Wincanton Transport Plan - 2013
Wincanton Town Council Transport Plan 2013
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Wincanton Transport Plan - 2013
Wincanton Town Council Transport Plan
Chapter Content Page
1 Introduction 3
2 Overview 7
3 Roads and Traffic 9
4 Public Transport – Rail 15
5 Public Transport – Bus 16
6 Walking – Surfaces Footways and Footpaths 20
7 Walking – Public Footpaths and Bridleways 24
8 Cycling 26
9 High Street / Bayford Hill 29
10 Car Parks 31
11 Signage 35
12 Summary 37
Appendix 1 Parish Path Liaison Officers (PPLO) Footpaths in the Wincanton Parish Report 38
Somerset County Council - Cycling and Walking in Somerset Map 19 Edition 2 Appendix 2 39 - Wincanton Including Stoke Trister, Bayford and Holton A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of Appendix 3 40 2000 – Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council, WS Atkins
References:
1. Wincanton Peoples Plan 2006 - 2026
2. Wincanton Strategy Committee Questionnaire 1998
3. A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report 2000 (SSDC/Somerset County Council/WS Atkins)
4. Berrys Coaches Superfast Timetable
5. First 58/158 Timetable
6. South West Coaches 168 Timetable
7. Past Wincanton Town Council Minutes and issues raised by Wincanton residents at Council meetings.
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1. Introduction
1.1 Wincanton is a small town in south Somerset, southwest England. Wincanton is situated on the north east edge of Blackmore Vale, 15 miles (24 km) north east of Yeovil, and 12 miles (19 km)
North West of Shaftesbury on the extreme southeast of Somerset close to the borders of Dorset and
Wiltshire. The town lies on the A303 road, the main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry.
1.2 This ancient parish of Wincanton lies in the south-east part of the county and at its centre is the largest town of the district. The parish is divided between one principal and three smaller areas, and many very small pieces of land consisting of isolated fields, and is highly irregular in shape. In the north and north-west its boundaries interlock with Charlton Musgrove and Shepton Montague in a manner which suggests that, like them, it was formerly part of the royal manor and minster parish of
Bruton. Traces of that link were still to be found in the 1080s when a new hundred was created of which Wincanton was the temporary head. A borough had been created by the mid 14th Century, presumably by the Lovel family. In the northeast of the parish is the site of the small Augustinian priory of Stavordale, most of whose estates lay in the immediate neighbourhood.
1.3 The main part of the parish measured 7 km. from north-west to south-east and over 2 km. from east to west at its widest point. The three main detached areas stretched from the town 2 km. north to Roundhill, 2 km. north-west to Cuttlesham, and nearly 4 km. north-east to Stavordale. The distance from Roundhill to Rodgrove, near the southern boundary beyond Marsh, is 8 km. The only natural boundaries were stretches of the river Cale, from which the town derives part of its name. Part of the Selwood ridge road was the boundary in the extreme north-east.
1.4 The River Cale rises on the western scarp of the Selwood ridge just above the 180-m. (590ft.) contour and flows first south and then south-west across a broad clay valley, forming the boundary with Charlton Musgrove. It is joined by a stream from Roundhill and then follows the line of the Mere fault where a narrow, steep-sided valley has been formed through a ridge of disjointed outcrops of
Forest Marble clay and Cornbrash limestone. Emerging from that valley, the river turns abruptly south and then continues south-east forming a band of alluvium sandwiched between Oxford Clay,
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eventually joining the river Stour. Wincanton town, presumably originating around the parish church on roughly level ground beside the Cale, first evidently spread eastwards up the south-western side of
Windmill Hill (139 m. (456 ft.)). The route through the town was described c. 1700 as 'a steep precipice, all rocks', and part of the hill was quarried from the earlier 18th century until 1900.
1.5 Wincanton lies at the junction of routes from Castle Cary, Bruton, Mere (Wilts.), Sherborne
(Dors.), and Yeovil. The east-west route through the town formed part of the main London-Plymouth road by the later 17th Century and it was turnpiked by the Wincanton trust together with those to
Milborne Port and Castle Cary in 1756. In 1818 a new road was built across Ball Common, east of the parish, probably continuing through Shalford. It was extended through Roundhill to Bruton in 1831, and North Street was turnpiked in 1818 as part of the road to Shepton Montague. The roads were disturnpiked in 1874. Further road improvements, planned in 1937-8 for a western relief road and
London-Plymouth road to bypass the town, were built in 1977.
1.6 The town had a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway but this closed on 7
March 1966. The Dorset Central Railway line reached Wincanton in 1861. The station opened in the same year and was one of the first to be lit by gas. In 1862 the company merged with the Somerset
Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway, controlling a line from Bath to
Bournemouth. Goods traffic south of Wincanton ceased in 1965 and to the north in 1966. The line closed to passengers in 1966 and the track and buildings were removed to make way for housing.
1.7 The town has a population of 4,643 (Census 2001). Despite this small population, Wincanton is also a service town for at least another 3,500 people living in the settlements in the surrounding countryside, in particular; the neighbouring parishes of Abbas and Templecombe, Bayford and Stoke
Trister, Blackford, Bratton Seymour, Charlton Musgrove, Cucklington, Holton, Horsington, North
Cheriton, Penselwood and South Cheriton.
1.8 A number of documents have been complied in the past - Wincanton Peoples Plan 2006 –
2026, Wincanton Strategy Committee Questionnaire 1998 and A Summary of the Wincanton Town
Transport Study Consultation Report 2000 (SSDC/Somerset County Council/WS Atkins). References to these are made in this document.
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1.9 Wincanton has had approximately 700+ houses built or been given planning permission for since 2004. The two largest developments are Kingwell Rise (Deansley Way) to the East of the town, along the A303 and the ‘Key site’, The Chase (New Barns) to the West of the town. Other development sites include Cale House (Former site of transport business Wincanton PLC) and
Bayford Hill. More recently an application for 58 dwellings to be built adjacent to the Wincanton
Community Hospital, using the hospital car park as an entrance point has not approved. There is concern from Wincanton Town council about the use of the car park as an entry/exit point and
Dancing Lane is unsuitable for heavy traffic use, as it is narrow and single carriageway in places. At time of writing an appeal against the non-approval went forward to judicial review, but was turned down by the Judge on natural justice. The Judge maintained it would have to go back to another enquiry.
