Traffic and Transport

Wolsingham’s central area was built before the age of the motor car and thus is challenged by the extent of car ownership today. Its location, and existing structures means that it cannot be conveniently by-passed. However, residents highlighted traffic and parking as major problems, particularly in the central area in and around the market place. The Parish Plan therefore puts forward policies that will attempt to alleviate some of the problems and point the way forward to a more satisfactory state of affairs that meets the concerns and wishes of the residents.

Front Street

Parking

There are four main categories of car user that contribute to the problem:-

Residents without a garage who wish to park outside their home

People who park for short periods to access local facilities

People who park all day because they work in Wolsingham

Visitors who might be either long stay (eg walkers) or short stay (eg diners)

To deal with these different issues, a range of responses will need to be developed.

As part of the plan, a parking survey was commissioned to quantify the problem. The results are shown at Appendix II

Future development needs to ensure that the existing garage facilities are preserved.

There should be a presumption against planning applications that seek to convert garages to other uses.

The Parish council should investigate creating parking facilities in areas that it owns, if demand is proven. It could seek to have grass areas converted to hard standing.

Means of enforcing parking restrictions in the Market place and in streets that are made difficult to pass should be investigated.

 Market Place

Consideration should be given to more specific signposting to long stay parking in more appropriate areas.

The possibility of securing resident or long-term parking in the Demesne Mill area is a potential solution.

a)      Traffic

The people of Wolsingham perceive that there are problems with traffic, in terms of speed and volume and the inappropriate use of certain streets by heavy vehicles. Many people find difficulty in crossing the road in the Market place. In summer time there is a perceived problem with crossing the roads to the Recreation Field. Fortunately, no serious accidents have occurred, but there is no doubt that the amenity value of the centre would be dramatically improved by appropriate sympathetic traffic calming and pedestrian crossing measures.

b)      Public transport

The responses to the questionnaire indicated that only a small percentage of residents were users of current bus services through the town, but that there was support for the idea of a town shuttle. There is an issue of public transport links to other locations and the timing of the last buses to get people home. It would be impossible for a local person to visit the theatre in Darlington and get home by public transport.

During its study of the issue, the Steering Group has become aware that there are a variety of services that could be utilised to address some of the concerns of residents.

All existing bus services should continue to be supported.

Any attempt to reduce the present level of service should be opposed.

The feasibility of providing a shuttle service to link parts of the town which are distant from existing services should be investigated. This could involve discussion with the Rural Ride provider – at present the bus waits in the Market place for about seven minutes each time it comes to Wolsingham.