Category: Pedalways

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Norwich Western Link: A threat to our neighbouring green corridor?

The Yare River Valley and the Wensum River Valley are the two strategic green infrastructure corridors of Norwich. Proposed developments continue to threaten their effectiveness in providing habitat and free movement for wildlife. One threat is the building of roads across the valleys. An additional road across the Yare Valley has been mooted, but there is no definite plan as yet. A new road across the Wensum is now under consideration to carry the Norwich Western Link.  A planning application (FUL/2024/0022) for the Link has been submitted, and it is out for public consultation until 18th August 2024 (recently extended to this date).

Norfolk Wildlife Trust, CPRE, Friends of the Earth and Buglife are have joined with other environmental organisations to condemn the proposals because of the ecological destruction that can be expected to occur. Natural England has sought assurance from the developers Norfolk County Council that a nationally important habitat for a protected species of bat will not be damaged. Whether Norfolk County Council can give such an assurance seems in doubt, but the Council have, none the less, gone ahead with a planning application for the road.

Grounds for objection are detailed by the “Stop the Wensum Link” campaign.

Concern has also been expressed that the route is designed only for motorised vehicle use (or fearless cyclists) with little or no provision for more sustainable means of travel such as walking and cycling. There is no effective shadow route for non-motorised users.

The issues are complex, but if you wish to speak up for our green wildlife corridors and/or sustainable travel, go to the plans and consultation website.

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Sustainable links to the Yare Valley

A planning application has been submitted to Norwich City Council for the Carrow Works, King Street, Norwich.

You can view everything submitted as part of the application online on the Carrow Works Norwich City Council website.

Public comment on the application should be made before 15th September 2023. You can comment in the following ways:
online at planning.norwich.gov.uk by searching for application number 22/00879/F
or by email planning@norwich.gov.uk.

The Yare Valley Society has an interest in this application because of the development’s outstanding potential to deliver safe means of sustainable travel from some large residential areas of Norwich to and from the Yare Valley Green Infrastructure Corridor (GISC), and, in particular, to and from the Whitlingham Country Park.

Cycling and walking routes in the development, properly implemented, should reduce vehicular traffic in the GISC. The resulting reduction in noise and pollution should benefit the wellbeing of wildlife and of all who use the GISC for informal recreation.

The Society will be putting the case that, in the interest of safety of walkers and cyclists, and to best encourage a modal shift to sustainable people movement, the cycling routes should (a) be segregated from the walking routes, and (b) follow the recommendations contained in the Department for Transport, publication Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20 July 2020.

Please give your support to the parts of the application which will improve walking and cycling to and from the Yare Valley corridor.

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New Masterplan for East Norwich emerging

The Yare Valley Society is keeping a watching brief on the new Masterplan emerging for East Norwich and has engaged in a Zoom consultation with other stakeholders.

The Masterplan will embrace four sites:

  1. Carrow Works – the former Colman’s factory site
  2. Deal Ground – large site east of the railway
  3. May Gurney – former HQ site for local firm
  4. Utilities sites – former power station site

The Masterplan will impact on the Yare Valley, and the Society’s objectives in relation to the Masterplan are:

  • To safeguard the green infrastructure corridor of the Yare Valley.
  • To promote biodiversity in the Valley
  • To promote walking and cycling routes along the valley to Whitlingham Country Park and to link them with the River Wensum walking and cycling routes.

Information on the developing Masterplan can be found here.

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Slow Ways in the Valley

We all enjoy our slow ways in the Valley, but a new project involving large scale collaboration aims to create a national network of “Slow Ways”. “A Slow Way is a route for walking (or wheeling) between neighbouring cities, towns and villages, using a variety of existing paths, ways, trails and roads.”

Slow Ways from Norwich cross the Yare at Cringleford, Harford and Lakenham Bridges, but only one route, Norwich-Mulbarton, passes along part of the Valley.  It uses the Bridleway from the Mulbarton Road across to Keswick Mill, before turning south west to head past Keswick Hall, to picking up the Bridleway beside the Southern Bypass across to Intwood  Road.

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Buses in the Valley – Councillor raises concerns

It has been a long-held dream in some quarters to create a bus link across the valley from the western end of Chancellors Drive at UEA to the Norwich Research Park. The realisation of such a route has been brought a step closer, by its possible inclusion in a County Council bid for money from a “Transforming Cities” government fund. It is seen as a way of improving public transport by shortening journey times.

The EDP of 12 November reports on a recent Norfolk Bus Forum meeting, at which Judith Lubbock, Liberal Democrat Norwich city councillor for Eaton, voiced concern about the link:

“It’s a very special place, the Yare Valley, and we try very hard to protect it. I think, for the very small amount of journey time you’d save by going across the Yare Valley, I cannot see the saving would be worth the destruction.”

The EDP article can be found here.

No buses here please

 

The YVS supports Judith’s view, and will work with all those determined to keep the Yare Valley a Green Space for wildlife and informal recreation.

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Greater Norwich Draft Local Plan delayed

You may have been wondering what has happened to the consultations on a new Greater Norwich Local Plan. Many of us put much effort in to responding to the earlier consultation on sites proposed for development. We were seriously concerned about the impact some of the proposed sites would have on wildlife and informal recreation in the Yare Valley. The completion and publication of a draft plan for submission to the next stage of public consultation was scheduled for September to October 2019.

It now seems that there are outstanding issues still to be resolved by the partner authorities: Norwich, Broadland, and South Norfolk district councils. The date now expected for the draft plan public consultation stage is now January – March 2020. You can find more information on the new Greater Norwich Plan here.

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New Planning Application for UEA/Rugby Club Car Park

A new Planning Application (Reference 2019/0521) has been submitted to South Norfolk District Council for the expansion of the UEA Sports Field Car Park adjacent to Colney Lane. Permissions have already been obtained for the expansion of the car park. These  relate to the UEA Rugby Club development; but there are some significant differences between the latest application, and the previous permissions.

The search page for the application is here , insert the reference 2019/0521.

The Yare Valley Society has a number of concerns about the new application:

1. The impermeable surface proposed for the extra parking spaces will result in increased water run-off

2. Proposals for new lighting, and the impact of resulting light pollution on wildlife

3. The grossly inadequate arrangements for cyclists attempting to negotiate the proposed entrance to the car park. This is on the Norwich Pink Pedalway – a key commuting route to the Hospital and Research Park.

The Yare Valley Society has made formal objection to the proposals.

Please have a look at the proposals and send in your own comments.