1.10 These current developments are leading to Wincanton’s current transport problems. The
Chase (283 dwellings) is being developed North of an existing business park. The southern routing of domestic traffic is through the business park. Kingwell Rise (245 dwellings) is egressed with a single entrance road through an existing housing estate (Deansley Way) and give rise to “rat runs” morning and evening in adjacent residential areas. The Ministry of Defence has recently purchased 85 dwellings in Kingwell, in order to house military families based at Yeovilton following drawdown of troops from Germany.
1.11 The town centre is accessed from the South from Southgate Road via the new round-a-bout
(constructed 2013) into Station Road, B3081; the start of the one way system. This one way system travels around the Parish Church (St Peter and St Paul) onto Church Street (B3081) around the town hall, down South Street/Tout Hill, going past the Catholic Church (St Luke and St Teresa’s) and back onto Southgate Road. The One way system is joined onto by North Street (B3081) and High Street both at the junction of Town Square/Town Hall. It has a number of danger points where serious accidents are inevitable. The island outside the town hall it could be argued has the wrong precedence
(give way to the left). The pavement going from the town Hall down to South Street/Tout Hill is narrow and has been the cause of a number of minor injuries, but with the size of wing mirrors on buses and lorries becoming ever larger and projecting further, as serious head injury will follow. Just down from
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the town hall, parking outside the NatW est bank and small store; causes traffic jams as large vehicles cannot pass, crucially buses including Berry’s Coaches (London to Taunton service). This one way system has high volumes of traffic at various times of the day. This increases hugely on race days of the nearby Wincanton Racecourse; situated North of the town via the B3081 (North Street/ Old Hill).
Traffic has to negotiate the one way system between historic buildings, parked cars, traffic islands and other traffic joining from the feeder roads North and West of the one way system. At the junction of
Church Street, High Street, North Street and South Street heavy traffic has to bear right down South
Street due to weight restrictions North and West. The new traffic Island on the junction of Southgate road, South Street gives heavy traffic the option of turning round before entering the one way system.
However this new junction layout has led to confusion and accidents due vision (parked cars on South
Street and Southgate Road)) and Highway Code adherence.
2. Overview
2.1 In November 1998 the then Wincanton Strategy Committee, initiative of Wincanton Town
Council; produced results from a questionnaire. This was to form the part of a larger project to take the town forward over the next ten to fifteen years. It went to all 2,009 households in Wincanton, residents being asked to comment on a number of transport issues identified by the committee and were also asked to identify any additional transport issues that they felt were important to themselves and the local community. The resulting plan was a ‘fill the gap’ plan only.
2.2 Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council and WS Atkins produced the A
Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report in 2000. This identified a number of proposals for Wincanton resident’s opinion by return questionnaire (see Appendix 3). Some of these proposals have been completed.
2.3 In 2007 Wincanton developed the Wincanton Peoples Plan for the period 2006 to 2026. This was developed by the Wincanton People’s Plan Steering Group with support from the Market and
Coastal Association (MCTA), South Somerset District Council and Wincanton Town Council. Members of this steering group comprised of Town Councillors, local business people and other local interested parties.
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2.4 As part of this Peoples Plan the local resident’s views were gathered via surveys and community consultation events. Some 862 responses were collected this way, with a further 100 collected at a schools consultation. Transport issues were not specific goals of the Wincanton vision but nonetheless they played a part in most of the goals and are embedded into many of the projects outlined in the plan.
2.4.1 Employment and Business – B2 & B3 Assess needs of and constraints on business and ensure
Wincanton addresses these.
2.4.1.1 Shops –
2.4.1.1.1 S2 adequate free car parking
2.4.1.1.2 S4 Consider how edge-of –town shoppers can be drawn into the High Street shopping
area. For example through pony-and-trap rides to the town centre
2.4.1.2 Community
2.4.1.2.1 C1 develop a well-lit footpath to the Sports Ground
2.4.1.2.2 Create safe cycle routes to school
2.4.1.3 Housing – H02 and H04, Develop a flagship housing project to showcase quality and
sustainability and create a quality-design framework. Integral to both will be the management
of traffic within the development and the minimising of car usage to and from the development.
2.5 This Wincanton Transport Plan identifies the main transport issues facing the town not only at the present time but also into the future. It will not resolve all of the transport problems in the town, but it will highlight the primary areas of concern and identify a number of local improvements that could be delivered which would make a difference to the local community. A certain amount of development funding towards a sustainable transport improvements in the town has been secured in the past and would have to be secured in the future. 106 agreement monies would assist in this.
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3 Roads and Traffic
3.1 South Somerset District Council Area East Committee – 10 October 2012 report stated;
Wincanton is adjacent to the busy A303 with an average of 21,000 cars passing the town every day.
Traffic is on route to the South west or London and the South East. Few passers-by have any understanding of business opportunities in the town, or stop to enjoy its local attractions. Wincanton’s image, a little known industrial town, is inadequate to attract the trade and businesses that it needs for its future prosperity. There is broad interest in the town to address this opportunity through better marketing.
3.2 Ease of movement around the town, in general traffic flows reasonably freely through
Wincanton. The main causes of congestion are:
3.2.1 Race days at Wincanton Racecourse. When traffic leaves the Racecourse there are considerable hold-ups at the junction of North Street and the Market Place. Also Shadwell Lane off
Cale Way, used as another route to North Street (B3081) is a single carriageway in places.
Junction of Shadwell Lane and North Street
Shadwell Lane junction with North Street has a narrow Northern end with no pavements along the majority of its length.
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3.2.2 Friday morning refuse collection. There is a bottleneck in the one-way system at South Street.
When the collection lorry reaches this point, traffic is delayed for around a maximum of 10 minutes
3.2.3 School drop-off/ pick up times. The two primary schools are both located in South Street/Tout
Hill. Congestion is caused by parents seeking and leaving parking spaces and the operation of the school crossings. Also ‘School Run’ causes congestion in Balsam Fields (outside the Vets) and
Balsam Park.
