Thursday 13 December 2018

National Cycle Network Review - Analysis

The National Cycle Network recently celebrated it's 20th birthday.  From humble beginnings it has grown dramatically over those 20 years with help from various funding streams but particularly a large lottery project at the turn of the millennium.

The network now covers 16575 miles and supports over 4 million journeys per year.  However, managing such a huge network is challenging.  It has grown in a way that has led to inconsistency in terms of quality, connectivity and clarity.  As a result Sustrans commissioned the first in-depth review of the network.

The outcomes of the report (which you can find by clicking here) are of no great surprise to those of us close to the network.  Our enthusiasm for the fantastic routes we look after is tempered with the reality that cycling infrastructure in this country suffers from under-investment and the fact that our National Cycle Network is looked after by volunteers on behalf of a charity is indeed the stark reality.  Network development has been erratic due to ever decreasing funding streams and a lack of consistency in terms of design.

Our Chief Executive Xavier Brice was recently quoted in a very good recent article in the Guardian as referring to parts of the network as "crap".  For those fearing another Gerald Ratner moment I feel that he pretty much nailed it in this case.  The above paragraph explains my feelings towards something that means a lot to me but there is no point in thinking it is perfect when there is so much room for improvement.  The article provides a good context to the comments and summarises the report well.  Xavier also speaks in more depth in this blog article which is also worth a read.

The main theme of the review has been to classify standards and assess the impact required to improve.  One clear point is that a lot of the poor or very poor sections are on road so one of the main aims is to increase the amount of off-road sections.  The off road sections still require a lot of attention with surface variability and obstacles being 2 of the main issues to address.  Notably over 50% of journeys made on the NCN are by walkers and there are also increasing numbers of users with mobility issues for which many of the barriers deter access.  The Paths for Everyone title is very apt.
Discussing the outcomes of the report

At this point I will reiterate that most of the NCN is not owned by Sustrans so working with the various landowners and so many other partners and groups is vitally important.  Our role as volunteers and members of staff is very much that of custodian.  I will be posting further details about how our own local sections compare to the national picture and what action will be required to improve but for those willing to face a plethora of figures we need to consider the funding aspect!

The funding of the project is, as ever, crucial.  The figures in the report look huge which is no surprise given the size of the network and struggle for funding this far.  The initial figure in the report of £2.8 billion to achieve a network of gold standard quality is a scary figure even with a projected pay-back to the economy of around £2.5 billion per annum.  However, the £2.8 billion is the total cost over 22 years to 2040 which works out at £127 million per annum.  This figure in isolation is still large but compared with road building budget is very small and the projected payback being a huge return on investment at nearly 20:1 benefit to cost ratio.

The funding issue was debated well at a recent launch event for Sustrans volunteers, staff and supporters.  Funding streams from a number of different sources were discussed but one key contributor stated that the Government should be responsible for providing funding and based on the above figures it is a fair call but we need to consider that the NCN is only part of the cycling and walking infrastructure.

From my experience over the last few years funding has been something akin to a game of hungry hippos where the available funding is snapped up very quickly by those authorities most prepared and tends to be based on major projects mainly in our biggest cities.  The NCN crosses many authority boundaries and has large rural sections so is not always best placed to benefit from some of the funding available, indeed neighbouring authorities on the same stretch of NCN may find themselves bidding against each other for their own connectivity projects.  The latest figures released with the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review mentions £1.2 billion to be be spent over 5 years from 2016-2021 of which approximately half is intended for cycling and walking infrastructure

There is also a large gap in funding between London and the rest of the UK.  At presentations I've been to in the past I've seen 2 sets of figures given for cost per head attributed to cycling.  This can be very confusing when trying to compare against the likes of the Dutch in terms of cycling budget.  The CWIS mentioned above also suggests that the figures per head have doubled from £3.50 to £7 although it is not clear whether this includes the inflated figure that includes London.  This sounds positive but pails into insignificance when compared to the Dutch figure which is around £24 per person.

Segregated and spacious - cycling into Amsterdam
I recently visited Amsterdam briefly and had a keen eye on the cycling infrastructure between Ijmuiden and Amsterdam city centre.  All of the way along the route was uninterrupted, segregated and wide cycle routes.  Yes it helps being flat and being a smaller country but it works so well because it is consistently designed and has been well planned and funding distributed more fairly throughout the country.  Other cities in the Netherlands have benefited as much as Amsterdam - Groeningen in particular, though the distribution of population in the Netherlands is far more even than in England due mainly to the huge size of London.

It was with a sense of frustration that I returned to cycling in England with our less developed network but the subsequent release, digestion and analysis of the NCN review gives us hope that it's future state will be better than now, subject to the funding of course but also to spread the word and gain the support of our communities to promote it, use it and love it.

Saturday 18 August 2018

Spring/Summer Review on NCN63 and beyond

The Albert Village Lake Hub celebrates the Potteries.
This year is proving to be quite a year for our local network.  We are close to seeing a new off road link connecting Moira Furnace and Hicks Lodge, the Black to Green waymarking interpretation hubs are now in place and new leaflets are due to come out.

