Permit treated sewage for river Frome?

Freshford Mill is located in a conservation area, it is in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and a site of special scientific interest and there are colonies of protected bats.

Roads and road rage and the economy

With the failure of both Wiltshire and BANES to repair the damage to Staples Hill one might wonder how a proposal to spend over one million pounds on a foot bridge across the river Avon at Bradford on Avon can be justified. The damage to Staples Hill has been caused by heavy traffic including tracked vehicles weighing up to 28 tons. Most of that traffic is due to the development at Freshford Mill (but which has been much less than we feared as demolition waste was crushed and re-used on site). However there is an increase in heavy goods and other traffic due to being misguided by Satnav systems.

Staple Hill's road surface is so poor that local motorists will take a central position unless forced to do so by oncoming traffic. Poor cyclists have no choice but to go into the potholes, either stop or risk aggressive action by impatient if not ignorant motorists. At night the road is dangerous to cyclists.

One may question whether the financial crisis is real when one million pound is being seriously considered in the building of a footbridge over the river Avon at Bradford on Avon when basic road maintenance is being ignored.  And what is worse is that all that needs to be done at Bradford is to raise the pavement, which at present in some places is below the legal limit and add railings. There is no need for an additional bridge.  It seems to me that what we have to contend with is a bunch of crooks or ignoramuses.

As for the financial crisis the background to neglect of the roads due to money being gambled away. Who has been sacked in these National banks? I may be wrong but no one! One neighbour has been charged over £180 for being overdrawn (Lloyds bank) Hence my observation that these people are crooks. I'd sooner have government restored to the monarchy rather than this lot of either ignoramuses or at worst crooks. 

Update: vandalised road sign Freshford

It is now almost the end of April 2009. Nothing has been done to rectify this damage. And also the sign: "3 ton weight limit ahead" located at the junction of Crabtree lane and Mill lane  has been turned around so that motorists will not see it.

I have reported  a driver who ignored the advisory road signs and also the possible breaking of the law by that driver who is employed by A.S. Taylor. This driver drove his vehicle down Rosemary lane Freshford.  The vehicle was loaded with twenty reinforced concrete beams for delivery to Freshford Mill. As I understand the regulations the weight was overloaded.  Since taking the earlier photos, someone has vandalised the road sign: 

I do not know whether if the road sign is altered this absolves the driver from the law.

In relation to the lorry owned by A.S. Taylor which drove its Leyland Daf 75-300 vehicle down Rosemary lane with a load possibly exceeding 30 tons when it's gross load according to the Leyland Daf website should not have exceeded 18 tons. I understand that this vehicle was unable to brake properly on its descent down Rosemary lane. This means that a vehicle or other roas user coming up the hill would be killed or seriously injured by the vehicle or it would have have to have driven into the cottages or the wall.  A vehicle should be able to stop within the distance which the driver can see to be clear.

Although YPres Rose the developers of the Freshford Mill private housing estate in the Frome valley were specifically requested to ensure that suppliers of materials to their building site should not go through the village of Freshford and the hamlet of Sharpstone but should access the site via Staples Hill from the Westwood direction their advice to their suppliers is either being ignored, or misunderstood.

Today Thursday 5th of March 2009 a lorry weighing possibly ten tons or over with a load of twenty reinforced beams of average weight of one ton each that is a gross weight of thirty tons travelled from the A36 down Abbey lane and turned into Rosemary Lane as instructed by the lorry's SATNAV system? There is not only a blue sign stating quite clearly the 3 TON WEIGHT LIMIT AHEAD but also "a Road Narrows Ahead" sign together with "an Unsuitable for Heavy Goods vehicles" sign.

So what went wrong? Ypres Rose have said that they have issued clear instructions to their suppliers that they should deliver goods to the Freshford Mill site via Staples Hill from the Westwood direction.

Furthermore, I have photographed every single road junction in Freshford and also produced video films of journeys from the A36 to Freshford Mill. These photographs and video films have been published on the Internet. As far as I know, there is no other villlage in the UK that has a photographic survey of every single road junction let alone videos in and out of the village. Yet the lorry owned by A.S.Taylor UK-Europe (that's what they print on their lorries) registration: R775 FHG has allowed their driver to drive down Rosemary Lane.