3.3 Means of travel to work
70% 61% 61% 60% Wincanton South Somerset 50%
40%
30%
18% 20% 13% 12% 10% 6% 10% 6% 4% 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Source: Somerset County Council, 2005, Somerset Interactive Area Profiles. Data from National Statistics, Census 2001.
Table at 3.3 highlights that public transport plays very little part in getting people to and from work either in Wincanton or South Somerset as a whole.
Recommendations:
3.4 Market Place – The A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000, proposed at the Market Place (Junction of High Street, Church Street and South Street); enlargement of the traffic island – widened pavements- provision of a three-way pelican crossing. In addition, speed reduction measures should be introduced on approaches to this junction. Further new proposal is to change priority at junction of South Street/High Street – The speed of the traffic in the high street is considered and has the perception of being too high. As pointed out in the introduction the one way system has a number of danger points where serious accidents are inevitable. The island outside the town hall it could be argued has the wrong precedence (give way to the left). The
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preference could be revised so that traffic coming from Church Street and going down South Street have preference (give way to traffic on your right
3.5 Introduce a Pinch Point by HSBC. The pavement outside the HSBC bank in Church Street is narrow and has been the cause of a number of minor injuries, but with the size of wing mirrors on
Buses and Lorries becoming ever larger and projecting further, as serious head injury will follow. This stretch of road requires a ‘Pinch point’ with a wider pavement. This would allow short time street parking, which in turn would slow traffic.
3.6 South Street – Reduce road to single carriageway by NatWest etc. Just down from the town hall, on South Street, parking outside the NatWest Bank and small store; causes traffic jams as large vehicles cannot pass, crucially buses including Berry’s Coaches (London to Taunton Service). By reducing the road to a single carriageway would prevent parking and therefore prevent traffic jams and create traffic flow on the one way system.
3.7 The Batch West Hill – Introduce Pinch Point. The West Hill road is a main route to the school
King Arthurs. In the area of the Batch, North side, the pavement is very narrow, just about accommodates a push chair. On the south side of the road there is no pavement. This is the main road to Castle Cary and King Arthurs School and Wincanton Community Hospital. A 20mph speed limit should be considered for outside King Arthur Community School as well as the existing one in
Dancing Lane.
The Batch
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3.8 Old Hill North Street – Move the 30mph signs from current location to the top of Old Hill
(Currently they are on the Wincanton side of Verrington Lane).
3.9 Consider a reduced speed limit area (Such as residential areas and town centre). Residents are complaining on a regular basis about speeding traffic. The A Summary of the Wincanton Town
Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 also suggested the following roads as requiring traffic calming / speed reduction measures; High Street, Southgate Drive, South Street, Springfield Road,
North Street/Old Hill, Balsam Fields, West Hill and Cavalier Way.
3.10 North Street is a road leading out of Wincanton to Wincanton Race Course, Wincanton
Garden centre and onwards to Bruton. Parking around the junction opposite the Old Police station is another cause of congestion especially on race days. Residents park their cars in the road way on both sides creating a restricted passage through. Yellow lines should be considered on one side to enable two way traffic and the ease of coaches on race days.
3.11 A303 – the A303 is a main trunk route and the spinal lifeblood to all the southern counties. The
A303 is not just a tourist route but sustains the industries, large and small in this area. Wincanton is expected to take an increase in housing as its part in the Somerset allocation. In order for employment to grow in relation to this population increase, business also needs to expand and Wincanton needs to attract new business into the area. All of the local authorities are anxious that the duelling for the A303 is completed for its entire length. Also the A303 road noise is very high and with new dwellings being built to infill on land adjacent to the A303 a quieter surface dressing is required to reduce this road noise.
3.12 The A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 proposed the cross roads at Southgate Road, Moor land and Station Road have a site improvement of either a round-a-bout or an improvement road junction layout. The round-a-bout was the chosen option and was implanted during the summer of 2013. This New road layout requires yellow lines to prevent car parking in the vicinity of the new road layout which prevent clear vision from Moor lane of oncoming traffic from South Street.
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Junction before change Junction after the change
Junction showing park cars on exit from South Street/Tout Hill from Moor Lane exit
3.13 Bridge Over the A303 - Six Week Closure from 8th July 2013. The reason for the closure of the Wincanton Interchange Bridge is to address several defects that have been found on the deck surfacing that require attention to maintain the integrity of the structure and for the safety of road user[s]. Atkins-Skanska working on behalf of the Highways Agency began repairs to the Wincanton
Interchange Bridge. They will be re-waterproofing and resurfacing the bridge deck, replacement of the expansion joints, installation of deck combined kerb and drainage units, and minor concrete repair on the deck bridge. This has highlighted that the Wincanton Interchange Bridge is the main point of access into Wincanton. This bridge re-opened early August 2013.
3.14 The local country roads are not in a particularly good state of repair and the relevant hedges and drains are in a critical state with essential maintenance urgently required. Discussions with local communities are required to establish essential roads and areas where downgrading can take place.
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There are too many country roads which are ’rat runs’ with speeds which are dangerous to local users.
In some cases the effective maintenance of the drainage system and the prevention of flooding is more important than surface dressing. The provision of green lanes with tree planting would serve two purposes, firstly the enhancement of the tourist industry (particularly equestrian) and secondly make more aesthetically pleasing for the residents.
3.15 Resident parking on housing estates is also a cause of concern. Planning authorities need to recognise most households have more than 1.5 cars. Recent modern house builds have only catered for one car. The second car is most usually parked in the street. The recent build in gardens has exasperated this issue where the planning authority only caters for one car or assumes residents will move cars around but it is often easy/ more convenient to have one car on the drive and the other one in the road. Coupled with School drop-off and pick time identified previously and serious access issues occur. On street parking causes the housing estate relationships to be strained.
3.16 The Wincanton town Council via its Transport Committee has been in discussion with South
Somerset District Council Area East Office on matters such as surface dressing, additional local highway maintenance funds, potholes and grass and verge cutting. The Wincanton Parish council, along with the County Councillor have recently raised the suggestion of having a ‘quieter’ road surface on the A303 where it by-passes the town. Road noise is an issue especially where residential areas are adjacent to the A303 such as the new residential area of Kingwell Rise off Deansley Way. There has been a County Council policy of not cleaning out all of the storm drains every year/regular basis.
