Road Clippings Feb-May '98Road Clippings Feb-May '98Party for anti-road fighters (T&A 22/5/98)
We must find a road solution (Aire Valley Target, 21/5/98)
Town's tourism 'needs a massive overhaul' (T&A 10/4/98)
Massive Support for relief road (T&A 1/4/98)
'Green' link in new push for relief road (T&A 24/2/98)
Robert Sutcliffe (T&A 10/4/98)
Bingley needs a massive overhaul of its tourism facilities if it is not to be left behind, a major report claims today.
A study by DTZ Pieda Consulting, sponsored by Bingley Partnership, identifies nine key objectives if the town's tourism potential is to be maximised - but these depend on the £48m relief road getting the go-ahead. Among the proposals is a Leeds & Liverpool Canal Visitor Centre. Bingley Civic Trust chairman Bryan Hobson says this could be housed in the soon-to-be-redundant National School.
"It's big enough and to preserve the school as a visitor centre (explaining the history of the canal) would be a great fillip to the town," he said.
Though Bingley Canal Corridor is an established tourism centre little is done to encourage the 250,000 visitors each year into the town centre, says the report. Its potential is not being maximised for the benefit of the town as a whole.
One way of improving marketing would be to sell Bingley by 'branding' it - probably by using the Five Rise Locks as a logo or slogan, adds the report. Improvements to car parking are also considered vital as are better signs if visitors are to learn what Bingley has to offer.
A canal/heritage trail, including ten of the town's most interesting buildings, would also boost the town's tourism image.
An 'Events Strategy' would raise the tourism profile and bring the community together.
Past fairs and festivals and canal-based events as well as Bingley's millennium celebrations would also be marketed strongly, it suggests.
Environmental improvements to Canal Street, Crossflatts, industrial/commercial frontages south of Park Road and bridges are also called for. The canal corridor and its links with the town centre should also be improved.
The report, which is over 100 pages long, considers what should happen if the road does not get the go-ahead, an event which it says will have catastrophic effects.
It says: "It is the option which will achieve the least benefits for the town. The decision to cancel the relief road will in fact have severe negative economic impacts on the town and significantly undermine the prospects for the creation of a vibrant and sustainable future for the new millennium."
It adds: "With so much hinging on the decision on the relief road it is clear at this stage that the future of Bingley is not in the hands of the Bingley Partnership but those of Government and its decisions will have a critical influence on how regeneration of the Canal Corridor is shaped."
A promising development is the number of operators interested in obtaining a presence in Bingley, among them Argos, Ethel Austin, Peacocks, MacDonalds DriveThru, Kwik Save and Iceland, says the report. However, many larger operators may be put off by the lack of development sites, suitable sized premises and floorspace. And the centre, according to one agent, needs more than £100,000 spending on it to improve its facilities.
Whichever plans are put into action, the results are likely to be some time in coming with a planned timescale of anything up to 15 years.
by Simon Ashbury (T&A 24/2/98)
A radical set of "green" measures is being put forward as part of Bingley's controversial relief road scheme.
Bradford Council transport officials are recommending that it should reaffirm its support for the road to be built as soon as possible.
But their latest report says it should only go ahead as part of an integrated package of measures to solve the traffic problems along the Aire Valley corridor.
They include park and ride schemes, lanes for vehicles with more than one occupant, promoting bus and cycle use through Saltaire and Shipley.
Tony Plumbe, chairman of Bingley Environmental Transport Association (BETA), which opposes the road, said: "This is a move in the right direction. This appears to be a shift in the Council's position but we cannot endorse the recommendations because they are still promoting additional road capacity in Bingley and that's something we don't agree with.
"We believe it is possible to manage the amount of traffic that needs to come through Bingley by a series of carrot and stick measures."
He said many of the measures put forward in the new report were ones which were originally suggested by BETA. Mr Plumbe said the group was in favour of a more far-reaching package of initiatives including a guided bus scheme to tackle traffic congestion.
The Council's transportation, planning and design committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the latest recommendations, which say that the relief road should not be seen as the only solution to the transport problem in the Aire Valley but should be backed up by a good public transport system.
Committee chairman, Councillor Latif Darr (Lab, Little Horton), said: "The sheer volume of traffic which goes through Bingley every day means that something has to be done to stop the town centre grinding to a halt.
"The relief road would attract local traffic which would relieve local villages like Harden, Wilsden, East Morton and Eldwick but the new road should not be promoted as a through route between the M62 and the M6.
"Some £23 million has already been spent on preparations for the road, which would be wasted if the road doesn't go ahead, and without the road there is a limit to what can be done to relieve the congestion in Bingley.
