Thornbury Town and District Residents Association

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ChairTTaDRA@gmail.com

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Letter sent to our representatives

Nov 11, 2021

This letter was sent to our representatives on 8th & 9th November 2021.

have sent to:

Dan Norris – Metro Mayor for West of England Combined Authority,
Luke Hall – MP for Thornbury and Yate,
Toby Savage – Leader South Gloucestershire Council,
Jayne Stansfield – Mayor of Thornbury, South Gloucestershire Councillor representing Thornbury,
Maggie Tyrrell & Shirley Holloway – South Gloucestershire Councillors representing Thornbury & Thornbury Town Councillor

Thornbury Town and District Residents Association – TTaDRA

Overview

This communication is an attempt to appraise you of what we believe to be the current situation regarding closure of the High Street and consequent Traffic problems

Two recent Public Meetings were held to air feelings about closure of the High Street and rerouting of Traffic along Rock Street
These were attended by over 300 residents of Thornbury and surrounding villages
At a follow up meeting a group was tasked with bringing together proposals to form a Residents Association or Action Group

This Residents Association has now been formed with myself as Secretary

Freedom Of Information

It would appear that South Gloucestershire Council may not have followed Best Practice in determining how Thornbury High Street is revitalised

For your information I am attaching a copy of the Freedom Of Information and Environmental Information Request regarding Thornbury Town Centre which I submitted.

Receipt of this was acknowledged by South Gloucestershire Council on Thursday 28th October.

I understand SGC have 20 days in which to respond.

Meaningful Engagement with the Community

TTaDRA calls upon SGC, as a matter of some urgency, to fully and meaningfully engage with the local community to agree on the best way forward to revitalise Thornbury Town Centre for all users.

Thornbury is continuing to suffer following last year’s arbitrary decision by South Gloucestershire Council to close the High Street to traffic and parking last year. This was introduced under cover of Covid distancing regulations at the start of the pandemic

There was absolutely no prior consultation by SGC with residents, shops, businesses or indeed Thornbury Town Council which is both undemocratic and has proven divisive

Subsequently a survey was held by SGC which many thought to be inadequate in scope and options. Even so the result and comments indicated overwhelming support for the High Street to remain open with either one way or two-way traffic together with ample parking particularly for the disabled within the High Street. Buses needed to routed back in a Southerly direction along the High Street allowing both able bodied and disabled people to visit

High Street

There has been a significant loss in trade to High Street shops and businesses and some of the long-established family shops, which are crucial to the well-being of Thornbury, are suffering. The loss of such shops and businesses would be catastrophic for the Town and indeed far from SGC’s vision of reinvigorating the Town it would be terminal.

Diversion, Congestion and Air Pollution

Whilst the issue of the High Street is in itself very significant the subsequent diversion of traffic along Midland Way, Rock Street and The Plain has caused congestion, traffic, air quality and safety problems in these and neighbouring roads. Far from solving any actual or perceived problems it has merely created new and more severe problems.

The problems caused are apparent at all times of the day but particularly in the morning and late afternoon periods during school term
There are several schools in the locality including Castle School and Castle School Sixth Form Centre which draw pupils from a wide area
The response times of the emergency services within Thornbury has undoubtedly increased

Recent proposals for alterations to the layout of roads have been set out and a limited “consultation” carried out by SGC.
The Traffic Engineers have had an impossible task to try to make the Council’s proposals work. The proposals both in part and as a whole are not Fit for Purpose