This has resulted in some storm drains being full of debris creating a flood hazard at times (example can viewed adjacent to the Masonic Hall in Church Street)
3.17 A traffic flow survey should be carried at both peak times of travel in the day. This could be carried out by Somerset County Council, or South Somerset District Council or local trained people trained by either council.
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4. Public Transport – Rail.
4.1 As previous stated Wincanton no longer has its own Railway line or station. The nearest train
stations are;
4.1.1 Templecombe (4 miles). South West Train service on the London (Waterloo) to Exeter line.
Some trains travel further West to Plymouth. Main stops on the line include Salisbury, Andover,
Basingstoke and Woking. There is a bus link to Heathrow from Woking. For more local travel, intermediate stops include Gillingham, Sherborne and Yeovil Junction. Trains generally every two hours and more frequent at peak times
4.1.2 Gillingham (7 miles). Also on the London (Waterloo) to Exeter line
4.1.3 Castle Cary (7 miles). First Great Western service on the London (Paddington) to Penzance line. Main intermediate stops include Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Newbury and Reading. Includes fast trains during peak commuting hours but off-peak may need to change trains. Also Heart of Wessex line linking Bath Spa, Bristol, Yeovil Penn Mill and Weymouth. Frequent trains to Bristol, less frequent direct service to Bath.
b) The train stations are too far to be reached by foot. Cycling is possible though there is no
dedicated cycle route and the roads are fast and reasonably busy so safety is an issue. Bus
services do broadly link with the departure time for trains but return journeys are poorly served.
For example:
4.2.1 Weekday, destination Templecombe. Bus arrives at station at 10.23am, train departs at 10.34.
On return, train arrives 19.25, bus departs station at 20.50
4.2.2 Weekday, destination Castle Cary. Bus arrives at station 9.39, train departs 10.21. On return,
train arrives 18.23 but last bus departed 16.38.
There are no buses to dovetail with early train departures, for example, where commuters wish to get to London before 9am. Realistically, most rail users will therefore use a car to travel to and from the station. Parking charges are levied at Gillingham, Templcombe and Castle Cary train station car parks.
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5. Public Transport
5.1 Bus - Two commercial bus firms operate in the area: First (part of a national company) and
South West Coaches Ltd. The nearest large town to Wincanton is Yeovil (16 miles). A regular commercial bus service operates on this route. Travel time from Wincanton to Yeovil is approximately
60 minutes (compared with 30 minutes by car). Other local destinations reasonably accessible by commercial bus services include: Bayford, Bruton, Castle Cary, Cucklington, Gillingham, Sherborne,
Templecombe.
a) First Bus Company
- YEOVIL – Sherborne – WINCANTON First 58
- YEOVIL – Sherborne – Stalbridge - WINCANTON First 58A
b) South West Coaches Company 158 & 159 - WINCANTON – Gillingham - SHAFTESBURY
Note: Last bus service is 19:10 hours out of Wincanton. Therefore there is no night service in or
out of Wincanton.
- South West Coaches axed 13 of its regular local services during 2012. This included the
popular 28 from Templecombe to Salisbury, via Wincanton. The number 28 from
Templecombe to Salisbury, which passes through Wincanton; was also stopped. The 109
from Wincanton to Dorchester and 32 from Castle Cary to Salisbury also stopped. These cuts
met with huge disappointment by local residents. At the time of writing Dorset Bus service
took over these routes from South West Coaches.
- Bus services do not operate a service which serves or enables workers to commute to Yeovil
or any other large town. Approximately 60% of Wincanton’s workable age work outside
Wincanton. They have an almost 95% reliance on the private motor car for travel.
5.2 Wincanton also has a dedicated minibus service for elderly and/or disabled user groups, called
the Winibus. This is run by a local charity with volunteer drivers. Typical services include taking
people to health-related support groups, luncheon club, day centre, church services, and so on.
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This is a demand-responsive, 'dial-and-ride' minibus service now operating three buses. The
main features of the service are :
a) Scope. Links 43 villages to the three towns of Wincanton, Bruton and Castle Cary. 27 of
these have no commercial bus service at all or just one bus per day. The CAT service
operates weekdays 8am to 6pm. The service is door-to-door personal access.
b) Personal Access - The service is open to people within the villages. It is only open to
people within the towns who are unable to use commercial services because of disability.
Able-bodied people within the towns are expected to use conventional public transport
(because the CAT scheme aims not to damage the viability of commercial services) but
they may exceptionally be able to use the scheme if they need to travel to somewhere
inaccessible by normal means group access.
c) Group Access - The service also provides lifts to members of 26 associations including
groups from sheltered housing, youth groups, and so on disabled access. The minibuses
are equipped to carry up to two wheelchairs. Drivers are trained to provide help
d) Cost - Normal fares range from £2 to £5.50 for a single journey and £3.00 to £8.00 for a
return trip depending on the distance travelled. The service can be booked for out-of-area
destinations in which case cost will depend on distance travelled and the length of time
the bus is out of its normal operating area. Holders of local authority bus passes pay
concessionary rates.
5.3 Wincanton has the benefit of a fast coach service ('Berry's Coaches') to London
(Hammersmith).The Superfast 2 Timetable departing from Taunton via Ilminster, Yeovil then
Wincanton. It then runs non-stop from Wincanton to London Hammersmith Bus Station Bay D. The service runs only at limited times and is geared to London commuting and London weekending rather than local travel.
5.4 A Nippy Bus - Nippy Bus is a privately owned company that operate a number of bus services around Somerset, England. It operates local town services in Yeovil under contract to the County
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Council as well as rural services. The Night Routes N1-N4 were withdrawn due to the widespread local authority funding cuts. This has resulted in the Wincanton being left with no evening bus services
5.5 CATBUS – Community Accessible Transport (CAT) is a transport scheme using Minibuses and serving the towns of Wincanton, Bruton, Castle Cary and surrounding villages. The CAT 'bus is available to people of all ages who live on a normal bus route but are unable to use it because they have mobility difficulties or their local 'bus service does not meet their needs. In villages which have an irregular or no 'bus service, anyone can use the service. CAT Bus operates as a limited company and is a registered charity, which is non-profit making. The scheme is self-supporting and fares must therefore reflect the cost of providing the service. Holders of bus passes travel free within its operating area. A one-off Membership fee is required which can be paid to the driver on the first journey. None holders of bus passes pay fares for journeys which are payable to the driver.