The photographs show that the lorry with its load is not only possibly overweight but obviously not allowed to cross the bridge, even if it is unloaded. Freshford Mill bridge is not only subject to a maximum load of three tons but is also an ancient monument.

Stopped!

A couple of beams that are less than a ton.

Twenty reinforced concrete beams: gross weight at least twenty tons?

A handsome Leyland Daf 75-300 rigid wheel base vehicle.

Identification.

Rosemary Lane is in the hamlet of Sharpstone which is close to Freshford, it is the steepest road in this area. It is a pity that it is not named as a hill, but then would that have made any difference to these ignorant people? Even a car driver would know that Rosemary lane is narrow and steep, a lorry driver has a better view of the road.  The dictionary definition of "lane" is a "narrow road in the country" Oxford Advanced learner's dictionary. If the driver was lost he could have telephoned.

Let's summarise this event. There was an earlier incident, last Autumn,  that lead to serious damage to the safety barriers of the bridge, The police were not prepared to take action against the owner of the lorry that caused that damage. I supppose that they won't take action against this lorry driver's owner either.  I understand that the fine for breaking a Maximum Weight Limit can be as little as £50. (Cheltenham Magistrates court) However, the fine for overloading ( vehicle being Overweight) is considerably more:

The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires “vehicle users” to ensure that vehicles are not overloaded.
If a vehicle is found to be overloaded both the driver and operator could be prosecuted or cautioned.
Legislation imposes fines of up to £5,000 for each offence. That means a fine for each overloaded axle
plus any overloading on the total weight. Also, if a vehicle is dangerously overloaded the driver could face
a charge of Dangerous Driving which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Other offences
within the Road Traffic Act include refusal to allow the vehicle to be weighed and obstruction of an officer
which also carry a maximum fine of £5,000. If a vehicle is overloaded and results in someone being killed,
both driver and operator could face going to jail for Manslaughter or Death by Dangerous Driving.  VOSA Vehicle Safety Dangers of Overloading

The picture shows the regulation for rigid body vehicles.

The vehicle is a Leyland Daf 75-300 as far as I am aware the lorry was probably in breach of the law in relation to its load. Unfortunately, there is nothing to stop a vehicle ignoring:

1. an Unsuitable for Heavy Vehicles signpost
2. a Road Narrows sign
3. an advisory notice of a weight limit ahead of 3 tons

I don't know about whether the six foot six inches width restriction has been broken.

Shouldn't a British driver know that roads that are named "lane" mean that the road is a narrow country road which should not be used. 

Ypres Rose did not use a fork lift truck to try and unload the vehicle as they would have probably exceeded the weight limit for the mill bridge and apparently they said it wasn't their responsibilty.

Apparently, the vehicle need only be capable of exceeding 3 tons with a load (in this case) to break the law. This means that a vehicle of less than two tons but capable of carrying a load that would exceed three tons must not use the bridge, even if it has no load!

From what I have heard the lorry made its way back up rosemary lane aided by a local farmer's tractor - there are marks on the road surface of Rosemary lane.

There is earlier damage to the bridge (which is classified as an ancient monument) that has had to be repaired, at public expense. That damage was caused by a driver of a beer lorry who was guided to use Rosemary lane by  SATNAV.

Perhaps locals would be better off if the bridge collapsed. Preferably with a lorry on it!

I thought the new entry to Freshford Mill would be shaped to deter residents and others from turning left to go up Rosemary lane. Well, in the absence of specific instructions from BANES Planning and the Highway Authority, the road has been made complete with drains and kerbstones and as one may see from the photograph below it will be quite easy for a vehicle to turn left and proceed up Rosemary lane and also come down Rosemary lane and enter the estate.

Recently a hoarding was erected at Freshford Mill. I thought that planning permission had to be sought to do this? However as confirmed by the mock-up the hoarding shows what we feared most. That is that the new buildings will have little in common with the older buildings and with any houses in Freshford which are made almost exclusively of local stone.

