Rossiter Road Campaign and the Regeneration of Widcombe Parade
One of the main reasons why the Widcombe Association was formed in 1981 was to campaign to restore our ‘High Street' (comprising Widcombe Parade, Sussex Place and Claverton Buildings) to its original status as an attractive, successful shopping area, released from the noise and environmental pollution of busy main-road traffic.
28 years on we have seen many false dawns and dashed hopes. We have not won the day yet, but remain more determined than ever to succeed.
The Main Objective: is to divert the bulk of A36 (city ring road) westbound traffic away from the village. This can only be done by converting Rossiter Road, along the river, from one-way eastbound to two-way.
We are not trying to remove all vehicles from the village street, only through traffic (and especiallyHGVs, as at right). We appreciate that, for both residents and businesses, it is desirable that local traffic may still pass along the street and may park there for shopping etc. So we ensure this is acknowledged in the various plans on which we are invited to comment.
Progress to 2006: B&NES Council collaborated with the WA in 2003 and 2004 to produce two key reports, which in 2005 were compared by consultants with a view to selecting the one which would both achieve the objective and be affordable. For more detail on those reports, click here.
This exercise was successful: an acceptable scheme was taken in to the Joint Local Transport Plan in 2006 but within weeks was ejected on the grounds that it was ‘primarily for environmental benefit rather than to improve traffic flow'. This had the impact of disentitling the scheme to central government funding for traffic improvements in Bath, and thus reduced the funds available for the scheme from £1.6M to around £880k. A lesser, but still affordable and adequate plan was later approved by the Council in Sept 2006, with implementation planned for between 2008 and 2010.
Situation at July 09: As implementation has not yet started, it is clear that what was thought to be a success along the way was in fact just another false dawn. In 2007 the Council delayed implementation to between 2009 and 2011, ‘for budgetary reasons' . This unwelcome delay has opened the door for new issues to enter the ring, such as how the plans might be affected by increased traffic flows to the Southgate development, possibly offset by traffic reduction measures from the ‘Bath Transport Package'. These are currently being addressed; the Association is pressing for clarity about the way ahead before the end of 2009.
Having been assured by Council of their best intentions for Widcombe, the Association continues to seek irrevocable undertakings, which will lead to early implementation. Our aim remains the same: the removal of through traffic from the village street, thereby reducing pollution and noise, making the area safe and pleasant, and allowing shops and businesses to flourish.
Point of contact for further details: Julian Williams jlwbath@yahoo.co.uk
For a Google Map of the area, click here