Progress Roundup

Newton Fields: 2012 Harvest and GWR

We started this partly to investigate how easy it would be to link Bath Spa University's Newton Park campus and the Bristol to Bath railway path.

We found that a straight route across the fields is physically simple, cost effective and would meet the needs of users - but to build it requires commitment, resources, and collaborative work between the landowner, the tenant farmer, the local authority and an organisation such as Sustrans, who build routes like these.

Given that this involves multiple agencies, it's no suprise that we've not yet met with success. However, the campaign's not fruitless:

• We've spoken with the landowner's agent. We believe the landowner is happy with the principle of this route, albeit with a bit of a diversion round a field-end to avoid the expense of  renegotiating the lease with the tenant farmer.
• We've spoken with Sustrans, to establish some basic costs.
• We've raised this option with the local authority's councillors.
• The campaign has raised awareness how anyone wanting to do something as simple as cycle the four miles from the centre of Bath to the University's campus at Newton Park is met by a series of obstacles. Despite the short distance, the nature of the road network begs them to travel by car. 
• We've also found that the needs of people cycling from the Bristol direction aren't met at all well - the fast single carriageway A4 is intimidating.

We've even uncovered accounts from people who set off along the high quality Bath to Bristol Sustrans path for the first time heading for the University - assuming the route would surely throw off a spur to an obvious destination like Newton Park - and talked to several people from Saltford for whom the busy A4 is a complete blocker to cycling to Newton Park.

Also, there's now a cycling promotion group started by students - it uses a Facebook page - Bike2BSU. This group is committed to promote cycling for transport to Newton Park.

Many undergraduates are at University for just 3 years, which is why a scheme with a delivery timescale of less than two years is naturally more engaging to them.

Routes to Bath Spa University: Developments

The local authority's now committed to action on building a link between the University's Newton Park campus and the Bristol to Bath path. Their preferred option is to improve the current footpath along the dual carriageway, and then a ramp at what we've discovered is called 'Twerton Fork'.

Money from a new source - central government's local sustainable transport fund - will help pay for that.

Corston Pavement

When complete, a route alongside the dual carriageway will certainly help encourage people to cycle, though it won't be the best option for people arriving from the Bristol direction. It involves some substantial engineering so it will not be a quick win, though some of the work will be complete in this financial year.

The local authority is also committed to improving the crossing points at the Globe roundabout and also the immediate approach to the Bath Spa University entrance - something that will help everyone who uses that road. This aspect of the work is scheduled for the near future.

A Walkthrough of the Options

At the start of September 2012, the president of the students union, the University's environmental officer and others representing various interest groups walked the length of the dual carriageway route and returned via a section of the Bristol to Bath path, this to help inform a series of meetings with the local authority. The physical simplicity of the 'Globe connector' option very much impressed itself on all present ...

Two Postscripts

Early Blackberry

We've discovered that the blackberries growing alongside the Bristol to Bath path taste a lot better than the ones alongside the dual carriageway.

Work to complete the Two Tunnels route is well underway. If you're a third year student at Bath Spa University, you'll be able to use it before you graduate. We very much wish that the same could apply to a route to the Newton Park campus ...