5 | BURTONEWS
6 | BURTONEWS
BURTON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Traffic Matters and Community SpeedWatch The frequency of Community SpeedWatch (CSW) sessions has reduced because of other higher priority calls on PCSO Linda Conway’s time. However, repeat and/ or excessive speeding drivers have continued to be visited by police officers with evident good effect. In most sessions the highest speeds and number of offenders continue to be recorded in Neston Road. Several speed enforcement sessions were conducted by police in 2014 but no drivers were reported as a result. A dark blue VW Passat travelling in the Neston Road 30mph limit towards the centre of the village in November seriously damaged fencing and property on the right-hand side of the road. Police have been unable to trace the vehicle or driver. Earlier in the year a car parked on the outside of the Manor Villas bend was written off by a passing vehicle. Fortunately no one was injured as a result of these incidents. Last summer two residents organised a petition in which some 200 concerned Burton residents and non-residents sought a statutory 20mph limit and/ or traffic calming. Cllr Lock convened a meeting in September between the petition organisers, two engineers from CWaC Highways Department and two members of your committee. The engineers agreed to conduct a further Traffic Survey in October. They also agreed that the CWaC Road Safety Engineer would conduct a formal Speed Limit Assessment for The Village Road in early 2015. The engineers explained that regulations required traffic calming schemes to cover a distance of at least 800 metres with features (e.g. speed cushions) approximately every 100 metres. These schemes were also required to have distinctive entry features (e.g. artificial width restrictions) and extra signage. They questioned whether such a scheme would be aesthetically acceptable or practical in Burton.
BURTON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Burtonews
Gladstone Village Hall RSPB Events Sunday 10 May 10am - 12pm Price: £5 per person (£4 RSPB members) Booking essential As part of Wirral Walking Festival, join us for this guided walk around Burton Mere Wetlands to admire one of the best bluebell woodlands in the area whilst being serenaded by the array of birds we have nesting here. For those who are up for a longer walk, we will venture up to Burton Point where there is another impressive stand of bluebells beneath the small copse, along with stunning panoramic views over Burton Mere Wetlands and across the estuary to the Welsh hills. This part of the walk will take in some trails including sloped grass paths.
Stick around afterwards to enjoy the rest of the reserve, and a hot drink in the Reception Hide. Sturdy footwear is essential.
Friday 22 May 10am - 1pm Price: £9 per person (£7.50 RSPB members) Booking essential As part of Wirral Walking Festival, join us for this exciting event during which we’ll uncover the rich and interesting history of the land that now forms Burton Mere Wetlands, including the picturesque Burton Mere and its links to former Prime Minister William Gladstone and his family.
Also on the site are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort of national importance that has offered clues to archaeologists about the history of the area. The walk will also take in part of the Burton Marsh Greenway, visiting Chapel Field on the west side of Burton village, before finishing at Burton Manor Cafe for a light buffet lunch. The walk is approximately 3 miles in length and crosses grassed farmland in places, so a decent level of fitness is required and appropriate footwear must be worn. Price includes lunch at Burton Manor Cafe. Advanced booking and payment are required.
Don’t miss the annual Burton Fete Spectacular with entertainment for all the family. Saturday, 6th June 2015 www.gladstonevillagehall.org.uk
Mill Wood Trust Windfall for Gladstone Village Hall of The Manor entrance and the second near the junction with Vicarage Lane (a location not used before). The Manor sensor recorded an average two-way total daily volume of 2,408 vehicles, an increase of 5% on the October 2013 figure but still 6.7% lower than the peak 2,582 vehicles measured in July 2010. Mean average speeds at The Manor were 31.4mph westbound and 28.9mph eastbound, both 3mph higher than a year earlier in October 2013. 15.3% of vehicles westbound and 4.7% eastbound were measured at 36mph or more (respectively 3.4% and 0.2% in October 2013).
CWaC current policy requires at least 51% of residents to support new 20mph and traffic calming schemes, and some local contribution to funding, before the investment can be considered. The engineers also referred to a national policy to reduce signage wherever possible.
At the Vicarage Lane junction mean average speeds were 31.8mph eastbound and 28.1mph westbound. 16.0% of vehicles eastbound and 3.6% westbound were measured at 36mph or above. (The 36mph threshold is likely to be the lowest speed in a 30mph limit at which a driver would be reported by Cheshire police officers conducting enforcement operations.)
