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00:00Good morning, once again, people of Somerset. A very happy Good Friday to you. It's Daniel
00:07Mumby here, your local democracy reporter. I hope you've enjoyed your Easter long weekend
00:12so far. You join me in the beautiful town of Froome, in the eastern part of Somerset.
00:17I'm at the junction of Oakfield Road and Broadway, opposite the house once owned by Lois Maxwell,
00:23the actress who played Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond series. But I'm not here to
00:27talk about the rumours surrounding 007 today. I'm going to be talking about the Froome
00:32Safer School Streets scheme, which is a little bit of a mouthful, but essentially it amounts
00:37to a lot of improvements that have been put in place on this western edge of Froome to
00:41make it easier, after the Easter holidays, for children at the various primary schools
00:47in this part of the town to walk and cycle to school in the mornings and the afternoons.
00:51And what we're going to be doing today, starting, like I say, at the end of Oakfield Road, we're
00:55going to be walking down this way, taking a quick diversion down to the bottom of Nunney
01:00Road and then back up, walking all the way down Somerset Road, crossing over to Victoria
01:04Park and ending our journey on the A362 Christchurch Street West. We're going to be taking in four
01:11primary schools as we go past, and I'll be pointing out the various improvements that
01:15are being made ahead of the scheme getting underway as an 18-month trial in the summer
01:20term, which will start in a couple of weeks. As per usual with these streams, if you have
01:25any comments or questions, drop them in the comments section of this live stream. Any
01:30that I don't get to whilst we're actually walking and talking, I will respond to once
01:35we've finished, and there will be various links put in the comments section after we're
01:39done so that you can read up on the scheme in more detail at your leisure. So, this scheme
01:46has been a long time coming. The original consultation for the project started back
01:51in late 2021 as a brainchild of Froome Town Council, working together with Sustrans, which
01:58is the government's cycling charity. It's responsible for managing the National Cycle
02:04Network, and the main reason that they're involved with this project is that much of
02:08the route that we are following today comprises National Cycle Network Route 24, which stretches
02:13all the way across Froome and out the other side towards Longleat. It's one of the longest
02:17in Somerset. We've explored a little bit of it in the past when we talked about the
02:22Froome Missing Links, which I believe was late last year or earlier this year, and the
02:28enhancements that are going on at that end of town are designed to complement the changes
02:32that are happening here. So, there have been various proposals kicking around, like I say,
02:37since the autumn of 2021. It has taken a long time to come to fruition. Essentially, what
02:43a safer school street is, is it is a road which is temporarily closed to motorised vehicles
02:49during peak, pick-up and drop-off times, allowing children and their parents to walk, cycle
02:56or wheel or otherwise get to school safely without being held up by long crossing times
03:02or without fear of getting run over. As you can probably tell, this part of Froome is
03:06predominantly residential. Lots of on-street parking, meaning lots of blind areas, lots
03:12of sharp corners that you can't really see around. And therefore, those things can discourage
03:18a lot of people from walking to school, especially without parental supervision. So, the changes
03:23that are being put in place, led by Sustrans, with the support of Froome Town Council and
03:29Somerset Council, is to make subtle changes to these streets. And there are three types
03:36of changes that are going to be implemented as we come past the first primary school on
03:40our journey, which is Oakfield Academy. I believe it's a primary school. It may be that
03:46there's integrated provision as well. I don't know this part of Froome especially brilliantly,
03:49but I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong. So, you can already see the usual hashed markings
03:56on the road, encouraging people to slow down. But this raised table here, just a little
04:01couple of strips of tarmac, designed to provide a low-cost, safer crossing for people coming
04:06in from the eastern part of the town. And the roads will be closed here in the mornings
04:13between I think it's 8.45 and 9.15, and then again from 2.45 to just after 3.45. I will
04:20double-check those times as we go further along the stream. Essentially, it's not about
04:27being anti-car, exactly. It's about giving pedestrians and cyclists and young people
04:32that window of opportunity so that they can get to and from school safely. We're now just
04:40going to duck down Nunney Road because one of the reasons that this scheme was chosen
04:46for this part of Froome is that there are three or four schools clustered very closely
04:50together. If they were spread further apart, it would have been harder to implement without
04:55closing down whole swathes of the town at rush hour. And while I'm sure there are many
04:59who would wish that the entirety of Froome was pedestrianised, I'm not sure that that
05:03would win in the court of public opinion. Not just yet. So like I say, there are three
05:07measures that are being implemented. You have the selective closure of individual streets.
05:13You have individual safety barriers, raised crossings, little changes, even just like
05:19strips of tarmac encouraging people to slow down that are currently under construction.
