Our recent Spring update featured news of the new surface of route 63 between Donisthorpe and Measham. In the article it was mentioned that there were areas where there were loose stones.
We have received a few comments and complaints about this section as the surface has not bedded in as well as hoped. Leicestershire County Council are aware of the issue and are trying to find a solution. In the meantime we advise that users take care when using the sections affected.
Further updates will be posted when available.
Saturday, 25 May 2019
Sunday, 19 May 2019
Spring update
The arrival of Spring normally heralds an increase in activity out on the National Cycle Network and the recent heatwave over the Easter weekend will have helped.
More recent weather has shown how important maintaining the surface of the network is. This year we are pleased to share the news that improvements have been made to a significant section of our local network in the form of resurfacing of NCN63 on the Ashby Wolds Heritage Trail between Donisthorpe Church and Measham.
The work has been carried out by the local ranger team from Leicestershire County Council and has taken the form of a new stone surface which has been rolled. This follows some work last year on the verges surrounding the path.
Whilst the surface is quite loose in places initially, with use and weathering the path surface should improve in the future. Pictures taken before and after in 2 locations show how significant the improvement is with the surface. We look forward to monitoring the surface as part of our route checks over the coming months and years.
Away from our local area we noticed that there are some new leaflets relating to cycling further north in Derbyshire - namely the Peak District. We have posted articles about some of the trails in the Peak District and these leaflets feature some of those trails. Based around the main towns including Ashbourne, Bakewell and Matlock there are 4 leaflets which include several different routes in some detail. The leaflets are all available in Swadlincote Tourist Information Centre at Sharpes Pottery.
On a recent visit to the TIC I was informed that the cycle hire centre at Hicks Lodge now includes e-bike hire. For more information click here for a link to the Hicks Lodge Cafe / Bike Hire company page.
We have several activities planned over the next few months including signage work in Burton to divert NCN54 away from a major development site, continual monitoring of new link to Hicks Lodge from Moira Furnace. We will be involved in another led ride from Maurice Lea Park in the summer amongst other activities.
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| NCN63 approach to Donisthorpe 2017 vs 2019 |
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| NCN63 approach to Oakthorpe 2017 vs 2019 |
Away from our local area we noticed that there are some new leaflets relating to cycling further north in Derbyshire - namely the Peak District. We have posted articles about some of the trails in the Peak District and these leaflets feature some of those trails. Based around the main towns including Ashbourne, Bakewell and Matlock there are 4 leaflets which include several different routes in some detail. The leaflets are all available in Swadlincote Tourist Information Centre at Sharpes Pottery.On a recent visit to the TIC I was informed that the cycle hire centre at Hicks Lodge now includes e-bike hire. For more information click here for a link to the Hicks Lodge Cafe / Bike Hire company page.
We have several activities planned over the next few months including signage work in Burton to divert NCN54 away from a major development site, continual monitoring of new link to Hicks Lodge from Moira Furnace. We will be involved in another led ride from Maurice Lea Park in the summer amongst other activities.
Friday, 15 March 2019
Local integration with the railways
The National Cycle Network features a lot of off-road routes that were formerly railway lines, indeed the first section of Sustrans path was a railway between Bristol and Bath. Although the most recent version of Sustrans aims removed the statement relating to public transport to concentrate on walking and cycling, there is still much to be achieved by integration of all three.
This article looks at that integration from a local perspective, with several recent events and articles providing an interesting backdrop. Local routes 6, 54 and 63 within the National Forest area all feature former railway lines.
Other than Burton, the only 2 railway stations within the area are Willington on the Derby to Birmingham line and Hatton on the Derby to Stoke line. North West Leicestershire has no stations but has the currently freight only Ivanhoe Line (Burton to Leicester) which runs alongside part of NCN63 near Church Gresley - more of that a bit later.
