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Transport Infrastructure Strategy

12-week consultation on the Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS) that Louise Haigh launched last week, the day before she resigned. That consultation closes on 30 Jan.

Would suggest we should all be all responding.

Integrated National Transport Strategy: a call for ideas

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PG2JMU

Please take the time to complete our survey. Your feedback is important.

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Steve & Caroline Spacie held an open garden fundraiser on a beautifully sunny day in June.  It seems so long ago, now that the gales & colder weather has started, but it was only three & a half months ago that we opened our gates to about 25 GP members & friends.

Visitors enjoy a peaceful stroll around the meadow.

Caroline & a team of core GP members laid out tables & chairs on the Patio & an area we call ‘the beach’ which is a gravel area-cum-overflow at the end of our new wildlife pond.  They had a table set up with delicious cakes, made by Helen and Caroline.  Teas, soft drinks & small potted plants were sold to add to TGP funds which amounted to a total of circa £160.

The patio just before our visitors arrived.

Steve has been rewilding the garden which borders Tewkesbury Nature Reserve. He took people on tours of the gardens to show them what he has planted and wildlife he wants to encourage.   The different areas of the garden include:-

• the main area of the garden we call the Paddock being a grassed area with new trees,
• the wild area beyond the paddock,
• the side garden including an ancient Ditch with restored hedgerows on either side.
• the Patio & Wildlife Pond area

The ‘Paddock’ area with its wildflower meadow, young trees & a makeshift bench seat.

Planting Diversity

Our aim is to increase species diversity in the garden which will then spill out into the local area.  In order to achieve this a wild flower meadow has been seeded.  Although the sticky clay soils which are wet & cold in winter have resulted in poor results, a sward is developing slowly after much experimentation to find out what will thrive.  Although the number of different species is too numerous to list here we had success with Ragged Robin & Cowslips which are a delight to the eye; plus Mullein & Teasle whose seeds attract flocks of Goldfinches & various species of Tits in the winter.

Approx 15 native species of trees were planted in the Paddock area back in 2018, including Alder, Birch, Oak & Scots Pine.  Apart from a few losses due to summer drought they are now established & most exceed 5-7m in height.

In the beginning the dry ditch was dominated by bramble & nettle.  After several seasons of bringing the infestation to a reasonable level we were able to plant native hedgerow shrubs in staggered lines on either side of the ditch.  An informal gravel path was laid in the ditch to provide a dry surface to enjoy the plants & maintain the new shrubs.  The planting included all the common hedgerow species plus a few that are no longer common including Gelder Rose, Spindle & Yew.  For some reason that we have yet to discover, Holly does not grow well at all; so no berries for Xmas.  Luckily for us the original Damson trees & Elder bushes provide us with homemade Damson Jam & refreshing Elderflower cordial.  The ditch planting has created a magical woodland feeling when accessed via the path & we are slowly introducing ground flora including Bluebells, Enchanters Nightshade & Wild Garlic.

In the paddock nearing the Hedgehog hibernation box hidden by luxuriant summer growth of native grasses

Animal Diversity

In order to encourage wild creatures into our garden & enhance the habitat for those that were already present various structures & features have been created.

• 2 Hedgehog hibernation boxes to encourage Hogs to over winter, plus 1 covered feeding box with restricted accesses to ensure the neighbourhood Cats don’t make a meal of it.  We only provide Vale Wildlife Hospital’s own ‘Vale’s Hedgehog Food’ in granular format, which is what they feed their Hog patients at the rehabilitation centre just up the road in Beckford.

• A half dozen or so Bird nesting boxes of different sizes & the usual bird feeders providing peanuts, suet balls & mixed grain mixtures.  Prior to installing nest boxes we only saw Long Tail Tits during winter; but now we see them all year.  The garden is regularly overflown by Buzzards & Herons, plus the occasion Red Kite; to name just the largest.  We have also occasionally seen lone foxes & deer; plus we once actually saw a pair of squabbling otters.