05:24This section is going to be closed for a short amount of time during the Easter holiday
05:29so that they can get that finished. And the third thing that's being implemented as part
05:33of the scheme is a 20 mile an hour zone. Now much of the streets around here are either
05:39in a 20 mile an hour or near a 20 mile an hour zone, but that zone is going to be extended
05:45across a large number of streets through the west of the town. So even if you're not in
05:51one of the streets that's closed off, it will become that bit safer and more appealing to
05:57walk and cycle to your chosen school. We are coming down Nunley Road now. We've got two
06:03schools that are right next to each other. Trinity Church of England First School. We
06:09are shooting this during the Easter holiday so I can sort of give you a decent view of
06:13the grounds without worrying that I'm going to get loads of children in shot. We take
06:17safeguarding very seriously here on these streams, as you might have gathered when we've
06:22done previous things about local schools. And we're going to just wander down again
06:27to the third school on our list, which is Critchell School. And you can see that this
06:33section is already off the highway, raised up as well, so you get a good view of traffic
06:39with a decent amount of hedge curtain fence covering as well. So this is already one of
06:43the safer streets, but again it's designed to just to fill in those little bits of extra
06:49infrastructure to make it that bit safer, that bit more attractive. It's the old Field
06:53of Dreams proposition of if you build it, they will come. Or in this case, if you make
06:58it safer, they will walk and cycle. If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby here,
07:04your local democracy reporter. I'm in Froome. We're talking about the Froome Safer School
07:09street scheme. Try saying that quickly three times, especially whilst sober. We have come
07:15down just briefly to the bottom of Nunney Road. We have hit the outside of Critch School.
07:21You can see there are already some restrictions in place in terms of parking, unless you are
07:26dropping people off. And as a result of the changes that are being implemented on top
07:33of the existing infrastructure, this is going to be a whole lot safer for children, certainly
07:40children of primary school age, to walk and cycle. We are going to have to head back up
07:46because we can't duck around through all the residential cul-de-sacs. If I did that, it
07:51might be quicker, but you wouldn't see all the other changes that have been implemented.
07:54So apologies for retracing my steps and repeating myself, but there is really no way around
07:58it. Whilst I am, I will just give you a bit more background about the scheme. So the schools
08:07that are going to be affected are Oakfield Academy, Critchhill School, Trinity First
08:12School, which we're just about to pass again, and Avanti Park School on Park Road, which
08:17is where we're going to be finishing. And the scheme will originally be trialled for
08:23a period of 18 months. So starting in the summer term, which means it will conclude
08:28in the spring term of 2026, if I've got my dates right. But there is the opportunity
08:34to extend that if need be. And we've had a statement through from numerous bodies involved
08:42with the scheme, including the headteachers of the respective schools. And this is what
08:46they had to say. This is a statement from Abby Atkins, who is the headteacher at Avanti
08:51Park, the last school that we will arrive at on our journey. And she said, we look forward
08:56to seeing improved road safety and opportunities for people to travel actively and safely to
09:01school as a result of the trial. Our position next to a well-used play park and on a cul-de-sac
09:08means that traffic volume and turning vehicles pose a significant danger, as well as making
09:13it less safe for pupils to arrive at school on foot or on wheels. We know that people's
09:19needs and challenges vary, but we hope our school community will respond positively and
09:25give the 18-month Safer School Streets trial the best possible chance of success. We also
09:32had a statement through from Emma Wilkes, who is the Oakfield Academy headteacher, and
09:36she said the issue of road safety around the academy is evident to anyone who is in the
09:41area at drop-off and pick-up times. We acknowledge and share the concerns of some parents and
09:46residents about how the Safer School Streets trial will impact them, and we will feed back
09:52their thoughts to Sustrans, Froome Town Council, and Somerset Council as the trial progresses.
09:58And we encourage parents and residents to do the same. I'm just going to quickly cross
10:02over before we continue. She continued by saying, we're hopeful that the scheme will
10:09have a positive impact on safety, and we look forward in particular to seeing the amazing
10:13planters our Year 5 pupils are helping to create with the Bee Friendly Trust. They will
10:18go into position on Oakfield Road, a traffic-calming measure that will also look lovely and support
10:24the wildlife as we head down Somerset Road back on the right track. Well, we don't really
10:30lost in the first place, but you can see some of the improvements are still being put into
10:34place. And I will come back to those statements from the headteachers in a short while, but
10:43before I do that, I just want to give you an idea of those closures again a little more
10:49precisely. So when the trial begins on the first day of the summer term, after the long
10:53Easter break, there will be timed road closures at the junction of Oakfield Road and Nunney
10:58Road, including Critch Hill and part of White Mill Lane between 8.10 and 9 in the morning
11:04and 2.45 and 3.30pm Monday to Friday during term time. There will be a separate road closure
11:11on Park Road, which runs up to Avanti Park School from the A362. That will operate from
11:178.25 to 8.55 every morning during term times in the weekday and 3 to 3.30pm in the afternoon.
