Dollicott Concerns

Various objections have been expressed by local residents about the proposed planning application for the Dollicott site.

One of the most prominent concerns has been the issue of increased traffic movements and its impact on the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and residents living close by.

A detailed analysis of the transport impact of the proposed Dollicott development has recently been compiled by Trevor Ellis.

His report clearly indicates the potential hazards to vulnerable pedestrians even with the present level of traffic, and that to deliberately sanction any significant increase of traffic would be irresponsible.

Some have argued that Chapter Six of the draft Neighbourhood Plan understates these hazards in discussing the proposed Dollicott development site — the proposed mitigation of restricting the site to extra care dwellings would still result in significant extra traffic along Dollicott and through the junctions at either end, unless vehicular access is restricted to that through the airfield site only.

Trevor Ellis' report draws the following main conclusions:

1. The existing road has a number of hazards for vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists

2. These hazards would be considerably increased by the additional traffic that will be generated by the proposed development

3. The junctions at either end of the road length are both poor in terms of sight lines, and both have issues of many parked cars. These factors make negotiating the junctions hazardous. Again this will be considerably exacerbated by the increase in traffic caused by the proposed development

4. The additional traffic will be a significant increase on the existing levels on this route, and will change the character of Townsend Green which is a conservation area, with a very distinctive character, and which provides a much-used amenity for the whole village.

You can read the entire report by clicking on the PDF located below the images on this page