Another line planned to traverse North West Leicestershire without serving it directly is High Speed 2 (HS2). This article does not intend to discuss the pros and cons of High Speed rail. There has been much debate over the benefit of HS2, particularly in communities closest to the line. Those personally most affected will receive forms of compensation but the communities in general tend to look towards mitigation in terms of legacy projects that aim to improve the area once the line is built.
One such legacy factor for HS2 was a network of proposed cycleways which in terms of benefits versus investment would actually have provided better value for money per person than HS2 itself whilst working along side. Sadly, this appears to be an opportunity missed as this article from the Guardian explains.
HS2 is not the first major infrastructure project to pass close to Measham. The A42 was built in the early 1990s to link the M1 with the M42. Unlike the later A50 route which feature tunnels carrying cycle routes notably the former railway lines carrying current NCN routes 63 and 6 were left curtailed by the A42, hence the diversions from the original route around the thunder of the A42 at Measham and close to Breedon.
A similar situation applies to the Ashby Canal whose original and proposed new routes would pass under the A42 and HS2 proposed route. This leaves a pair of expensive obstacles to completion of the canal project. The realignment of the A42 around Measham for HS2 sounds like an ideal opportunity to make provision for the canal while realignment work is done rather than an expensive retrospective engineering solution. However HS2 does not recognise the Ashby Canal project as significant enough to include provision. From the perspective of the local economy this is unfortunate to say the least.
HS2 is not the first project to destroy the peace and tranquillity of an area of beauty. When the Derby-Bakewell-Buxton-Manchester midland main line was built through the Monsal Valley there was uproar. Back in 1863 art critic and culture writer John Ruskin believed the railway completely destroyed the valley.
These days the railway trackbed carries the Monsal Trail, one of the most popular cycle routes not only in the Peak District but in the country. The views from Headstone Viaduct are tremendous and the trail is an exceptional experience as this blog item from 5 years ago explains. As the above paragraph alludes to though the trail is in place of what was a major piece of railway infrastructure and there has been a level of support to reinstate the railway.
There have been concerns that losing the Monsal trail would be a major in terms of lost cycling and walking infrastructure - currently the line itself is a destination as opposed to a route between other destinations such as Bakewell and Buxton. Can the railway and cycle & walking infrastructre work together? - you'd have to say this would be unlikely due to the geographical and geological nature of the route but it is worth investigating due to the significant visitors to the area (300k annually) based on the current attraction. Despite the potential for loss of the current trail cycling groups do not necessarily oppose the re-opening.
Further down in Derbyshire, sandwiched between East Staffordshire and North West Leicestershire is the Ivanhoe line mentioned near the start of the article. Unlike the Monsal Trail there is no risk to the adjacent cycle tracks; the line is still operational but generally needs upgrading from its current freight only quality to passenger services including several new stations.
The initial concept for the line was a large circular route via Loughbrough as explained here on Wikipedia. The area of interest here is between Leicester and Burton as explained in this Wikipedia page.
The main aims of the line would be to reduce the traffic into Leicester from the Ashby/Coalville corridor, estimated at around 4000-6000 journeys per day. It would also provide a link to the Heart of the National Forest so provide a useful piece of tourism infrastructure. Several attempts have been made to reopen the line.
In 1992 the cost was estimated at £16 million. Stage 1 was implemented but not the whole route. Privatisation in 1995 then affected the proposals further so the project was put on hold. Further proposals in 1997 and 1999 were unsuccessful and by 2009 the cost had risen to £50
million with estimated subsidy required of £4 million per annum or the building of an extra 268000 houses to provide patronage for the line. These figures have been contested and continue to do so while passenger numbers rise. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) had stated that the cost to benefit ratio was positive.
As each new proposal is discussed the number of stations appears to become lower. Originally a station at Moira was planned but this now looks to have been omitted, making Gresley and Ashby the closest to the Heart of the National Forest area. A pressure group called Campaign to Re-open the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) has been formed and a report from the local press explains more here.
