NAP Sandwich
To the Town Council Office! …on Tuesday evening for the Euro 2012 sandwich filler of a Neighbourhood Action Panel meeting. And you don’t get much more of a tasty appetiser to fill either side of a Czech victory and a Poland Vs Russia score draw than the Wivenhoe NAP.
They’re a continental lot, these NAP types. Not a single eyebrow was raised when I wandered into the chamber wearing my finest pair of loafers, sans socks, natch.
And so shortly after 7pm, it was heads down and a race through the agenda that would have put the pace of the England attack to shame. Which can’t be that difficult.
NAP remains ACE. It is the quarterly opportunity where residents get to question the local policing team about their priorities, suggest solutions and generally come up with new ways for the community to work together.
It’s no talking shop either - Mr Chair is rather fond of actioning, delegating and then asking for updates each quarter. If you’re given a responsibility to carry out, then you know what is expected.
Traffic dominated on Tuesday.
‘Aint it always the case, Comrades?
Cllr Julie Young of Essex County Council explained how the new Highways Panel is currently being put in place in Chelmsford. It’s an operation that sounds as delicate as navigating the Greenstead roundabout in a double decker.
The outcome (the Highways Panel, not the holiday on the busses, Hythe style) is that four County councillors will sit on the panel along with four Borough councillors from Colchester. At a hyperlocal level and Cllr Young has blagged herself a seat on Highways.
Which all means that any NAP related traffic issues (‘aint it always the case…) can now be channeled through Cllr Young, and hopefully get some action.
A budget of £1m has been allocated by Highways for Colchester over the coming year. Sounds impressive, but when you consider that £250,000 is the cost for the cycling path between Wivenhoe and the University - which isn’t part of the Highways budget - you can soon see how £1m is a bit of a road to nowhere.
As for the remit of the new panel?
“We’re a bit unclear”
…came the reply from the good Cllr.
Apparently it may *or may not* include POTHOLES.
Safety schemes at a hyperlocal level however are going to be pressed by Cllr Young. She told the NAP how she is keen to fight the cause for the funding of the footpath along Elmstead Road, as well as traffic management issues such as double yellow lines.
The whopping £250,000 for the campus cycling path is of course coming from our friends at the University itself. They have a wonderful Accountancy Department at Wivenhoe Park - the cool quarter of a million will be “front loaded” from the Knowledge Gateway [URGH] Section 106 wonga, and then presumably paid back once Peter has finished robbing Paul.
Or something.
Either way, the back scratching (as a rather helpful hyperlocal blogger pointed out at the NAP) will lead to the construction of the multi-tier car park along Boundary Road.
Traffic issues?
‘Aint it always the case, Comrades…?
Proposals have apparently already been drawn up at a county level for the cycle path. It will start in the Wivenhoe end by the Fire Station, with hopefully a toucan crossing by The Flag. It will emerge at the other end of the Town ‘n Gown great love in towards the top of Boundary, where it can pick up the existing cycle path by the playing fields.
But sometimes everything just comes back to POTHOLES.
HONK! Exclusive [yeah, yeah...] - £11m [WOH] has been found at a County level to go around eradicating all potholes within Essex. It is unclear how this will be prioritised. Our potholes are bigger than yours, etc.
Cllr Young also updated on the Alresford Road crossing opposite Millfields School. Local residents have been very co-operative in pruning back the bushes that obstructed the sightlines. Some form of infrastructure is still being pushed for to make the crossing safer.
And with the clock counting down towards the 7:45 kick off, we’ve just got time to race ahead with… Speed Watch.
Oh Lordy.
The very good PCSO Louise Neville updated NAP with the progress that has been made with the volunteer service:
“Speed Watch has been going very well in Wivenhoe. We now have a number of recruits, but we are having a few difficulties in getting them trained. I can now confirm that we are able to use the Fire Station premises for this. Three new volunteers will shortly be trained up.
We have caught a number of speeding motorists in Wivenhoe. These are now being dealt with. We have had a very positive reaction from residents. Some folk even stop and say thank you to the volunteers. We are also in contact with the University. We are hopeful of some student volunteers helping us out after the holidays.”
Data for the number of motorists stopped along Alresford Road are being obtained - these will hopefully help with lobbying for money for the Millfields crossing.
See - NAP really does work…
And finally - the lights are on - or not - but no one is at home.
Possibly.
The NAP heard how the plans from Essex County Council to turn off street lighting from midnight until 5am will be rolled out in the Colchester borough from Autumn 2012. Which is only a few months away, assuming we ever have a Wivenhoe summer.
The Maldon pilot apparently went well. Cost saving and reducing emissions is behind the light bulb radiating idea.
Next NAP meeting: 4th September, with a 7pm kick off.
Bring yer own torches, Comrades.
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