The Parish Council has been advised by Mouchel – the contractor for South Gloucestershire that recently modified the cycle lane – that Charfield Hill (ie B4058 between Manor Lane and the B4509) will be closed this Sunday 4th July to complete the road markings. You may recall this follows an abortive attempt some weeks back. Diversions will be put in place, but they will be long routes around Wickwar. Local residents may be aware of other options, but please bear in mind the minor chaos that ensued when larger and towing vehicles attempted to use Devil’s Lane last time…

Have your say on the South Gloucestershire Core Strategy.

There is opportunity to examine and discuss the Core Strategy – that takes over from the Local Plan and continues South Gloucestershire’s direction between now and 2026 – on Thursday 29th July from 18h30 at the Memorial Hall, Charfield. This is followed by a Safer Stronger Communities Group meeting, to which you are also warmly invited.

Charfield Parish Council has been made aware of proposals to divert footpath OCH8 where it crosses the railway and comes out at New Street.

blue = diversion, green = current

The proposal is based around the risks inherent in crossing four tracks – the diversion would reduce this to two. Network Rail state “You may be aware that at present the crossing traverses 4 railway lines which means in turn that it can take pedestrians a longer time than is desirable to get between the stiles. Although vegetation clearance has taken place the sighting of approaching trains, especially from the Eastern side, is limited because of the curvature of the line. By diverting the route of the path as indicated it will traverse the railway a little further to the North than now to a location where users will only have to cross two railway lines and where their sighting of trains will be improved meaning that they will be able to cross more quickly and with more warning time.”

There is a meeting later this month between Network Rail, Parish and County Councils, and if a feasible solution results then a Consultation will be made at which views can be expressed. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact the Clerk.