Proposals are not strictly limited to the Burton to Leicester section and may incorporate Lichfield via the National Memorial Arboretum. It will be interesting to see what progress will be made this time. Whilst funding, cost of fares and co-operation between Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire County Councils are still significant hurdles, the fact that the line appears fairly prominently in the Campaign for Better Transport report "Case for Expanding the Rail Network" which can be read here.
Our aspiration from the proposal, if it comes to fruition, would be to ensure that the re-opened stations would be part of good quality transport links including cycling along the route and that being a tourist destination that the rolling stock provides decent capacity for bikes. The blog has reported in the past on the inconsistency of service provided regarding taking the bike on the train as this link explains. Hopefully if or when te line re-opens to passenger traffic the cost of tickets and complexity of finding the cheapest tickets won't be as much of a challenge as they are now.
Regardless of the Ivanhoe, or National Forest Line there is still some work to be done regarding integration with other transport at Burton-on-Trent station. Recently we reviewed the links to and from Burton Station to the NCN and the approach to the station is far from ideal. Another problem with onward connection from Burton, particularly to Swadlincote and surrounding villages, is the lack of buses that pass and stop at the station. This is understandable given the precarious nature of the flow of traffic into, out of and within Burton.
Most bus services to Swadlincote depart from New Street which is a brisk 15 minute walk from the station. The road layout near the station is currently not conducive for an interchange type arrangement although some significant work is taking place there this summer. We're not sure of the details of the work but hope it can improve both local transport connectivity and cycling access to and from the station. Read the link to the planned roadworks near Burton Station here.
We will monitor developments closely over the coming months and years. There are some potentially large and exciting developments if things are done well. Hopefully there will be some improvement in connectivity to improve our growing off road cycling and walking network.
This article looks at that integration from a local perspective, with several recent events and articles providing an interesting backdrop. Local routes 6, 54 and 63 within the National Forest area all feature former railway lines.
Other than Burton, the only 2 railway stations within the area are Willington on the Derby to Birmingham line and Hatton on the Derby to Stoke line. North West Leicestershire has no stations but has the currently freight only Ivanhoe Line (Burton to Leicester) which runs alongside part of NCN63 near Church Gresley - more of that a bit later.
Another line planned to traverse North West Leicestershire without serving it directly is High Speed 2 (HS2). This article does not intend to discuss the pros and cons of High Speed rail. There has been much debate over the benefit of HS2, particularly in communities closest to the line. Those personally most affected will receive forms of compensation but the communities in general tend to look towards mitigation in terms of legacy projects that aim to improve the area once the line is built.
One such legacy factor for HS2 was a network of proposed cycleways which in terms of benefits versus investment would actually have provided better value for money per person than HS2 itself whilst working along side. Sadly, this appears to be an opportunity missed as this article from the Guardian explains.
HS2 is not the first major infrastructure project to pass close to Measham. The A42 was built in the early 1990s to link the M1 with the M42. Unlike the later A50 route which feature tunnels carrying cycle routes notably the former railway lines carrying current NCN routes 63 and 6 were left curtailed by the A42, hence the diversions from the original route around the thunder of the A42 at Measham and close to Breedon.
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| Next to the Conkachoo - a rare passenger train in NW Leicestershire! |
HS2 is not the first project to destroy the peace and tranquillity of an area of beauty. When the Derby-Bakewell-Buxton-Manchester midland main line was built through the Monsal Valley there was uproar. Back in 1863 art critic and culture writer John Ruskin believed the railway completely destroyed the valley.
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| The link with the railways is often obvious |
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| Could cycling and railway exist side by side here? |
Further down in Derbyshire, sandwiched between East Staffordshire and North West Leicestershire is the Ivanhoe line mentioned near the start of the article. Unlike the Monsal Trail there is no risk to the adjacent cycle tracks; the line is still operational but generally needs upgrading from its current freight only quality to passenger services including several new stations.
