Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council and South Derbyshire District Council South of Ashbourne Rural Accessibility Study Base Conditions, Barriers and Options for Improving Access Final April 2009 Derbyshire County Council South of Ashbourne Rural Accessibility Study Revision Schedule Rural Accessibility Study April 2009 Rev Date Details Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by 01 January 09 Draft Ross Paradise Daniel Godfrey Kevin Smith Assistant Transport Transport Planner Associate Planner 02 February 09 Final Draft Daniel Godfrey Kevin Smith Transport Planner Associate 03 April 09 Final Daniel Godfrey Kevin Smith Transport Planner Associate Scott Wilson Dimple Road Business Centre Dimple Road MATLOCK This document has been prepared in accordance with the scope of Scott Wilson's appointment with its client and is subject to the terms of that appointment. It is addressed Derbyshire to and for the sole and confidential use and reliance of Scott Wilson's client. 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The contents of this document do not provide legal or tax advice or opinion. © Scott Wilson Ltd 2007 www.scottwilson.com Derbyshire County Council South of Ashbourne Rural Accessibility Study Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Reason for Study .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Objectives......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Methodology.....................................................................................................................3 1.4 Rural Transport and Development ................................................................................... 5 1.5 Climate Change................................................................................................................ 8 1.6 The Study Area ................................................................................................................ 9 2 Existing Provision: Services and Facilities ....................................... 12 2.1 Parish Services and Facilities ........................................................................................ 12 2.2 Core Accessibility Indicators .......................................................................................... 13 2.3 Derbyshire Bus Toolkit ................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Community Facilities ...................................................................................................... 16 3 Existing Provision: Transport............................................................ 22 3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................22 3.2 Public Transport ............................................................................................................. 22 3.3 Voluntary or Car Social Schemes .................................................................................. 31 3.4 Taxis............................................................................................................................... 32 3.5 Wheels to Work .............................................................................................................. 32 3.6 Pharmacy Deliveries ...................................................................................................... 33 3.7 Information Provision...................................................................................................... 34 3.8 Walking and Cycling....................................................................................................... 34 4 Accessing Services 1 – Community Workshops .............................. 37 4.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................37 4.2 General Transport .......................................................................................................... 38 4.3 Accessing Health Facilities............................................................................................. 40 4.4 Accessing Education Facilities ....................................................................................... 43 4.5 Access to Shops............................................................................................................. 46 4.6 Access to Leisure & Social Facilities.............................................................................. 49 4.7 Women’s Institute........................................................................................................... 52 Derbyshire County Council South of Ashbourne Rural Accessibility Study 5 Accessing Services 2 – Residents Questionnaire............................ 55 5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................55 5.2 Respondent Characteristics ........................................................................................... 55 5.3 General use of Public Transport..................................................................................... 58 5.4 Accessing and Using Information................................................................................... 61 5.5 Accessing Employment .................................................................................................. 63 5.6 Access to Cash .............................................................................................................. 64 5.7 Access to Shops............................................................................................................. 65 5.8 Access to Health Facilities ............................................................................................. 66 5.9 Education .......................................................................................................................67 5.10 Accessing Leisure and Social Facilities.......................................................................... 68 6 Functional Relationships, Barriers and the Future ........................... 72 6.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................72 6.2 Functional Relationships between Settlements.............................................................. 72 6.3 Barriers to Accessing Services and Facilities................................................................. 73 6.4 The Future......................................................................................................................74 7 Options for Improved Accessibility ................................................... 75 7.1 Scheme Framework ....................................................................................................... 75 7.2 Potential Schemes ......................................................................................................... 75 7.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 98 8 Study Area Recommendations....................................................... 102 8.1 Locations for Future Development ............................................................................... 102 8.2 Improving Access to Existing Services and Facilities................................................... 103 9 “Seven Steps” Summary ................................................................ 107 Appendices Appendix A – Project Brief Appendix B – Ranking of Services and Facilities at Parish Level Appendix C – Residents Questionnaire (and Summary Tables) Appendix D – List of Stakeholders Consulted Derbyshire County Council South of Ashbourne Rural Accessibility Study Executive Summary Access to shops, health and education services, financial services and other community facilities (such as leisure and social centres) is recognised as being an important component of everyday life. One of the five key priorities of Derbyshire County Council’s second Local Transport Plan (LTP) for the period 2006 – 2011 was to improve local accessibility. In order to achieve this, the LTP included an Accessibility Strategy which identified that, in an area to the south of Ashbourne, there are a large number of villages and hamlets that have limited access to services and facilities. This was confirmed, independently, through work conducted by Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) during the preparation of their Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy. Scott Wilson Ltd were commissioned by Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council and South Derbyshire District Council (the three authorities in which the study area largely falls) to; ¾ identify how settlements