Note - It is also is the only bus service to out of town Health Centre located at The Chase (New
Barns) housing estate.
5.6 Bus/Coach stop Memorial Hall Car Park – Introduce raised kerbs/pavement for each location to assist disabled users. (Not all vehicles can lower suspension to decrease height to first step).
5.7 Access to services in Wincanton - Most of the key services in Wincanton – for example, post office, health centre, pharmacists, opticians, banks, building society agencies, public library, food shops, Town Hall – and the shops are centrally located.
5.8 Commercial bus services coming into town or from stops outside the town centre (for example, on Bayford Hill or Common Road) stop right in the centre of town close to shops and, for an able-bodied person, within 5 minutes’ walk of the health centre, library and post office. The CAT bus and Winibus are demand-responsive and will stop wherever customers request.
5.9 Some buses stop on West Hill which is convenient for the swimming pool and Sports Centre.
This is also the closest stop for visitors to the hospital who would have a 5 to 10 minute walk. Some do stop/travel via Springfield Road to assist those visiting the hospital.
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5.10 There is no bus service to the Sports Ground at Moor Lane which is about 20 minutes’ walk from the town centre.
5.11 Last commercial buses leave Wincanton on Friday and Saturday nights at 19:10 hrs (710pm) enabling visitors, for example, to visit pubs or restaurants in town. There is one night club in
Wincanton which stays open considerably later than this and its late visitors would not be able to get home by public transport.
5.12 All Wincanton services are readily accessible by car. Residents in most of the local villages can reach Wincanton within 20 minutes or less by car.
Recommendation
5.13 Look into having a bus service use the new road through the Chase (New barns) housing estate. This would serve not only the residents on the new estate but would also give a bus service for all residents to the Wincanton Health Centre.
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6 Walking – Surfaces Footways and Footpaths.
6.1 Walking is one of the most sustainable means of getting around and is also generally good for health and well-being. It is, therefore, something that should be encouraged both as an alternative to the private car and as a recreational activity. If convenient and safe pedestrian links are available within the town then this can reduce car use and encourage more people to walk to the local facilities that they use such as shops, schools, medical services, bus services, community facilities etc. Clearly, in many instances, it will be necessary to use the private car or other forms of public transport to access places of work, facilities and services in larger towns or to carry out activities such as bulk food shopping. However, if convenient and safe walking links are provided in the town then this could cut down on some of the local trips that residents make and reduce the amount of traffic on the network.
This is more about giving people a choice to the private car and making it easier for non-car owners to move around the town and access the services they need rather than trying to prohibit car use altogether.
6.2 There are a large number of footpaths within Wincanton. It is possible to use them for at least part of the way when going into town, to the supermarket, to the health centre, to schools, and so on.
However, the footpaths are mostly fairly short and in general it is difficult to move between locations in
Wincanton without having to cross at least one road, so footpaths do not provide complete protection from traffic for pedestrians. Not all footpath/road meeting points have lowered kerbs for disabled access. See Appendix 2 for Somerset County Council Map.
6.3 The footpaths are open to everyone, but in practice a few are steep or have steps which could be a problem for anyone with impaired mobility (either due to a health problem or because, say, they were pushing children in a pushchair).
6.4 There are a number of fingerposts in the town centre giving directions to pedestrians but none outside the central area. The fingerposts are not particularly prominent and vandals often swing them round to point the wrong way.
6.5 Pavements in Wincanton town centre are generally in reasonable condition
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6.6 High Street – Widen pavement by the HSBC bank (Enabled by Pinch Point). The existing pedestrian links in Wincanton are far from satisfactory, particularly in the conservation areas of the town that generate the most pedestrian movement. This includes not only their narrow width and lack of continuity, but also the state of the surfaces which have been dug up and then reinstated, often resulting in uneven surfaces. The High Street and South Street have been identified as one of the main areas of concern due to the busy one way system, the narrowness of the footways in front of the shops especially the HSBC bank, the NatWest bank and the enclosed feel of the streets. This makes pedestrians using streets feel very vulnerable, especially when large goods vehicles pass close by at speed. The review of on-street and servicing restrictions has had some benefit, but the current environment is not exactly pedestrian friendly and the visual appearance of this area does not reflect its conservation area status. In this respect, Widening the pavement by the HSBC bank (Enabled by
Pinch Point) and Widen pavements by NatWest Bank etc (Enabled by single carriageway) would improve and enhance the appearance and make it a much more attractive place for shoppers.
Parking outside the NatWest bank
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Narrow Pavement outside the HSBC Bank. Also customers exit from the bank with no view of users
6.7 Footpath at Carrington Way - This was a town centre enhancement scheme jointly funded in
2006 by English Heritage, Somerset County Council - SCC, Wincanton Town Council - WTC & South
Somerset District Council – SSDC. SSDC facilitated the scheme which replaced a patchwork of surfaces including uneven broken paving and lifting tarmac. English Heritage funding required natural stone paving. There were three types of natural paving approved by SCC for highway use, (one of which was not being quarried at the time). Following consultation with local stakeholders including businesses, a site visit to a natural stone highway scheme elsewhere in Somerset, and a well- publicised ‘drop-in’ event, the paving was selected because it best fitted with the surrounding stone buildings and had been approved for highway use.
6.8 The scheme was completed in summer 2006 and as part of the standard post completion process there are two remaining stages of a safety audit which are submitted to SCC, this is always carried out after this type of scheme.
6.9 Since its construction this footpath in Carrington way and the footpath that goes round the
Town Hall there is a higher than usual number of reported slip/trips in the area but regrettably – although as you might expect - when these are reported the precise location has not been identified by those reporting it, simply that it is within the area. In 2011 The White Beam tree that overhangs the surface was identified by SSDC as the cause by shading and dropping berries making the area more slippery for pedestrians. Special tests were undertaken and the surface scored within ‘normal
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tolerances’ but at the higher end of this assessment. To help get the area adopted by SCC and improve the surface for pedestrians SSDC undertook algae treatments and have put in place additional cleaning.