The promised Traffic Survey was conducted on 9-16 October with two sensors in The Village, one to the west
The promised Speed Limit Assessment Report for The Village between Station Road and Vicarage Lane was completed
on 27 January 2015. This recommended that, in accordance with Department for Transport and national police guidelines for through roads without substantial traffic calming, the speed limit for The Village should remain at 30mph. The full report is available on the BRA website. A meeting took place on 27 February between our two Councillors and representatives of Cheshire Police, the BRA and the Community Safety Warden team to discuss the above report, the October traffic survey, CSW experience and associated village safety issues. It was agreed that CWaC Highways Department should be asked to consider the installation of a further Speed Indicating Device near to the Manor Villas bend and that the police would carry out further speed enforcement in the village as resources allowed. The Community Safety Wardens would monitor pavement obstruction from time to time to ensure that pedestrians were not forced to walk in the road and they would assist with the village CSW scheme to facilitate extra observation sessions.
The GVH will see its 33 year old boiler replaced and acquire a new set of 120 chairs, thanks to an unexpected donation by the Mill Wood Trust. Their trustees had a good look around the site and decided this was the best use for their donation. In fact they were bowled over by our facilities and very keen to help us encourage their use – sometimes it takes visitors’ comments to remember how lucky we are! We now have an enthusiastic committee with new members which, as well as currently planning the fete, is looking to increase hall and sports pavilion bookings. If anyone has suggestions for a class or club they’d like to see happening, then now is a good time to let us know. A list of already available activities is on our website at www.gladstonevillagehall.org. Both the hall and sports pavilion can also be hired for private functions at reasonable cost. So please support your village community. For more information, call Connie (for village hall enquiries) on 336 3679 or Penny (for sports pavilion enquiries) on 336 8752. Ingrid Sturmey
Deeside Solar Park A Planning Application for the development of what would be the largest solar park in the United Kingdom (180,000 panels) on high quality agricultural land adjacent to the Cheshire Green Belt was heard by the Flintshire CC Planning Committee on 23rd July 2014. Michael Redmond attended the meeting and spoke in support of the Association’s formal written objection to the proposal. A number of Flintshire Councillors also objected but after discussion lasting nearly two hours, conditional Planning Consent was granted by the narrow margin of 9 votes to 7. However, over eight months after the granting of conditional Planning Consent, the Application, according
to Flintshire CC remains “under consideration” for reasons which have not been disclosed. In the meantime, two major schemes for subsiding the development of large solar parks have been withdrawn and the future of the Deeside Solar Park may, after all, be in doubt. The Association continues to monitor the situation – SO WATCH THIS SPACE or, rather, our WEBSITE!
burtonresidentsassociation.co.uk
BURTON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the second edition of Burtonews I hope you find it a good read – there is a lot going on at present and no doubt there will be new issues to tackle in the coming year. If you are not already a paid up member of the Association, please do join us – the Association needs all the support it can get to protect and promote the interests of the village. Please complete the enclosed application form and, ideally, the Standing Order – this will
ensure automatic renewal of your membership each year and save the Association precious time and money sending out reminders. I hope to see you at our AGM on 12th May. Michael Redmond Chairman
APRIL 2015
Notice of Annual General Meeting The 25th Annual General Meeting of the Association will take place at Gladstone Village Hall on Tuesday 12th May starting at 8pm. All local residents are cordially invited to join your committee and fellow members. Complimentary coffee, tea and biscuits will be served.
The saga of the shelter In the Autumn of 2013 the sandstone bus shelter, which had been a feature of the centre of the village for many years, was sealed off in a somewhat unsightly fashion by Cheshire West & Chester Council because it was deemed unsafe. The Association asked the Council to repair the shelter as a matter of urgency because, although there was no Burton bus service, the shelter was used by school children at each end of the day for the school bus. It provided shelter from the elements and a haven from passing traffic where there was no pavement. Unfortunately, the Council could not find evidence that it owned the land on which the shelter stood and, therefore, could not assume liability for its repair. The Association then began its own investigation into ownership which included visits by the Chairman to the Birkenhead Land Registry and correspondence with a number of residents, all of which proved negative.
Before
Eventually Mrs Hilda Bartley came to our rescue and, with her phenomenal memory, was able to confirm not only that the shelter was built in 1966, but that it was built by Jack Brocklehurst and Tom Able who worked for Neston Urban District Council! Armed with this information, Councillor Kay Loch was able to instigate a fresh search for the missing deed which was eventually found, having been overlooked when the Council’s property records were transferred to an electronic index.
After
The Association, with the help of Councillor Loch, then prevailed upon the Council to refurbish the shelter and the work was eventually completed at the beginning of December 2014, just in time for the onset of winter. Our thanks to all those who helped bring the Saga of the Shelter to such a successful conclusion and special thanks to Mrs Bartley and Councillor Loch.