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High Bickington Parish
Appraisal 2001
Environment
Q 47, 48 and 49. Environment Issues
243
people (62%) want nature reserves, open spaces and picnic areas in the village,
57 do not and 91 have no opinion.
47
people would like to rent an allotment in the village. One person says they would not be interested
because they have a large garden.
238
people (62%) would take part in a ‘clean up our village’ day. One 80 year old resident comments that he
already works hard to clean up the village: “I ..sweep.. the verge outside of
the garden wall. Much damage and mess
is caused by traffic and (the) narrow road”.
Transport and Highways
Q 50. Speeding Traffic
329
people (80%) think speeding traffic is a problem in the parish, 51 do not and
29 have no opinion.
Traffic
causes the greatest problem in North Road in general, mentioned by 121
people. Along North Road particular
areas of concern include both entrances to the village (12 people), the traffic
calming at the junction with Barton Meadow (seven) , the junction at Wardens
Close (three), the junction at Pound Lane, the junction with Back Lane, outside
the village shop (five), the junction with the High Street (three), the
junction with Nethergrove Lane (three), and Cross Park (three).
Traffic
around the school, Mill Lane and the High Street particularly concerns 12
people. Eight people are worried about
speeding traffic in the Barton Meadow area.
The road to the golf club which has no pavement is mentioned by 11
people.
Other
traffic concerns are Pound Lane (three), the A377 (two), Kingford Hill (three),
the road through Ebberley (two), and the road to Vauterhill.
General
concerns are the “back lanes” and “narrow country roads” which are mentioned by
11 people and five people say that traffic speed is a problem “throughout the
village”.
Q 51. Other Traffic Problems
202
people think there are other traffic related problems. 38 people mention parking, including people
parking on pavements, people restricting roads by parking and the lack of
off-road parking. Specific areas where
parking is a problem include Barton Meadow (three people), North Road (five),
and the High St and Poplar Terrace junction.
12
people dislike the traffic calming in the village, with frequent mentions of
speed restrictors in Barton Meadow and the chicane at the Atherington side of
the village. However one person
suggests adding speed bumps along the main road to slow the traffic.
10
people think that heavy lorries are too large for the narrow lanes. Two people suggest a complete ban on large
lorries coming through the village and two people are concerned about the size
of agricultural machinery using the lanes.
The
narrowness of the roads concerns 11 people.
Visibility round corners, past parked cars, and in narrow lanes is also
a problem for some. One person suggests
better hedge trimming and the use of mirrors on blind junctions. The lack of pavements, especially along the
main road, is mentioned by five people.
Other
concerns include clearer road signs, fewer road signs (two), potholes (two ),
the danger from stones on verges outside houses, litter and pollution from
vehicles, death to wildlife, “hunt followers in 4x4s” and “the young leaving in
cars after closing time”. Finally one
person calls for a new main road into the village “over Little Bickington Farm,
so the fire engine can get in”.
Q 52. State of the Roads.
223
people say they are satisfied with the general state of the roads in the
village and parish and 143 say they are not.
Two
people gave further comments. One says
the roads are “bumpy” and another person says there are too many pot holes, and
particularly “the road to Langridgeford needs hedge trimming desperately”.
Q 53. Pedestrians.
14
people in the parish think facilities for pedestrians are good, 183 think they
are reasonable and 177 think they are poor.
General
criticisms include parked cars in general (six people) and parking on the
pavements (four), the lack of pavements (15), lack of pavements for wheelchair
use, poor road surfaces, speed of traffic, lack of passing places (two) and
hedges not regularly trimmed (two).
50
people feel that North Road is a particular problem for pedestrians. Issues on North Road include the shop area
(six people) and children crossing from the bus stop to the shop, parked cars
(two) and parking on pavements, the indistinct and uneven footpath marked by
the wall adjoining Corfe Close, the area from the village shop to Nethergrove
Lane (two), Cross Park (three), the exit from High Street, the lack of pavement
on the road to the playing field (six) and beyond to Libbaton (two), and large
lorries.
Other
places considered poor include the High St (two), Mill Road (three), the school and church area (three), Barton
Meadow, Highfield Close and the A377 at Kingford.
The
size of vehicles is a problem for pedestrians, with comments that heavy goods
vehicles are too large for the lanes (four people) and farm machinery is too
large. One person says “huge haulage
vehicles are eroding the hedges and verges and making it difficult to walk
along the roadside”. One respondent
thinks “the whole village should be double yellow lined” except for areas
outside the shop and surgery.
Q 54. Car Park
315
people (77%) think the village needs a car park, 57 people think it does not
and 37 have no opinion.
Three
people are sceptical whether a car park would be used and therefore whether it
would solve any parking problems. One
person says “I doubt if (it would be) used owing to vandalism, a few won’t wish
to walk ...any distance”. One person
says they think a car park is a good idea but asks “do we want double yellow lines?”