The initial concept for the line was a large circular route via Loughbrough as explained here on Wikipedia. The area of interest here is between Leicester and Burton as explained in this Wikipedia page.
The main aims of the line would be to reduce the traffic into Leicester from the Ashby/Coalville corridor, estimated at around 4000-6000 journeys per day. It would also provide a link to the Heart of the National Forest so provide a useful piece of tourism infrastructure. Several attempts have been made to reopen the line.
In 1992 the cost was estimated at £16 million. Stage 1 was implemented but not the whole route. Privatisation in 1995 then affected the proposals further so the project was put on hold. Further proposals in 1997 and 1999 were unsuccessful and by 2009 the cost had risen to £50
 |
| The Ivanhoe Line features in this report. |
As each new proposal is discussed the number of stations appears to become lower. Originally a station at Moira was planned but this now looks to have been omitted, making Gresley and Ashby the closest to the Heart of the National Forest area. A pressure group called Campaign to Re-open the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) has been formed and a report from the local press explains more here.
Proposals are not strictly limited to the Burton to Leicester section and may incorporate Lichfield via the National Memorial Arboretum. It will be interesting to see what progress will be made this time. Whilst funding, cost of fares and co-operation between Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire County Councils are still significant hurdles, the fact that the line appears fairly prominently in the Campaign for Better Transport report "Case for Expanding the Rail Network" which can be read here.
Our aspiration from the proposal, if it comes to fruition, would be to ensure that the re-opened stations would be part of good quality transport links including cycling along the route and that being a tourist destination that the rolling stock provides decent capacity for bikes. The blog has reported in the past on the inconsistency of service provided regarding taking the bike on the train as this link explains. Hopefully if or when te line re-opens to passenger traffic the cost of tickets and complexity of finding the cheapest tickets won't be as much of a challenge as they are now.
Regardless of the Ivanhoe, or National Forest Line there is still some work to be done regarding integration with other transport at Burton-on-Trent station. Recently we reviewed the links to and from Burton Station to the NCN and the approach to the station is far from ideal. Another problem with onward connection from Burton, particularly to Swadlincote and surrounding villages, is the lack of buses that pass and stop at the station. This is understandable given the precarious nature of the flow of traffic into, out of and within Burton.
Most bus services to Swadlincote depart from New Street which is a brisk 15 minute walk from the station. The road layout near the station is currently not conducive for an interchange type arrangement although some significant work is taking place there this summer. We're not sure of the details of the work but hope it can improve both local transport connectivity and cycling access to and from the station. Read the link to the planned roadworks near Burton Station here.
We will monitor developments closely over the coming months and years. There are some potentially large and exciting developments if things are done well. Hopefully there will be some improvement in connectivity to improve our growing off road cycling and walking network.
Monday, 28 January 2019
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.
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.
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.
Monday, 21 January 2019
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.
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.
Thursday, 13 December 2018
National Cycle Network Review - Analysis
The National Cycle Network recently celebrated it's 20th birthday. From humble beginnings it has grown dramatically over those 20 years with help from various funding streams but particularly a large lottery project at the turn of the millennium.
The network now covers 16575 miles and supports over 4 million journeys per year. However, managing such a huge network is challenging. It has grown in a way that has led to inconsistency in terms of quality, connectivity and clarity. As a result Sustrans commissioned the first in-depth review of the network.
The outcomes of the report (which you can find by clicking here) are of no great surprise to those of us close to the network. Our enthusiasm for the fantastic routes we look after is tempered with the reality that cycling infrastructure in this country suffers from under-investment and the fact that our National Cycle Network is looked after by volunteers on behalf of a charity is indeed the stark reality. Network development has been erratic due to ever decreasing funding streams and a lack of consistency in terms of design.
Our Chief Executive Xavier Brice was recently quoted in a very good recent article in the Guardian as referring to parts of the network as "crap". For those fearing another Gerald Ratner moment I feel that he pretty much nailed it in this case. The above paragraph explains my feelings towards something that means a lot to me but there is no point in thinking it is perfect when there is so much room for improvement. The article provides a good context to the comments and summarises the report well. Xavier also speaks in more depth in this blog article which is also worth a read.
