| The Char Valley Village Communities Action Plans 2003 |
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for Whitchurch Canonicorum, Wootton Fitzpaine and Stanton St. Gabriel Parishes |
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| Action Plans for Issues affecting all Three Parishes |
| 5. Public Transport The information provided by the Community Survey showed that there would not be sufficient demand at present for a more extensive public transport scheme within these rural parishes, as very few people who live here are without a car. The once-a-week village bus to Bridport is much appreciated and should be supported. The Axe Valley Ring-and-Ride scheme is available to anyone elderly or disabled within our parishes. A good deal of vehicle movement in the Vale both for social activities and for work is between the villages and hamlets of our parishes for which it would be impossible to provide a cost-effective, public transport service due to the scattered and isolated nature of our settlements. Nearly 50% of those of working age, work within our parishes, not outside. Sixteen households were identified as being without a car. Eight people aged over 75 were without a car. Some of these residents use A35 public transport. Several people use local taxi services. There is also a taxi service for wheelchairs, Evans Private Car Hire, in Uplyme. Friends and neighbours give lifts. A taxi voucher scheme should be considered. There are at present about 120 people aged over 75 living in our parishes: of these, between 20 and 30 are over 85. Some who are still driving may wish to give up if taxi vouchers were offered, and some of the very elderly find a bus too difficult to negotiate. The likely small take up for vouchers should mean that this is more cost effective and flexible for those who really need it, than providing a new public transport system for the Vale. In rural settlements, where both partners in a household are working, they will frequently require two cars. Young people in our villages have to rely on taxis, parents and friends for their social life and activities outside the Vale. The Parish Council needs to investigate whether children and their parents would like a dedicated bus to a leisure centre once a week. Chideock Parish Council supported by Dorset Community Action is investigating the provision of a Leisure Bus to take people who are not on a bus route to the Bridport Leisure Centre on a Friday evening. The leisure centre would provide supervision of youngsters for swimming and other sports activities for about two hours. Char Valley Parish Council support this initiative and hope that it will provide an answer for some of our youngsters. The No. 31 buses on the A35 are much appreciated by those who use them, but a later bus back from Bridport on Saturday night is needed for people who go to concerts, plays etc at the Bridport Arts Centre or other venues. School buses will continue to have to be provided for children within our rural areas, as the lanes are not safe for walking to school unattended. (Milk tankers and large HGVs in the single-track lanes). A car park in Morcombelake is needed for those who live in the rural areas who wish to transfer to public transport for longer journeys. Shelters on at least one bus stop in each direction are needed in Morcombelake. Shopping practicalities: Somerfield is at present the only supermarket in Bridport to provide a home delivery service to rural parishes and it is within easy reach of the bus station. Many people still use a taxi to get the shopping home. For others, doing a weekly shop for a family, it will still be necessary to provide car parking in Bridport or Axminster, as there will be too many bags to carry home from a bus to an isolated rural dwelling. Encouraging more home-delivery services from local shops and towns might reduce slightly the number of cars driving into the towns and it would be a useful service for those in isolated dwellings. Char Valley Parish Council has a Transport Officer who sits on the A35 Communities Initiative Committee and attends the Western Area Transport Group meetings. |
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ACTION PLAN AIMS:
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| To see that a sufficient standard of public transport
is maintained for the needs of our area. To provide a village car park in
Morcombelake. To join with Chideock in supporting provision of a Leisure
Bus. To support a taxi voucher scheme. To support and advertise the Bridport
Area Scooter Scheme (BASE) Actions on public transport • Support the continuation of the No 31 bus, hourly service on the A35, but in addition ask for a later service from Bridport through to Axminster on Saturday nights. • Support the X53 service Exeter to Weymouth. • Support the 76 service through the villages to Bridport on Wednesday market day. • Support the provision of a taxi voucher scheme for those who have no car (if they are not already in an existing scheme) and who are over 75 or registered disabled of any age. • Negotiate with the Highways Agency and Dorset County Council over the acquisition of a suitable site for car parking for bus transfer in Morcombelake. • Look into the provision of a bus shelter on each side of the A35 in Morcombelake, and to decide on the most suitable stops for this. • Work with Bridport Area Partnership to provide Market Town support to the rural parishes for shopping, delivery and local transport services. • Advertise the Bridport Area Scooter Scheme (BASE). INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS: BASE Bridport Area Scooter Scheme aims to provide access to employment, education and training opportunities relevant to the lives and aspirations of young people. The Scheme provides mopeds to rurally isolated individuals aged 16-25 in Bridport and the surrounding parishes. The primary use of the scooter must be to access employment, education or training with secondary uses permitting access to leisure facilities and other essential amenities. Want to know more? Telephone Hannah 07909 935 951 or speak to your Youth Worker, Connexions Advisor or the Job Centre Plus Team. A taxi service with a car adapted to carry wheelchairs (no transfer to
a seat required) is available from Evans Private Car Hire 01297 442136
(Uplyme). |
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