6.10 However the pathway remains a risk during the wet periods.
Pavement at Carrington way
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7 Walking – Public Footpaths and Bridleways
7.1 Another area where there is a high degree of pedestrian movement is at the Parish Church (St
Peter and St Paul) Pedestrian Crossing, Station Road. A particular problem here is if the other approved dwellings are eventually constructed along Station Road (the old Cale House location), this will give a ‘tunnel’ effect leading up to the Pedestrian Crossing.
7.2 The footways outside of Wincanton Primary School are also well used during school dropping off and picking up periods but these footways are of generally adequate width and the recent introduction of a school safety zone using development contributions has had the effect of reducing speeds and improving safety.
7.3 Besides the main surfaced footways that run adjacent to the roads, there are a number of public bridle paths and footpaths in the town that provide useful links that are away from busy roads.
These are primarily recreational routes but, if improved, could encourage more people to use them to walk to the shops, schools and other local facilities. Certain improvements to routes could encourage more people to use it at all times of the year instead of just the drier months. It is the opinion of the volunteer Parish Path Liaison Officers (PPLO) that, apart from footpath WN 30/6, which descends from Coneygore to Burton’s Mill Farm, all the footpaths in the parish are usable. In recent years some, such as those around Hook Valley Farm and footpath WN 30/3 from King Arthur’s School playing fields to Verrington, have been greatly improved with new gates and bridges. For safety reasons, footpaths
WN 30/48A and WN 30/11, both passing through the two major building developments in the town, have been temporarily closed, but diversions have been put in place. See Appendix 1 for full report.
7.4 Footpath to the Sports Ground – Footpath/cycle way linking Sports Ground to town centre. The sports ground is the venue for major events which come to town, a footpath will provide safe pedestrian access. Work has commenced on this long awaited footpath along Moor lane to the
Sports Ground. This was identified in the Wincanton Peoples Plan.
7.5 The Batch, West Hill. There are speed issues on West Hill, particularly at The Batch where school children are walking to and from school (King Arthurs Community School). The Batch has very
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narrow pavement outside batch House, which is not wide enough for two people to pass and a pinch point here would help with safety.
The pavement outside Batch House, The Batch
7.6 High Street Pedestrian Crossing – Evident that early morning cars are being parked on the
’zigzags’ for morning paper collection.
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8. Cycling
8.1 It is acknowledged that Wincanton is not one of the easiest places for cyclists. The combination of narrow, busy roads and steep gradients make it difficult to get around the town safely.
The uneven surface of the roads in some places is also another deterrent to cycling. The One Way
System is particularly difficult for cyclists to use because of the volume of traffic - especially LGV’s.
There is little scope for cycle improvements and the route could not be considered safe for cyclists to use. This makes it difficult to promote cycling along the main roads as a practical and safe alternative to the private car within the Town. In the 2006 MCTi/ Wincanton/ Health Check Report, The Police have previously said that, in the interests of the safety of cyclists; they would not enforce no cycling along footpaths. Cyclists under 16 are also allowed to cycle along pavements. Cycle parking racks are located in Carrington Way.
8.2 However, a comprehensive analysis of potential cycling routes has been undertaken by local resident, Richard Nicholl, who has experience of establishing cycle routes elsewhere in the UK. A summary of his proposals for routes within Wincanton is given in the Box overleaf. The Wincanton
Survey 2003 found that only 1 per cent of respondents travelled into town by bicycle. This could be due to the generally hilly terrain of Wincanton. However, Mr Nicholl points out that, in Radstock – a
Somerset town which is much hillier than Wincanton – three cycle routes are well used for both transport and recreation. In his view, the provision of dedicated cycle routes would promote greater take-up of cycling in Wincanton.
8.2 One possible solution in trying to encourage more cycling in the town is to improve those cycle routes that largely avoid the One Way System. The opportunity to provide new cycle links should also be considered as part of any future development proposals for the town. In 2006 proposed cycle routes within Wincanton as follows;
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Route 1: Bayford - Devenish Lane – Kingwell Rise ( Deanesly Way) new development - Deanesly Way
– Balsam Fields - South Street (cycle lane required) - Primary Schools.
Route 2: New primary school site (New Barns Farm) – recreation ground – Station Road (crossing required and contraflow cycle path) – South Street junction (crossing required) – Moor Lane – Southgate Drive – Deanesly Way.
Route 3: New primary school site – via New Barns Farm development (zigzag cycle route required to cope with gradient) – King Arthur’s School.
Route 4: New primary school site – via New Barns Farm development – Lawrence Hill (cycle way on verge of A371) – Anchor Hill roundabout – Lattiford.
Route 5: King Arthur’s School - via New Barns Farm development – Lawrence Hill – then as Route 4 to Lattiford.
Route 5 (alternative): King Arthur’s School - via New Barns Farm proposed development to western edge – cross A371 between Anchor Hill and Holbrook roundabouts (using existing agricultural bridge) – Lattiford (cycle way on verge of A371).
Route 6: Recreation ground – Cavalier Way – The Batch (improvement required to existing footpath) – Shadwell Lane – North Street – Verrington Lane – Verrington Hospital (via the very steep existing footpath) – Dancing Lane – King Arthur’s School.
Routes 7: Sports Ground to parts of town via Moor Lane and Common Road (street lighting and shared pedestrian/cycle routes required on both). Under construction at time of writing (2013)
8.4 The Cale Park Project has identified and proposed a cycle lane on the new footpaths within
Cale Park, and its links to the main routes into the town. Cale Park is the name agreed by the committee and WTC which will encompass the Recreational Ground (and its cricket pitch) down to the skate park and proposed MUGA.