Q 55. Bus Service
The
reliance on private cars is emphasised by the 217 people (31%) who do not
consider that the local bus service is important to them. 126 people reply that it is important and 61
hold no opinion. 10 people use the bus
service more than 20 times a month, six from 11-20 times, 18 people use it 5-10
times a month and 14 less than 5 times a month. 272 people never use the service.
Although
many people would rather use private cars, the bus service is still important
to the young and to the old. One
respondent says: “currently (we) never (use it) but as children grow older they
would use it”. Another says “less than
5 (times a month now), but more often as we age”. One person finds that the limited timetable and destinations
discourage use: “buses need to be more frequent and (go to) more destinations,
then we would consider using them”.
Q 56. Community Bus
20
people say they would often use a community bus and 162 say they would
occasionally use it. 204 say they would
never use it, but as one person points out “it is very important for
non-drivers”.
The Church
Q 57. Village Churches
The
appraisal looked at the role of the village churches in High Bickington. 166 people consider that village churches
are important for Sunday worship, 257 do not.
223 people think that village churches are important for baptisms,
weddings and funerals, 200 do not. 248
people think that village churches are important as historic buildings, 175 do
not. 203 people think that every
village should have a church, 220 people do not.
Some
people value village churches for other reasons, such as the peace of the
churchyard and as a quiet place to find peace of mind, as a sign of Christian
culture, a communal meeting place, for other village activities involving the
joint churches and for house guests wishing to worship. One responded simply “they enhance a
village”.
127
people say they see the local clergy often enough, 99 do not and 137 have no
opinion. One person comments “there
should be one resident in every village”, another has only seen the local
clergy “once in 21 years” and one person is obviously not concerned “never see
- don't need to”.
Likes and Dislikes
The
appraisal asked residents what they most liked and most disliked about living
in High Bickington.
Q 58. Like Most about Living in High Bickington
Friendliness
is the overwhelming quality of High Bickington, 73 people specifically referred
to how friendly the village is. Typical
comments include that High Bickington
people are “supportive in times of difficulty”, “pleasant to talk to”, “caring”
and “welcoming”.
36
people say they like the community spirit in High Bickington; as one resident
says “everyone helps one another and always has time to spare”.
54
people mention the peace and quiet of the village and area. The beautiful countryside is enjoyed by 30
people and another 28 say they like the rural farming environment of the area.
The
village itself is viewed as a particular bonus by 32 people, who think that
High Bickington is safe, has a relatively low crime rate, has most of the
“necessary tradespeople”, is a good place to bring up children, has a good
school, has a doctor’s surgery, has a shop, Post Office, churches and pubs, and
has a “good variation of ages, babies to elderly”. Other positive features are that High Bickington is good
socially, has well organised sports teams and a golf course.
Many
people also enjoy its accessibility and convenience, nine people comment on the
close proximity to Barnstaple and other towns.
Fear
that the idyllic environment will disappear is expressed by two people in
particular, as one says “don’t change it to something that is not a village as
many others have done. If you spoil it
then no one will want to stay or visit and you will have a lot of facilities
for strangers and no community spirit.
Memories are perfect from living in High Bickington and not yet spoilt”.
Q 59. Dislike Most about Living in High Bickington
37
people mention traffic issues as the factor they least like about living in
High Bickington, these include the volume of traffic passing through, heavy
lorries, parking in and around the village and poor state of the roads. Two people say
“10
years from now we will be pressing for a by-pass”. Seven people comment on the poor public transport in High
Bickington, particularly in the evening, it is infrequent and goes to limited
destinations.
19
people comment on the lack of facilities and amenities in the village, these
include the lack of a “decent village hall”, lack of a sports hall and swimming
pool, “nothing to do in the evenings but go to the pub”, “no decent eating
place”, lack of additional medical services such as dentist or physiotherapist,
and lack of a safe play area for children.
12
people find the inaccessibility difficult, specific problems listed include
remote shops and entertainment; the distance from hospitals and vets, the
distance to a railway station,
isolation of elderly people, distance to travel to work, or for children’s
activities, the expense of living in the country (“you have to add petrol costs
to everything”), the distance to Exeter, the distance from the coast, and
“having to drive everywhere”.
There
is some feeling against ‘newcomers’, seven people say they dislike new people
coming to the village. The main reason
appears to be that house prices are pushed beyond the reach of local people by
competition from people moving to the area.
One person says that they dislike “too many people from outside moving
here and not using local facilities...(and) not getting involved in community
projects”.
Three
‘newcomers’ say they feel they do not fit in.
One person says they dislike “being treated as an outsider after 30
years in the parish”.
Six
people dislike the recently built houses, which are too expensive for locals,
use inappropriate housing styles and use up too much space “for large expensive
concrete jungles”.
Five
people complain about dog mess in the village and on the sports field.
Other
dislikes include the weather, agriculturally spoiled roads, gossip, children
playing with toy guns, untidiness, development of greenfield sites, road signs,
lack of countryside to walk in, the hunt, sharing the sports field with
footballers, no mains gas, power cuts and surges, “noisy young people”, too
high rates and “poor parish council”.
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Page Created: December 2002
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