The artist's rendition does not show the fact that the buildings will be raised three metres above the existing ground level to give a measure of protection against floods. These new buildings should be made of local stone and we do not see any justification for approving this development as it is currently proposed. These buildings look more like a development in Essex.

I understand that the landscape by Freshford Mill bridge is going to be altered by the removal of trees to allow a new telephone line together with poles to be connected to the new development. When Peradins owned the mill site the telephone line was further up Rosemary lane and I don't see any goood reason why the line can't be restored to where it used to be. What I can imagine is a disturbance that could effect the beauty of this part of the river Frome landscape. The two photographs below show the existing beauty of the landscape.

The view up the river Frome from Freshford Mill bridge, which is an Ancient Monument, in July 2008. The view is not marred by telephone lines. Telephone lines are just one of the blights on the landscape of today.

The view down Rosemary lane near Freshford Mill bridge. The view is not marred at present (July 2008) by telephone lines and poles.

I have been to the Freshford Fete today.  I suppose I was not surprised to learn that Ypres Rose the developer is generously supporting the fete. However, I saw a reminder that the new build would consist of buildings that in my opinion are not appropriate to this area of the country. The predominent building material in Somerset and Wiltshire is stone. So why are Ypres Rose allowed to build houses made of brick and block rendered walls and cedar cladding. Cedar cladding is quite popular in the United States as it is a cheap durable material. It is used on quality garden sheds but is hardly appropriate in the South West of England. The photograph below is of a garage in Sharpstone. I consider this building, even though it is a garage to be a fine building which is in harmony with its environment. It is not only a great pity that the buildings which I consider to be inferior in design at Freshford Mill have been approved by planning it also raises questions about the planning process.

The following article is copied from a Google cache of the Wikipedia article for Freshford. Since the article used to read as below, it has been edited 'dumbed down' one might say (although I don't like the phrase). The alterations although on the whole good, do remove the fact that a lot of residents have spent many hours trying to deter Bath and North East Somerset and councillors from permitting the development. The argument is that what is written below is one sided and does not give the other side of recommending that the application should be permitted. I have not had any comment on why this development should have been permitted from any of those parties involved: B&NES Planning, Government Office of the South West, councillors. Ypres Rose Devlopments have also refrained from putting forth their argument for wanting to build at Freshford Mill. Of course I just may be too close to the issue and maybe many will accept the present article.

If anyone wants to edit the present Wikipedia article they are quite entitled to do so. On an earlier date the complete article section below was just removed in its entirety.

<The most important issue facing Freshford is the current development at Freshford Mill.^{[citation needed]} For the whole of the 21st Century, Freshford and its parish council, have had to spend a great amount of time trying to stop a development at Freshford Mill that would increase the population of the village and put great stress on the local roads^{[citation needed]}. There has been some disagreement as to whether the development now being undertaken by Ypres Rose is unwelcome^{[citation needed]}. The facts are that 80 percent of the village objected to the development that was proposed by Southern and Counties and only 1 person was in favour (provided the transport problems could be overcome). These facts come from the Freshford Parish Council's Extraordinary Meeting of the 22nd July 2002. The document may be found with some difficulty on the BANES Planning website but is more easily found (reproduced under APPENDIX F : DEMOCRATIC CONSULTATION AND PARISH COUNCIL EXTRAORDINARY MEETING) at [1]

The development which is in progress, is to convert a disused industrial site within a Zone 3 flood plain into a residential estate. Flood plain zones as defined by DEFRA state that Zone 3 is one of high probability of annual flooding [2]>

On reflection, the request for 'citation needed' is met by the reference to the 'Appendix F: Democratic . . .' Or is that not enough?

A flood watch is in operation for this area: Flood Watch South West

At 5:30pm the Staples Hill route into Freshford was flooded but passible. Fortunately, the tide at Avonmouth is low at this time of the month, being a mere 11m: Tide at Avonmouth

The three photos below were taken on Saturday the 12th January 2008 after a couple of days of steady rain. Local rainfall amounts to 65mm for January so far.

This is Mill lane just beside Freshford Mill. The morning after the swollen river Frome deposited this tree trunk weighing possibly half a ton on the road.  Further down the lane the bridge is being cleared

But is still blocked. North of the mill the photo below shows the extent of the remaining flood.

