Reminder:- PARISH POLL -17th AUGUST 2017 – 4pm to 9pm ; Village Hall
As the originators of the 2 questions we would like to explain why we think it is important to vote and why we ask that you support BOTH the 2 proposals which are:-
- Do you support the construction of a new A35 trunk road Chideock by-pass which
does not pass through any part of the parish of Chideock?
- Do you support that the A35 from Dorchester to Honiton be de-trunked and
therefore designated a scenic route?
In the next few months, Highways England will draft their “Strategic Road Network Initial Report” which will identify projects for subsequent consideration by the Dept. for Transport when planning their projects for the period 2020-25 .
It is possible to request that Highways England take the wishes of the parish into account when they write their draft. We can only lobby, and not demand anything. Also, we can ask our MP to help support our democratically identified wishes.
Therefore our opportunity to try to influence the 2020-25 route projects is here and now.
Unless we can demonstrate a “significant consensus” in support of any proposal, it will carry little weight.
Hence it is important to turn out to vote on 17th August.
Qn. 1. Vote YES – Regarding the first question, it both identifies that, in the long term, a bypass would be desirable whilst also indicating that it should be a true bypass and not just a re-routing through a different part of the village. Such a suggestion would hopefully lead to our neighbouring parishes also stating a similar desire. The intended net result would be a bypass of this entire segment of the A35. By voting YES to this it would indicate that we would support further investigations and consideration of this proposed future development.
Qn. 2. Vote YES – Qn. 2 is about de-trunking. In this area, the A35 is a Trunk Road, which is part of the SW’s Strategic Road Network. It is managed by Highways England who contract-out its operation and maintenance to Connect A30/A35 Ltd. The contract with Connect Ltd expires in 2026 and so that would seem like an opportune time to de-trunk the road in our area. Long term planning would require any such consideration to start fairly soon. Therefore a vote of YES to this proposal would mean that the parish supports the idea of de-trunking the A35 and making it a scenic route. The advantages of this include that many more local measures can be implemented for traffic calming and discouraging use by HGVs.
Since both proposals can be considered independently, we feel it is important that the parish takes this opportunity to express its desire for improvement by asking that both be seriously considered.
Whilst the likelihood of each proposal being implemented is not high, it becomes far less likely if the parish does not endorse both proposals with majority YES votes. It would also indicate that the parish is a bit ambivalent. So we recommend a YES to both questions.
Alan Colville and Deirdre Coates