As mentioned in another blog article we will be attending a publicity event to launch the hubs and share our cycling knowledge.  The Hubs have been well researched and beautifully designed and will bring back memories for those who can remember the former landscapes and industries so vital to the area.

A little further afield, work has started on the cycling hub at Calke Abbey.

The link to Hicks Lodge is on the right hand side of the picture.
The hot summer has been mainly beneficial to the surface of the trails, particularly near Oakthorpe and Measham so work on these sections may not be required until winter.  Meanwhile in Burton-on-Trent it was good to see that cycling access was kept open during the works on the Trent Bridge.

Cygnets near Burton College.
The link to Hicks Lodge via the new housing estate off Measham Road is very close to completion and we will update when that is complete.  There then needs to be a further section added through a field linking the estate with the current route on Newfields Road.  Once these links are in place we aim to so some led rides around the hubs.  We have some concern over the crossing of Measham Road and will work with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of users.

A family of Coots near Conkers Canal Basin
We intend to improve signage around the area once the new link is open and will be discussing this with other groups and authorities to ensure it is appropriate.

It has also been a good time to take photos of some of the wildlife around the routes.  The canal in particular has seen the birth of cygnets, moorhens, ducklings and also seen a significant number of dragonflies.


Black to Green Hub Launch Event

We will be representing Sustrans on Saturday 25th August at Moira Furnace in an event to commemorate the launch of the interpretation hubs in the Heart of the National Forest.

The hub at Conkers Canal Basin tells the story of the original canal.
The Hubs are part of a waymarking project aimed to increase walking, cycling and other leisure activities within the area.  The hubs celebrate the Industrial Heritage of the area such as mining, pottery, the canals and railways.  The hubs incorporate information about the history of the hub site and also images relating stories told by those involved.

There are 7 hubs in the area at Albert Village Lake, Hicks Lodge, Spring Cottage, Moira Furnace, Donisthorpe Woodland Park, Conkers Canal basin and Thortit Pit picnic area.  We are hoping to lead some cycle rides in the future around the hubs and some cycling trail leaflets are due to be published to compliment the project.

The event starts at 10am and runs until 12pm.  There are guided walks available as this link explains.

We hope to see a good turnout and will be there to answer any cycling related questions.  We also will have maps and other literature.

Sunday 17 June 2018

Workday on the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail

Anybody cycling along the Ashby Woulds Heritage trail between Moira and Donisthorpe over the last few years will have seen an improvement to the surface of the path.

Following a review of the route several sections were earmarked for improvement.  Being based on an old railway line is beneficial in terms of being traffic free and generally flat or only facing slight gradients.  However there are challenges in maintaining cycle paths based on railway lines due to the vegetation coverage that surrounds the embankment and cuttings. 

A section before the workday
Over time the vegetation fall onto the path and builds up and eventually turns to mud which when wet creates a poor surface.  Scraping the surface of the path is not easy and requires hard work, which has fortunately been done for us by Community Payback teams.  Certain sections have since been worked on by the Leicestershire County Council ranger team in terms of cutting back the vegetation to minimise the effect of the vegetation going forward.

This work has been done in-between Moira and Donisthorpe except for 1 small section just south of the Youth Hostel.  With Community Payback teams focusing on other areas of priority in Measham we decided to have a workday to resolve some of the problem areas on this small stretch used by cyclists, walkers and park-runners.
Plenty of tools needed!

We had advertised the workday amongst the local community and park-run to attract help and give people an insight into our work but ultimately it was our rangers Shawn, Robert, Alan, Megan, Chris and Myself that met at the Youth Hostel. We then walked down the path and worked around 2 areas of obvious concern although they had dried out since our last inspection.  Using shovels and spades we did what we could scraping the mud off the surface back to the gravel layer.
Alan, Shawn, Chris, Megan & Robert take a well earned breather

After the work.
We faced a challenge from the fact that the path seemed to act like a bowl on the embankment with no real for of drainage so a couple of small drainage channels were dug in where appropriate.  It would have good to have had some material to place back on the path to level it out but this is something to look into going forward.

After a couple of hours of graft and some words of encouragement from the passing public we then retreated to the nearby Youth Hostel Cafe for a drink, cake and a meeting.  We'd discussed how the scraping was difficult and had noted that there were sections of path which were currently ok but had early vegetative build-up that could be brushed or scraped away more easily.
The next project.


Shawn working hard with the brush.
We decided to put the theory to the test on some of the paths near to the Youth Hostel and Campsite at the junction of the Conkers Circuit.  This section is a good tarmac surface with a little build up of vegetation on the sides.  Armed with stiff brushes and more enthusiasm we started to brush back the build up.  Sadly Robert's brush didn't match his enthusiasm and came to a sad demise after a short time.  Within an hour though we'd made some good progress and will look to continue the work in the near future.

Sunday 10 June 2018

Moira Furnace Museum


As well as looking after the cycle routes through the National Forest we also like to promote the area and its attractions.  One of the attractions is the museum at Moira Furnace which is situated on NCN(63) in the village of Moira just a few hundred yards from Conkers Waterside entrance.

