The surface of the path is new and wide which makes for a good ride up towards the edge of Woodville as shown in pictures 4 & 5 so it is a shame that it is designed to give way frequently at junctions and cross the road more often than necessary.

Currently the area is still under development and the landscape reveals familiar landmarks from new angles.  This includes the kilns of the former TG Green pottery.  As time goes by, these landmarks will be surrounded by new buildings including new housing so it would be beneficial to have shared path access on both sides of the main road rather than instruction to cross as shown in picture 6 looking back towards Swadlincote.

Picture 6 - time to cross again

The route links the estates on the Derbyshire and Leicestershire border with Swadlincote and these estates already carry a shared path to the outskirts of Blackfordby so there is now a continuous shared path / off road route for around 2 miles into and out of Swadlincote. Ideally we'd like to find a suitable link from Woodville back to Route 63 near Conkers but current off road links are only really suitable for walking.

Overall the new route is a much welcome addition to the off road cycling infrastructure locally and should provide safe passage for many cyclists and walkers for commuting and leisure as this area develops over coming years.  The surface of the paths are smooth and well built and will hopefully age well.  However, there are aspects of the design that are questionable and too many enforced crossings, especially given that most of this route is effectively a blank canvas.  Not sure whether this is due to poor design standards or effect of budget requirements and need to compromise.

Snowdog and Snowman Trail in Swadlincote

 A Happy New Year to readers of the blog.  I blew off a few cobwebs on News Years Day around the Conkers Circuit section of NCN 63 which was a bit muddy in places but very nice in the unseasonably mild weather.

7 Swans Swimming at Green Bank!

Bark the Herald Angels Sing near Town Hall.

On New Years Eve I checked some of the NCN sections around Swadlincote itself and will put more about that in another post soon.  However I must confess my main reason was to take a look at the Snowman and Snowdog trail.

This certainly isn't a typical blog post but the activity takes place around a small part of the local cycle network and is an activity that clearly promotes family time and exercise.  Given the strange couple of years we've all had, it's great to shout about something that has engaged people extremely well, especially young children.  It's also a chance to support some of those who have supported our activities over the years in South Derbyshire as there have been some excellent activities planned over the Christmas period which have been spread out over a longer period as opposed to the normal and well attended lights switch on event. Given recent developments with the pandemic, the decision to do so has been vindicated.

Three French Hens Snowman outside the Library

12 Drummers in Rink Way

The trail itself arrived on the 20th November and is in Swadlincote until 16th January so there is not a lot of time to see it if you haven't already.  The trail is based on Raymond Briggs short film The Snowman and the Snowdog and there are bright sculptures placed around the small town centre.  Each sculpture is uniquely decorated and they all feature an explanation of the sculpture and information about the artist.  They are all based around the 12 days of Christmas theme and have been arranged by South Derbyshire District Council and Wild in Art.

This is a very simple concept but one that has been extremely engaging.  As I've been in and around the town centre I've been amazed at the number of people stopping for photos with the sculptures - even now, weeks after it arrived.  I've been aware of friends who live around Derby or Burton coming over to Swadlincote, some for the first time, to show their children the trail.  Hopefully it has been commercially successful for Swadlincote after a hard couple of years.  Even if not, then it is great to see people out enjoying themselves on something that is free for everyone.

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Eleven Pipers near Ski-slope

You can still pick up trail leaflets from places around Swadlincote (No.2 Coffee house on the Delph is the Trail HQ but other places such as Sharpes Pottery Museum may still have them) or click on the link here to download the information map.  The link will likely expire once the trail finishes.

I've put a few images of the sculptures on but there are a few more to see.