The main theme of the review has been to classify standards and assess the impact required to improve. One clear point is that a lot of the poor or very poor sections are on road so one of the main aims is to increase the amount of off-road sections. The off road sections still require a lot of attention with surface variability and obstacles being 2 of the main issues to address. Notably over 50% of journeys made on the NCN are by walkers and there are also increasing numbers of users with mobility issues for which many of the barriers deter access. The Paths for Everyone title is very apt.
At this point I will reiterate that most of the NCN is not owned by Sustrans so working with the various landowners and so many other partners and groups is vitally important. Our role as volunteers and members of staff is very much that of custodian. I will be posting further details about how our own local sections compare to the national picture and what action will be required to improve but for those willing to face a plethora of figures we need to consider the funding aspect!
The funding of the project is, as ever, crucial. The figures in the report look huge which is no surprise given the size of the network and struggle for funding this far. The initial figure in the report of £2.8 billion to achieve a network of gold standard quality is a scary figure even with a projected pay-back to the economy of around £2.5 billion per annum. However, the £2.8 billion is the total cost over 22 years to 2040 which works out at £127 million per annum. This figure in isolation is still large but compared with road building budget is very small and the projected payback being a huge return on investment at nearly 20:1 benefit to cost ratio.
The funding issue was debated well at a recent launch event for Sustrans volunteers, staff and supporters. Funding streams from a number of different sources were discussed but one key contributor stated that the Government should be responsible for providing funding and based on the above figures it is a fair call but we need to consider that the NCN is only part of the cycling and walking infrastructure.
From my experience over the last few years funding has been something akin to a game of hungry hippos where the available funding is snapped up very quickly by those authorities most prepared and tends to be based on major projects mainly in our biggest cities. The NCN crosses many authority boundaries and has large rural sections so is not always best placed to benefit from some of the funding available, indeed neighbouring authorities on the same stretch of NCN may find themselves bidding against each other for their own connectivity projects. The latest figures released with the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review mentions £1.2 billion to be be spent over 5 years from 2016-2021 of which approximately half is intended for cycling and walking infrastructure
There is also a large gap in funding between London and the rest of the UK. At presentations I've been to in the past I've seen 2 sets of figures given for cost per head attributed to cycling. This can be very confusing when trying to compare against the likes of the Dutch in terms of cycling budget. The CWIS mentioned above also suggests that the figures per head have doubled from £3.50 to £7 although it is not clear whether this includes the inflated figure that includes London. This sounds positive but pails into insignificance when compared to the Dutch figure which is around £24 per person.
I recently visited Amsterdam briefly and had a keen eye on the cycling infrastructure between Ijmuiden and Amsterdam city centre. All of the way along the route was uninterrupted, segregated and wide cycle routes. Yes it helps being flat and being a smaller country but it works so well because it is consistently designed and has been well planned and funding distributed more fairly throughout the country. Other cities in the Netherlands have benefited as much as Amsterdam - Groeningen in particular, though the distribution of population in the Netherlands is far more even than in England due mainly to the huge size of London.
It was with a sense of frustration that I returned to cycling in England with our less developed network but the subsequent release, digestion and analysis of the NCN review gives us hope that it's future state will be better than now, subject to the funding of course but also to spread the word and gain the support of our communities to promote it, use it and love it.
The network now covers 16575 miles and supports over 4 million journeys per year. However, managing such a huge network is challenging. It has grown in a way that has led to inconsistency in terms of quality, connectivity and clarity. As a result Sustrans commissioned the first in-depth review of the network.