8.5 There is no uniform colour being used /adopted to identify the cycle path.
8.6 There is a requirement to develop a cycle route map of all cycle routes in the Wincanton parish.
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To the Chase
Cycle Footpath
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9. High Street
9.1 The A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 proposed that;
9.1.1 Eastern section of the High Street (Carrington Way to the Memorial Hall) A 20 mph speed limit is established between Carrington Way and the access to the Memorial Hall. The carriageway will be reduced to 6m and the footways widened. A number of crossing points will be established between the two ends of this length of road, and the existing pelican crossing will move eastwards. Twenty short stay parking bays being provided along the High Street. The junction of the High Street with
Carrington way will become a mini-roundabout. Carrington way itself will be provided with a ‘speed table’ and a crossing point
9.1.2 Western Section of the High Street (Market Place to Carrington Way) A ‘build-out’ be provided on the southern carriageway in order to slow westbound vehicles. This ‘build-out’ will reduce traffic to one lane and help pedestrians cross the road. The pedestrian island at the junction of Market place,
High Street and South Street will be enlarged to act as a pedestrian refuge. It may be possible to establish a 3-way pelican crossing at this junction in order to reinforce the pedestrian priority of the whole area. Zebra crossings will be established on South Street and Market Place.
9.2 The High street usage as a parking area by shoppers has dramatically improved since the introduction of parking enforcement. Elderly and disabled shoppers are able to park closer to shops where previously other residents were parking 24/7 preventing the intended use.
9.3 However, as already pointed out; the footpaths are extremely narrow in places. Dropped kerbs would give improved access for disabled people.
9.4 Somerset County Council was proposing on street parking meters. The Town Council with agreement from the local population is clear in that on street parking meters would further damage town trade from an already under threat traders.
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View of Wincanton High Street looking South
9.5 There is a general perception that there is excessive speeding by motorists using the High
Street. Although there has been South Somerset District Council speed checks, which indicated this was a minor occurrence; the public perception of motorists speeding remains. The A Summary of the
Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 also recommended specific measures should be adopted to make routes safe, convenient and attractive for pedestrians. These measures could be;
9.5.1 Traffic calming
9.5.2 Provision of extra crossing points
9.6 Although it’s outside the parish boundary, Bayford Hill has been an issue for many years.
Various road markings and coloured road surface patches have been agreed but whether this has made any difference to the issue of speed is open to question. There always will be difficulty in trying to regulate speed on a wide downhill section of road. Residents on Bayford Hill are in agreement with
High street residents about the perspective high speed of motorists. A recent survey was inconclusive in the matter.
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Regarding the recent fatal collision between a tractor and motorcyclist It is of course easy to assume speed was a contributing factor but in this particular case it does not appear that speed was a factor.
Indications are that the tractor turned right across the path of the motorcyclist and a collision occurred.
It does seem that only substantial physical traffic calming will help but even then identifying appropriate and effective measures is not an easy task. There is doubt whether there is sufficient traffic flow for a priority arrangement to work. However the only way measures can be considered is as a small improvement scheme through the Local Transport Plan process. Any possible scheme would have to be promoted by the County Councillor, Ward Councillors and supported by the Town Council.
Bayford Hill may be an existing site where a vehicle activated sign is deployed (VAS) on a regular basis. This shows the speed limit that applies and is activated by a vehicle approaching in excess of the limit. If it is not a current site an investigation into the possibility of it being included in the programme should be made.
Other consideration is local resident volunteers using a speed radar gun as a deterrent. This will not however counter act poor driving.
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10. Car Parks
10.1 Free parking for coaches is available at the Memorial Hall Car Park. There is good provision for disabled parking. However, it is not necessarily optimally distributed. In particular, there is no disabled parking bay close to the post office. There is no parking at all in the immediate vicinity of the
Town Hall. Despite the ample free car parking in the town centre, many people park temporarily outside the Lloyds TSB and NatWest Banks in order to use the cash machines. This appears to be less of a problem at the HSBC Bank.
10.2 Availability of public car parking in Wincanton
Type of parking Location Number of spaces Long stay (car park) Carrington Way 30 Churchfields 38 Memorial Hall 132 Short stay (car park) Carrington Way 65 Short stay (on street) High Street 58 Post Office 4 [1] Disabled parking Carrington Way 5 Churchfields 2 High Street 1 Memorial Hall 7 TOTAL SPACES 342
In addition, one of the local stores (Clementina) has a small customer car park. The main supermarket
(Morrison) on the edge of town has an extensive customer car park as does the supermarket Lidl.
Although it is possible for people to walk from the supermarkets into the town centre, it is unlikely that many do so.
10.3 The Wincanton’s People’s Plan states; “The community is strongly in favour of Wincanton retaining its free parking to support trade and ensure access to the town centre for older and less mobile residents. Partial pedestrianisation of the High Street would improve access to shops”
10.4 However this was before SSDC present policy is the have parking charges or a compensation scheme across South Somerset.
10.5 During 2011 South Somerset District Council (SSDC) planned to introduce parking charges to the three other towns in the district; Bruton, Castle Cary and Wincanton. Wincanton has three car parks;
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two are owned and managed by SSDC, Memorial Hall and Church Fields Car parks. A third,
Carrington way Car park; is leased from Somerset County Council. Up to 2011 these car parks were free to use. All three car parks are used by residents for parking due insufficient residential parking or non-allocated parking provision for new dwellings or no parking provision at all. Wincanton Town
Council and residents made it clear that they opposed parking charges within the town. Therefore an agreement was reached in which compensation would be paid by Wincanton Town Council to SSDC to keep the parking free.
10.6 The current proposal lasts for three years and compensation to SSDC is as follows;
Year 1 2011/2012 £18,000.00
Year 2 2012/2013 £24,155.00
Year 3 2013/2014 £24,155.00
In Year 3 of the agreement, should car parking charges have been raised elsewhere in the district then the compensation amount will rise by inflation (agreed as the Consumer Price Index (CPI)) on a
September 30 of the preceding year up to a maximum of 3%, subject to this falling within the limits of town and parish Council expenditure allowed by statute. SSDC have offered enforcement to
Wincanton on a cost neutral basis (hourly rate including travel costs) on request. Any net income from fines (after administration costs are deducted) will be paid to Wincanton Town Council.
10.7 It is well known that parking charges in small market towns are counter-productive and lead to the decline in businesses and shoppers in the High Streets. The "car park tax" being levied on
Wincanton residents is very unfair as in common with other small towns most residents walk to the shops but are faced with prospect of having to pay the SSDC car parking charges or that Wincanton
Parish Council continues to pay compensation to keep car parks free; whilst those in the affluent surrounding villages get the benefit of free parking at the residents expense.