"As a result the Council and most people in the local community would like the road to be built as soon as possible and complementary measures introduced on the Shipley and Saltaire section."
But environmental objectors who have set up a protest camp at Rye Loaf in Bingley on the proposed route today hit out at the Council's support for the road being built.
Protester Oliver Robinson accused the Council of performing a U-turn on the relief road.
"For 12 years the Council opposed this road because it said the extra traffic pressures it would bring to Saltaire and Shipley would be unacceptable," he said.
"Does this mean that these extra traffic pressures no longer matter according to the Council?"
The new report follows two consultative documents by the Government on the role of trunk roads in England and the need to develop an integrated transport policy for areas like Bingley.
An announcement on the future of the Bingley relief road is expected in April.
Philip Smith, chairman of the Better Bingley Campaign, said: "If, by presenting it as a linked thing with an integrated transport policy, they think they can get it through better and quicker, then I agree with it.''
(T&A 1/4/98)
Bradford Chamber of Commerce is to urge Transport Minister Glenda Jackson to push ahead with plans for a relief road for Bingley
The Chamber is to write to Mrs Jackson following a survey which showed overwhelming support for the £64 million road among businesses in the area. The survey was carried out with face-to-face interview at 15 businesses in the Bingley and Keighley area by Chamber staff.
Labour MPs Chris Leslie (Shipley) and Ann Cryer (Keighley) will also be given a copy of the survey's findings as ammunition in drawing up a case for a relief road. The plan has been put on ice by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.
Chamber members were told the firms, which together employ more than 3,500 people, were in the automotive components supply, financial services, promotional display design, textile manufacturing, light and heavy engineering sectors.
(letters, Aire Valley Target, 21/5/98)
SIR,
It is not unusual to find people from Shipley and Saltaire joining in the opposition to the proposed Bingley "relief " road. No doubt they have their own worries on the matter, but 1 wonder how their problems compare with those in Bingley
In the one narrow main road through Bingley, we have at least seven sets of traffic lights, all essential, but some very close together. We have not just a rush-hour surge of heavy traffic, but a day-long stream, including very large lorries, which is brought to a halt at short intervals, creating very large tailbacks.
Bingley desperately needs relief from this. 1 agree that the choice of route is the worst of the three once discussed and it is mainly due to the behaviour of opponents at the discussions held about 25 years ago that the valley route was forced upon us.
How do we find a solution, which must be found, without more positive thinking?
Perhaps a weight restriction on the heaviest lorries, whose destination is far beyond this area, might help a little. Something needs to be done.
M Cook,
Hall Bank Drive,
Bingley
by ROBERT SUTCLIFFE (T&A 22/5/98)
Bingley Anti-Road campaigners are to celebrate their second anniversary with a weekend of party and protest, including a day of action against Green Belt developers.
Oliver Robinson, who has been at the Ryeloaf Camp almost from its inception, said he hoped up to 50 People would join them from June 13 to 15.
He said: "I will be happy if 20 turn up as a minimum, but 40 to 50 would be ideal. How many turn up depends on what is happening elsewhere in the country at the time. I am keeping our day of action plans secret but they will be non-violent. From the developer's point of view it will be 'trouble' and what we do will be quite visible.
"We don't want confrontation with the police or security guards - we will just do it. At Sandy Lane we have shown people how to protest and I think we have achieved a lot during the two years we have been here. The main thing has been to show people that there is always something you can do. Even though you may not be in an influential position you can go out and make a big impact. The message has been to empower people to stand up on this as well as other issues."
He claimed they were winning the argument over the proposed £64 million road and their presence had helped reopen the debate. In particular he was pleased that their arguments over the potential effects of the road had begun to be taken seriously
But he admitted that Bingley people still felt that the road was for their benefit.
He said: "People are friendly when you meet them on the street and when I go into shops, though there was a minority who saw us as scum and dirty hippies. There were veiled threats and intimidation. But since we have been here relations have massively improved."
Conservative councillor Margaret Eaton (Bingley Rural) said: "I don't think they are winning the argument. We cannot survive without being economically active and if we want a viable town centre in Bingley then we need the road to get goods and services quickly around from the edge of the valley.
"I think their support on the ground is rather thin in the Aire Valley"
The party begins on Saturday, June 13, with a party from 8pm. On Sunday there will be a discussion workshop on Green Belt housing from 1pm and the day of action on Monday starts from 9am at the camp.
There are several empty tree houses but space on the floor is limited so anyone wanting to stay at the camp is advised to bring a tent and food.