Community

Ashbourne has a well-publicised problem with air pollution. The fight for improvement is being driven by the Ashbourne Air Quality Group (aka the Buxton Road Residents association), which has written this detailed blog to tell the full story and also by Ashbourne Town Team.

Ashbourne Reborn is the project title for the government "levelling up" funds that were granted to Ashbourne in January 2023 and will be used to widen pavements and carry out other town centre improvements. The full story is in this blog.

Proud of Ashbourne has been corresponding with the developers of the Rosarium site on Clifton Road. Construction traffic parking on the verge has resulted in narrowing of the pavements caused by mud and grass spreading out over the tarmac.

The developers have promised that the verges will be repaired and the pavement made good, once the development has been completed. Watch this space....

Ashbourne Town Hall is owned by the town council. It houses the museum, council offices and council chamber on the ground floor. Upstairs there is a function room and a ballroom.

The building is dilapidated and does not meet modern standards of accessibility - the only access to the ballroom is via stairs or stairlift. Large parts of the building are not used at all or used only occasionally.In 2018(?) the façade was repaired and stabilised, which has stopped bits falling off into the street. In 2021 the visitor information centre was converted into offices and the ground floor function room converted into the museum.

The town council is considering what do with the building. There are no easy answers.  Options include

• Full comprehensive refurbishment (expensive)
• Full sale (new premises would be needed and finding a buyer would be tricky)
• Part sale (internal restructuring might cost more than the money raised and the problem of what to with the rest remains)
• Managed decline, to stop further deterioration but no improvements (the simplest solution but leaves the town with an ongoing liability)

An extraordinary meeting was held in January 2023 and another in July 2023. More meetings are planned. As at August 2023, no decisions had been made, other than to make it a priority to make a decision!

Most property owners make a valiant effort to keep their frontages clear, but a sizable minority don't. Many Ashbourne pavements are obstructed by hedges either not maintained at all by their owners, or not clipped back far enough. Debris not cleared away turns into soil which in turn grows more vegetation. This forces pedestrians to walk in single file, or even use the road.

Its actually a criminal offence (section 137 of the highways act) to willfully allow vegetation to obstruct the pavement, even by a few inches.

Cllr Sue Moore requested Ashbourne Town Council to write to homeowners, but this proposal was rejected.

Proud of Ashbourne has an ongoing programme to cut back hedges and dig out pavements where the landowner is unknown or not contactable but obviously does not do this for people's gardens. It is a very slow process as its all done by hand and usually the debris has to be carted away by the volunteers. It's hard work, but they say it keeps them fit and is more fun than the gym.

What you can do...

Join Proud of Ashbourne......

Derbyshire County Council is responsible for enforcing the law but will only act on complaints. So if a hedge is bothering you, then you need to note the exact location, take a photo and log it with DCC. You will need to open an account here, and then under "services" choose "trees & vegetation - highways". You can expand the map and pinpoint the exact location of the problem, attach a photo and give a description. Its useful to add the property address, to the extent you know it. You can track the progress of your complaint, in your account. Be prepared to report it more than once, as DCC will probably write a letter to the property but may not follow up to check the work is done.

The pathway through the watermeadows from Aldi to Bernard Gadsby Close was upgraded and tarmaced in (year xxxx) [who organised this- can anyone tell me the history?].  There is a cut-through from this path to Homebase, which local residents occasionally cover with bark and gravel. There is also a link path from Bernard Gadsby Close to the leisure centre, which again was gravelled by local residents.

AshCom is working with xxxx to try and get these gravelled sections upgraded and also to add a new pathway and bridge from Waterside (behind Majestic) to join the main route. They are also looking to signpost a walking route through town and finish with an upgraded path across the rec to the Pavilion. If successful this project will give Ashbourne an "East-West" offroad path to enable walking from Aldi/Waterside to the Pavilion, without using any main roads.

The southern bypass for the A52 was completed in the 1990’s, but the northern bypass did not get approval and was not built. Since then, the volume of HGV traffic passing through Ashbourne has increased, caused by a combination of factors including the completion of the A50, major infrastructure projects requiring local stone (eg HS2), congestion on the motorways, improved sat-navs, the raising of the bridge over the Tissington Trail allowing larger lorries through and the general increase in the number and size of lorries on the UK roads.

The latest law passed in May 2023, allowing an extra 2.05 metres in length, may prove interesting if such lorries attempt to pass through Ashbourne. It seems doubtful that they would be able to safely negotiate the bends.

A northern bypass has been debated for decades, but concerted action to actually get one built has only recently restarted. DCC is currently going through an internal process which they say should lead to an application for planning permission by the end of 2024. They refer to this as a "relief road".