10.8 However during recent meetings with SSDC Area East Office, the W incanton Town Council
Car Parking committee have come up with the following recommendations;
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10.8.1 Churchfields Car Park – Return the control to South Somerset District Council (SSDC) at the end of the current agreement (or sooner if agreed with SSDC) with no further action from WTC.
10.8.2 Memorial Hall (MH) & Carrington Way (CW) Car Parks – Return to SSDC at the end of the current agreement (or sooner if agreed with SSDC). Discussion with SSDDC should now be entered into, based on the following criteria:-
10.8.2.1 Provide a number of parking bays in both car parks with free parking, limited to three hours.
10.8.2.2 Identify long stay parking area: MH - Walled in area. CW – Upper area.
10.8.2.3 Identify short stay parking area
10.8.2.4 Introduce resident’s permits. Such permits only to be available to residents from selected areas, such as Flingers Lane & Overton Terrace, as agreed by WTC & SSDC.
10.8.2.5 “Police” all car parks to ensure compliance with all aspects of charges & restrictions.
10.8.2.6 Introduce a Car Park policy which embodies Residential Permits, free or reduced charges for shoppers (limited time), long stay areas in all car parks & scale of charges.
10.8.3 Or re-negotiate the current contract at paragraph 10.3, to lower the compensation charge paid to SSDC and carry on with the present free car parks for all policy.
10.9 The current financial position of parish councils receiving less precept due to the reduction of monies of council tax paid where council tax is claimed as a benefit, calls into the doubt the financial viability of paying a compensation charge to keep free parking. Where the compensation charge is based on a parking scheme model in another town in a different area of the United Kingdom. Mary
Portas stated in her 28 recommendations; “9. Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we should have a new parking league table”
10.10 Wincanton Town Council has discussed the lack of car parking on many occasions and is currently, with the Ward Councillors; re-searching how to increase the amount of car parking facilities.
This could be simple as identifying new areas for parking or increasing the number of car parking spaces in existing car parks.
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10.11 The A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 suggested a two-tier system of parking provision be adopted. Shoppers and visitors will allocated short-term parking spaces at the more convenient locations in the car parks, and commuters will be directed to those areas of the car parks that are currently under used. Convenient parking for those with disabilities and areas for taxi parking will be provided in convenient places near the town
10.12 The A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report of 2000 also identified that the problem of parking was also in residential areas such as Mill Street and East of the
High Street.
10.13 Other areas of parking concerns are at school drop-off and pick up times in South Street,
Balsam Fields and Balsam Park. There is already extensive road parking in Balsam Fields and
Balsam Park, which it could be said aids to traffic calming, but at school drop-off / pick up times the extra parking causes traffic flow issues. With the increase in builds in gardens the problem is only going to increase.
10.14 Large Goods Vehicles (LGV) – LGV’s regularly use Wincanton Business parks as overnight parking (truck stop). Public concern has been voiced at Wincanton Town Council meetings many times and business park commercial users have also expressed concern to the Wincanton Town Clerk. This parking causes congestion on already congested business parks as well as producing non permitted parking and/or abandoned LGV Trailers. Serious consideration should be given by the planning
Authority to either construct a LGV park on existing un-built upon commercial land or plan into future commercial a LGV park.
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11 Signage
11.1 Wincanton has a unique sign on entrance to the town on Southgate Road. This sign not only includes the usual twining information with European towns but also a twining with the fictional town of
‘ Ankh-Morpork’ from the Discworld books by Terry Pratchet. You can even visit the actual Discworld
Emporium in Wincanton, Somerset, UK. Headed by Isobel and Bernard Pearson (otherwise known as
‘The Cunning Artificer’), this is the online home to an incredibly impressive collection of Discworld products, souvenirs and memorabilia.
11.2 Sign located on South Gate road incorrectly indicates Bruton is straight on when it is
left (see below).
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11.3 Entrance to Wincanton from Bruton (B3081) at Shatterwell (North Street) displays a poor
image – see below.
11.4 A sign is required advertising Cale Park on entrance to the town (Southgate Road).
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12 Summary
12.1 The recommendations and proposals in this plan clearly identify many issues that need addressing. Some of these are short term requirements i.e. within two years and the remainder are long term aspirations (within 5 years).
12.2 This Wincanton Town transport Plan may not include every transport issue raised during this exercise, but it does identify the main areas of concern and sets out a plan for delivering a number of improvement schemes which will enhance the lives and safety of not only the residents but also the visitors to Wincanton.
12.3 The production of this Transport Plan should therefore add weight to a successful conclusion and implementation of its recommendations.
12.4 This plan needs to be adopted by the Wincanton Town council and duly dated.
12.5 The Town Council needs to identify short, medium and long term issues and work with various agencies to deliver the required results.
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Appendix 1 - Parish Path Liaison Officers (PPLO) Footpaths in the
Wincanton Parish Report
As volunteer Parish Path Liaison Officers, we endeavour to walk all of the footpaths in the parish
(more than 20 miles) at least once a year, when we check the condition of the stiles, gates and
bridges to ensure that they are usable and passable. We spend some time, approximately 10-15
minutes per stile if necessary, trimming back the brambles and undergrowth surrounding these
features. We report any broken furniture or stiles/gateways blocked by excessive growth to the
County Council using their on-line interactive map. These problems are usually assigned to Eve
Wynn, our local Countryside Ranger.
It is our opinion that, apart from footpath WN 30/6, which descends from Coneygore to Burton’s
Mill Farm, all the footpaths in the parish are usable. In recent years some, such as those around
Hook Valley Farm and footpath WN 30/3 from King Arthur’s School playing fields to Verrington,
have been greatly improved with new gates and bridges.
For safety reasons, footpaths WN 30/48A and WN 30/11, both passing through the two major
building developments in the town, have been temporarily closed, but diversions have been put in
place.
Finally, we would welcome anyone who would like to volunteer some time, however little, to help
us keep the pathways clear, and we would be happy to coordinate these activities.
Roger and Janet Lowe
August 2013
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Appendix 2 – Somerset County Council - Cycling and Walking in Somerset Map 19 Edition 2 - Wincanton Including Stoke Trister, Bayford and Holton
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Appendix 3 – A Summary of the Wincanton Town Transport Study Consultation Report 2000 (SSDC/Somerset County Council/WS Atkins)
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