The furnace from the new path from Measham Road - a boat trip ready to depart.
I must have cycled past Moira Furnace hundreds of times and have wanted to have a look at the museum but been unable to find the time.  On returning from a family day out recently whilst travelling through Moira I noticed the loft doors open from a distance and decided to have a family visit to the furnace museum.

The Furnace Museum is only open between 11am and 4pm at weekends and bank holidays between Easter and September  and Tuesday to Sundays during the school holidays (Leicestershire) and is operated mainly be a team of friendly and helpful volunteers.  The price is a very modest £2 for adults and £1 for children.  Boat trips are also run from the museum along the Ashby Canal towards Donisthorpe again for a modest cost.

The museum consists of 3 main areas; The Loft, the display area and the World War 1 kitchen. 

Entrance to the loft
The Loft area is reached by crossing the canal on the footbridge and then walking up the ramp back over the canal.  The loft has several interactive
displays and follows the process of how the furnace was supposed to work(!) and also a display of what the area would have looked like in it's short working life.  There is also an area specifically for children - ideal for groups and includes costumes to dress up in.  The view from the top is worth a look too.
View towards Moira with new link on right

The World War 1 Kitchen is pretty much as named - a kitchen typical of the World War 1 period - well presented.
View towards Donisthorpe

A forthcoming event currently being advertised
The main section is the entrance and shop and has a presentation relating to when the furnace was used for housing and tells some of the stories from those who lived there.  There are also picture displays and a reconstruction of a dressmaking shop and a cobblers from the period too.

The shop sells a selection of local books and also drinks and ice creams.  Aside from the museum there is also the country park surrounding it and also the lime kilns a couple of minutes walk away.  There are toilets and a cafe within the park close-by and parking is free too.

However, as the Furnace is situated directly on NCN(63) cycling is certainly an option for travelling. With the link to Hicks Lodge soon to be completed the cycling traffic through the area should increase significantly.

It is certainly worth nipping in to have a look around.  More details can be found via www.moirafurnace.org

Sunday 15 April 2018

Improvements at the Heart of the National Forest

As what seems like the longest Winter in living memory slowly turns in to Spring we have been out and about on our local network in the Heart of the National Forest.  Despite the recent poor weather there have still been some developments of note.

In direction of Measham Road
View back towards the swing bridge and furnace.
Firstly is the link from Moira Furnace to Measham Road in Moira.  This will form a link between NCN(63) and the National Forest Cycle Centre at Hicks Lodge once the housing development o on the other side of Measham Road is complete and a link is provided to Newfields Road and the current link to Hicks Lodge.

The link is constructed from tarmac and is a decent 3m width.  We are now awaiting construction of the new estate to finish before the cycle link is complete.  Once the link is complete we will sign the link from the NCN to and from Hicks Lodge.

A much lighter canopy over NCN 63
Meanwhile back on the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail there has been quite a lot of work done by a volunteering group led by the local ranger from Leicestershire County Council.  On a section north from Donisthorpe Woodland Park to Moira some significant work has been done to cut back vegetation.  Most of this section has already had work done on the path by payback teams in recent years but this further work will help to avoid further build up of vegetation and keep the path surface mud free.

There is still a small section in Moira that requires attention near the Youth Hostel and we are intending to work on this section on 29th April.  We are inviting members of the public to join us.  For more details read this post.

A  much wider path now greets users at Measham
Further down the trail near Measham Library a payback team has made a start on the Measham to A42 section.  This section is very muddy in places but some vegetation work has improved it over the last couple of years and a sustained period of work on this section of the trail will lead to a much improved experience for most users.

Currently I'm sure that Mountain bikers enjoy the section but for those using the path as a leisure or commuter route it is difficult to pass during damper times.  Hopefully the whole trail will see a large improvement over the coming year.








Path Clearance Day on Ashby Wolds Heritage Trail

One of the many activities available to Sustrans Rangers is a workday.  This is where we get together to work on a section of our network.  Workdays can focus on litter picks, sign cleaning, graffiti removal, vegetation work or path widening.

In this area we are relatively lucky that we don't have some of the issues faced by our more urban colleagues so litter is not as much of a problem and graffiti less so.  We are also fortunate that there are several other groups nearby who focus on vegetation so our activity mainly focuses on path widening.

We are planning a day in Moira on NCN63 on the Ashby Wolds Heritage Trail.  This is part of a popular cycling and walking route and is also part of the Conkers Parkrun.  We are inviting members of the public to join with us so they can learn more about our work, enjoy a volunteering experience and hopefully help us improve a section of the trail.  Details are on the poster above.


Monday 26 February 2018

Cycling Session and Led Ride at Easter


Do you have a child who wants to ride a bike but perhaps needs a little help?

Are you a family looking to start riding together but need a little guidance?

Well on Tuesday 27th March during the Easter Holidays there are 2 events at Maurice Lea Park in Church Gresley as advertised in the poster below.  Details can also be found in the new What's On Guide which can be picked up at Swadlincote Tourist Information Centre, Swadlincote Library, SDDC offices or online by clicking here.