The chosen route goes from the A52 near recycling centre, over the Tissington Trail and rejoins the A515 before Sandybrook. The route is likely to prove controversial with nearby homes & businesses and also with the eco-lobby. It seems likely that planning appeals could go on for years.

Even if planning is granted, there is no guarantee of funding. Most new roads are justified by the housing, retail and industry that develops alongside. It seems unlikely that much development of this nature would be allowed in the Dove valley. Most development in Ashbourne is currently to the east, but an eastern route for the bypass was rejected by DCC (presumably on grounds of cost as it would be significantly longer).

Ashbourne Town Team has thrown its weight behind the AQAP process, in the expectation that any successful measures to reduce pollution must also reduce traffic. DDDC is responsible for air quality but has no powers over traffic, so to include traffic reduction in the AQAP would put it into conflict with DDDC. (see this blog for more information on air quality)

Ashbourne Town Council has no policy, but has stated that it supports a bypass.

There are frequent letters to the local newspaper, most of which support either or both of a weight limit and a bypass.

What can you do to help?

If you are happy to wait for a bypass/relief road , then you don't need to do anything. If you don't want to wait, then you need to get active in making your views known. Write to your MP and County Councillors; write to Ashbourne Town Council; participate in the air quality debate by joining the Ashbourne Air Quality Group.

‍

Like many towns, Ashbourne's streets and alleyways are often green with weeds, which makes the town look unkempt and can damage the surfaces.

Many public spaces in Ashbourne are privately owned and these are not touched by the councils, so rely on local residents to keep them clear.

DDDC and DCC are responsible for weeding most public spaces around Ashbourne.

DDDC decided in 2021 to stop using chemical weedkillers on their own land and rely on strimming and manual weeding. We are told that in 2023 they started experimenting with a non-chemical alternative (possibly this company), so hopefully they will soon get to grips with the problem.

DCC does still use chemical weedkillers and once or twice a year it sprays the roadsides. But they don't clear away the dead plants which gradually decay into soil ready for next year's weeds. And sometimes they do the weedkilling in bad weather, so it washes straight off without taking effect. And they don't do where cars are parked. And once or twice a year is not often enough.

How you can help...

Some individual residents go out with their own weedkiller and blitz the worst spots and also do adhoc weeding around town. Proud of Ashbourne organises occasional group weeding events. Friends of Ashbourne Park and the U3A look after some of the beds in the memorial gardens.

If the weeds offend you and you are fit and active with time to spare, then please join one of the above groups. Or go out by yourself or with friends at any time. You don't need to ask permission.

The wooden safety barriers on the left hand side of Derby Road (facing uphill) have been decaying for years. They are unsightly and offer very little protection to pedestrians. They either need removing or replacing.

This work would be the responsibility of Derbyshire County Council, but they have no money to take on this project. Ashbourne Town Council want to do something but thinks it would be too big a cost for local taxpayers.

Lobby your councillors....

Ashbourne Reborn (see above) does not cover all the broken pavements in our town. The south end of Compton for example is in a terrible state. There isn't any obvious prioritising of work that is done on pavement repair, though presumably Highways have a plan.  Is there a list somewhere of planned projects?  We don't know.....

Rural pavements alongside main roads all over Derbyshire are disappearing under overgrown hedges, soil and vegetation. Take a look next time you are out in your car - the A515 pavement for example, between Ashbourne & Fenny Bentley, is pretty much unwalkable (summer 2023).

The county council is responsible for keeping the highway free of obstructions but presumably has no budget and no staff. It is breaking the law and an active campaigner, prepared to take them to court, might be able to get something done.

Parish councils have a statutory power to complain, which if used would create a statutory duty on the country council to do something. An active resident of an affected parish, might be able to persuade their council to make such a statutory complaint.

A parish council might also be able to fund the work itself, by raising money through the precept.

Ashbourne used to have a terrible litter problem, with longstanding decay under every hedge and in every alleyway. In 2019, Green Road resident Janet Keyne decided she'd had enough and started picking it up. Others swiftly joined her, DDDC provided equipment and Proud of Ashbourne was born.

Over the next three years, the old longstanding litter was mostly cleared, with a few mammoth clean-ups and lots of small ones. The group has expanded with now over 60 people on the litter group mailing list. It has become normal to see people walking around Ashbourne with litterpickers and sacks.

Yes some mindless people do still drop litter - but it won't stay on the ground for long.

Take a look at this website's community directory to see all the voluntary groups, hobby clubs, charities and sports clubs active in Ashbourne. All are run by amazing people working selflessly for the town and its people.