• There is a really wild undisturbed & impenetrable area beyond the Paddock, full of brambles, nettles & bindweed which provides an undisturbed habitat for Bank Voles, Field Mice, Hedgehogs, Shrews, Grass Snakes & Slow Worms.  Visitors on tour of the Garden were shown a large heap of cut branches & dry grass / grass cuttings where the reptiles breed.  In front of this was a 2m length of black roofing felt which warms up quickly in the morning sun.  Lifting this revealed a Grass Snake which very quickly moved away & several Slow Worms which carried on gently basking to get warm enough before going off to hunt.

• Wildlife Pond which is kept topped up with rainwater from the rerouted roof water pipes. Next to the pond is a Hibernacula located below a timber walkway which provides a winter refuge for a significant population of resident Toads, Frogs & a few Smooth Newts

On the timber walkway with the amphibians hibernacula hidden below.

Credits

We are very grateful to Hilarie & her team for organising & publicising the event in advance.  All we had to do was provide the venue, enough chairs, a few homemade cakes & help with the running of the event on the day.  Many thanks to everybody who joined us on the day. People were very kind in telling us how much they enjoyed the afternoon, as we ourselves did. Someone said that they didn’t realise that such peaceful corner of Tewkesbury actually existed. 

Well, taking all that into account we shall of course have another open garden day again early in May 2025 & annually thereafter.

Discussing the pond from a walkway vantage point.

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The Route Options Consultation, for the changes to the A46 has been published by Gloucestershire County Council, 7th October 2024 and will run until the 2nd December 2024.

Full details can be found on the GCC website M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme Consultation including the routes options, maps, consultation document, brochure etc.

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Have your say on potential route options for M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme

‌Gloucestershire County Council is running a public engagement exercise from Monday 7 October – Monday 2 December 2024 on potential route options for the M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme.

A wide variety of route options have been considered and technically assessed for suitability. The council now plans to share these options with stakeholders, local communities and the public during the engagement exercise. This is the first stage of public engagement, with feedback being used to inform further options refinement and shortlisting. A preferred route option would only be identified following future public consultations.

The scheme proposes the development of a new M5 Junction 9a near Tewkesbury and the re-routing of the existing A46 around Ashchurch to Teddington Hands roundabout. This would divert long distance traffic away from the existing A46, including heavy goods vehicles. In turn, this would reduce traffic on the existing A46 through Ashchurch, allow local improvements for cycling and walking to take place and enhance the local environment. In addition, the new rerouted A46 would improve journey times and road safety. The scheme would reduce queuing back to the M5 from the Junction 9 roundabout, which is currently a safety concern.

The M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme is also essential to providing the connectivity to and unlocking the capacity for planned and proposed strategic housing and employment growth in the area. This includes the Tewkesbury Garden Communities programme, which will provide much-needed new homes and jobs in Tewkesbury.

The early stages of the scheme’s development have been funded by Gloucestershire County Council, investing over £10 million to date in business case preparation, National Highways and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government), who announced awards of £1.5 million in March 2021 and a further £1.5 million in March 2022 (total £3m) to support the development of the scheme.

The public engagement exercise forms part of the early development of the M5 Junction J9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme, which will rely on securing funding from Government to deliver the scheme. At this early stage, no commitment can therefore be given to funding being secured for the scheme delivery.

Cllr David Gray, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, said: “More than half of the traffic currently using the existing A46 through Ashchurch during peak periods is longer distance through-traffic. Our proposals would provide an alternative more suitable route for these vehicles, especially heavy goods traffic. This would benefit local residents and businesses by reducing traffic volume, noise and pollution on the existing A46 through Ashchurch. The scheme will also support sustainable travel options, with the needs of walkers, cyclists and horse riders considered in the overall design, and provide essential connectivity for the proposed garden communities, boosting sustainable growth and housing supply.”

A link to the online survey and details of the potential route options will be added to the scheme webpage www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/J9 on Monday 7 October. Face-to-face events will also be held at George Watson Memorial Hall (Watson Hall) on Saturday 19 October from 10am – 5pm and at Northway Community Hub (Main Hall) on Wednesday 23 October from 11am – 4pm, where you can meet the project team and find out more about the scheme. Hard copies and accessible formats of the public engagement documentation can be requested from Monday 7 October by emailing M5Junction9@atkinsrealis.com or by calling 01454 667490 (Monday – Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm) and leaving a message.

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