At some time in the night the river Frome occupied the whole valley. Whilst at 11:00am the water had receded. The weather had also prompted the local authority to spread salt on the roads as there was a chance of ice.

Contrary to the news item noting the site as being for sale, this is in fact incorrect.  The originators of this information, Land 4 Development, were requested to remove all reference to the Freshford Mill site in November 2007.

Ypres Rose Developments Ltd are in the process of developing the site pursuant to the extant planning consent.

Phil Desmond

Commercial Director

Ypres Rose Developments Ltd

Now that Freshford Mill is back on the market for any would-be developer to make a profit from building houses, nothing intrinsically wrong with that, except that in this case, the houses are not needed, it is time to review the alternative plan for the site. I have published the argument on the Freshford Mill web site Alternative Plan for Freshford Mill  and there is also a letter on the Letter to the Prime Minister's website: Planning Permission . .. . which my company also hosts.

I still agree that it is a desirable plan and had been approved back in February 2005. However I would like to add that in addition to the recreational features of the plan a working mill to generate electrical power for the village should be considered.  There are other mills along the Frome river that have been restored to use or will be shortly.  The mill at Tellisford which is no more than a decent walk up river is a prime example of what can be achieved. EDF provide grants and a news item from the press room of EDF on Tellisford Mill can be read here. Tellisford Mill

A working mill would not only bring much needed and increasingly expensive electrical power to the village but would also add to the educational value of the plan.

The problem is where does the money come from to buy the site? We can't exactly have a whip round! But the alternative plan is one that deserves financial support.  On the Freshford Mill website I have argued that the village of Freshford and its unique location in the Limpley Stoke valley where the river Frome meets the Avon, amidst wooded steep hills, is a particularly attractive part of the country that we are privileged to live in and have a  duty to protect.  There are so many other parts of the country that are by contrast bleak and desolate. I am aware that this is the case but the public does not realise this, after all who wants to photograph such places? There is a website "Crap Towns" or rather series of books, that does try to address the issue of poor planning and local indifference.Crap Towns (I don't like that word either!) is a good starting place.

Money should be available to help remove eyesores like Peradins. The money should not have to come from developers as then developers will ignore similar development land to Freshford Mill and seek green field sites (which is what they are doing) or be unable to provide the quality of building that is appropriate. Government should, therefore, be willing to assist with off-setting the initial costs of site restoration. This is an issue that would-be Freshford Mill developers face, although in this case the Peridins site should not have been given planning consent to create a new settlement in a flood plain in the first place! (this issue is still being investigated)

With that planning consent the value of the land shot up. Now perhaps it will dwindle, but to buy the site for the Rural Recreational Area, Nature Sanctuary and Workshops project,  money will have to be found.  The trouble is that Freshford and its surrounding villages is considered to be populated by "well to do" people and the government tends to "throw money" into projects that are only located in deprived and run down areas. In our case, we need to argue that in this area of the countryside (Somerset and Wiltshire), both the land and the built environment provide an area where people can come to relax and recuperate for a modest outlay in terms of transport or fuel. Money spent here is actually beneficial to those who live in run-down areas, as it provides an opportunity to spend some prime time in the countryside. The value of which Prince Charles has alluded to in his book a  A Vision of Britain  It should be remembered that Freshford is but a decent cycle ride from the World Heritage City of Bath and is a place where both visitors from overseas and Bath citizens can come to enjoy the beauty of the existing English countryside (a lot of it has gone, and will go) Freshford is also accessible from Bristol, which is one of the most densely populated cities in Britain and whose citizens surely deserve a range of places in which to unwind.

Properly managed, and with a working mill, Freshford Mill could provide a wonderful day out for children not only from the cities of Bath, Bristol and the towns that are close to the Avon and Frome valleys but all the other children that live in Somerset, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. I can imagine even steam trains being employed (at sensible prices!) Mind you we would need a Mcdonalds or KFC or a special menu down The Inn!

Quite remarkable news Ypres Rose has put the development up for sale at:  Land4Developers Strange but this link no longer works -one has to subscribe to view the details of the sale.