Our Chief Executive Xavier Brice was recently quoted in a very good recent article in the Guardian as referring to parts of the network as "crap". For those fearing another Gerald Ratner moment I feel that he pretty much nailed it in this case. The above paragraph explains my feelings towards something that means a lot to me but there is no point in thinking it is perfect when there is so much room for improvement. The article provides a good context to the comments and summarises the report well. Xavier also speaks in more depth in this blog article which is also worth a read.
The main theme of the review has been to classify standards and assess the impact required to improve. One clear point is that a lot of the poor or very poor sections are on road so one of the main aims is to increase the amount of off-road sections. The off road sections still require a lot of attention with surface variability and obstacles being 2 of the main issues to address. Notably over 50% of journeys made on the NCN are by walkers and there are also increasing numbers of users with mobility issues for which many of the barriers deter access. The Paths for Everyone title is very apt.
 |
| Discussing the outcomes of the report |
At this point I will reiterate that most of the NCN is not owned by Sustrans so working with the various landowners and so many other partners and groups is vitally important. Our role as volunteers and members of staff is very much that of custodian. I will be posting further details about how our own local sections compare to the national picture and what action will be required to improve but for those willing to face a plethora of figures we need to consider the funding aspect!
The funding of the project is, as ever, crucial. The figures in the report look huge which is no surprise given the size of the network and struggle for funding this far. The initial figure in the report of £2.8 billion to achieve a network of gold standard quality is a scary figure even with a projected pay-back to the economy of around £2.5 billion per annum. However, the £2.8 billion is the total cost over 22 years to 2040 which works out at £127 million per annum. This figure in isolation is still large but compared with road building budget is very small and the projected payback being a huge return on investment at nearly 20:1 benefit to cost ratio.
The funding issue was debated well at a recent launch event for Sustrans volunteers, staff and supporters. Funding streams from a number of different sources were discussed but one key contributor stated that the Government should be responsible for providing funding and based on the above figures it is a fair call but we need to consider that the NCN is only part of the cycling and walking infrastructure.
From my experience over the last few years funding has been something akin to a game of hungry hippos where the available funding is snapped up very quickly by those authorities most prepared and tends to be based on major projects mainly in our biggest cities. The NCN crosses many authority boundaries and has large rural sections so is not always best placed to benefit from some of the funding available, indeed neighbouring authorities on the same stretch of NCN may find themselves bidding against each other for their own connectivity projects. The latest figures released with the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review mentions £1.2 billion to be be spent over 5 years from 2016-2021 of which approximately half is intended for cycling and walking infrastructure
There is also a large gap in funding between London and the rest of the UK. At presentations I've been to in the past I've seen 2 sets of figures given for cost per head attributed to cycling. This can be very confusing when trying to compare against the likes of the Dutch in terms of cycling budget. The CWIS mentioned above also suggests that the figures per head have doubled from £3.50 to £7 although it is not clear whether this includes the inflated figure that includes London. This sounds positive but pails into insignificance when compared to the Dutch figure which is around £24 per person.
 |
| Segregated and spacious - cycling into Amsterdam |
It was with a sense of frustration that I returned to cycling in England with our less developed network but the subsequent release, digestion and analysis of the NCN review gives us hope that it's future state will be better than now, subject to the funding of course but also to spread the word and gain the support of our communities to promote it, use it and love it.
Saturday, 18 August 2018
Spring/Summer Review on NCN63 and beyond
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| The Albert Village Lake Hub celebrates the Potteries. |
As mentioned in another blog article we will be attending a publicity event to launch the hubs and share our cycling knowledge. The Hubs have been well researched and beautifully designed and will bring back memories for those who can remember the former landscapes and industries so vital to the area.
A little further afield, work has started on the cycling hub at Calke Abbey.
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| The link to Hicks Lodge is on the right hand side of the picture. |
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| Cygnets near Burton College. |
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| A family of Coots near Conkers Canal Basin |
It has also been a good time to take photos of some of the wildlife around the routes. The canal in particular has seen the birth of cygnets, moorhens, ducklings and also seen a significant number of dragonflies.
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