11:27The new 20 mile an hour zone will operate across a wider area around the whole school
11:32street zone, including some of the residential streets stretching way out towards the Marston
11:37area. We have a map that was provided by Sustrans, which we will drop into the article and into
11:44the description if we can, which may bring this all to light. But rather than simply
11:50giving you a map and saying, there you go, it's nice to actually get out and see the
11:53changes in the flesh. If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby here, your local
11:59democracy reporter, on Good Friday out here in Froome. It's a good Friday weather-wise
12:04certainly. We've had some scattered showers coming in, but they've held off so far and
12:08we are walking through the western part of Froome, past numerous primary schools, looking
12:13at the improvements that are being made as part of the Safer School Streets trial, which
12:18gets underway after the Easter holidays. You can just see again, some narrow ribbons
12:24of different coloured tarmac through these parked cars, which are designed to encourage
12:30motorists to think and to slow down and to pay more attention, even outside of the closures
12:39that we just described. We will put a full list of those closures and the timings for
12:43them in the articles that will result from this, and obviously we'll be monitoring the
12:47trial as things move forward. Let me just bring you a couple more statements as we cross
12:55over this junction, and you can see again, it may not look like much in terms of just
13:00a small ribbon of tarmac, but that change in surface makes a lot of difference in terms
13:08of making drivers question their environment, slow down, pay more attention to the various
13:13hazards that are around, and in doing so, give pedestrians and cyclists more chance
13:19to move around. You can see, as I pointed out, we are on the National Cycle Network,
13:25albeit a section that is largely on-road rather than one of the designated paths on the other
13:30side of Froome, heading out towards Great Elm. But again, it's just a case of topping
13:36up and enhancing the provision that's already there. So we've heard from the head teacher
13:44at Oakfield Academy, we've heard from the Avanti Park head teacher, and this is what
13:49the head of Trinity First School, Amanda Seager, had to say about the trial. We hope the scheme
13:54is successful, and we'll be delighted if it means that children can come to and from school
13:58actively and safely, and also that the air around our schools is cleaner. However, it
14:05will make dropping up and picking up from school more challenging for some families
14:08who have valid reasons for needing to drive. There are nearly 1,000 children at the three
14:13schools in this part of Froome, that's Trinity, Critchhill and Oakfield, and if the scheme
14:19improves their experience, that is a huge positive. We hope the trial period will enable
14:24Sustrans, Somerset Council and Froome Town Council to work together with parents, carers
14:29and local residents to ensure a way forward that is positive for all. We should point
14:34out that the money for this trial is not coming out of Somerset Council's budget. We've done
14:41various pieces on the various financial difficulties facing our unitary authority. Instead, the
14:47trial is being funded by the Department for Transport through Sustrans, and Froome Town
14:53Council has been responsible for helping to implement that, looking at the detailed designs
14:58of a lot of the works, commissioning the actual new installations that are going on. After
15:04the 18-month period is up, it will be a case of whether there is government funding to
15:10make further changes if they're needed, or if we need to continue the scheme and put
15:16in a little bit more funding from taxpayers, then it will fall to the Town Council rather
15:21than the unitary authority. Just for the sake of completeness, and avoiding that gentleman
15:27with his beautiful dog, this is a statement from the fourth school headteacher, Critchhill
15:32School's Emma West, and she said, we have a considerable number of young people who
15:37need to travel by car or bus to school. However, we also have young people and families that
15:42walk into school. I feel that, like my colleagues, working towards improving road safety for
15:47young people is paramount. We share the concerns of some of our parents about the impact. It's
15:52important to note that schools and school staff are taking part in the trial, along
15:56with everyone else. We welcome the ongoing consultation and evaluation that comes with
16:00Safer School Street to determine its success and long-term future. Just again, being mindful
16:08of our surroundings as we cross over Weymouth Road, and we need to head down this way. We
16:16are, I think, maybe a quarter of a mile from our final destination, which is Avanti Park
16:21School and then on to the 362, so you may just have to bear with me a little longer.
16:26It should be pointed out that this is by no means the first Safer School Street scheme
16:30that's been implemented in the UK. The DFT and Sustrans has been looking at these schemes
16:36for many, many years, particularly in urban areas where, you know, there is a huge concern
16:41about congestion and air pollution and how that will impact the health of children and
16:45young people. To my knowledge, this is the first such scheme that's been implemented
16:50in a Somerset town. And of course, if things go well, given enough time to develop it and
16:57enough funding provided from central government, whichever political party is in government
17:01at the time, we may well see innovations like this rolled out elsewhere in the county. But
17:07I think we're a few years away from that in terms of making sure that residents are properly
17:12consulted and that the measures implemented make sense. As we have seen from ongoing discussions
17:19about pedestrianisation in Yeovil and Taunton and Bridgewater, they have many positives
17:25in terms of safety and footfall. If you don't do it with the community on your side, you
17:31risk alienating everyone who can use it. So if this is going to be implemented more widely,
17:37it has to be done with proper consultation and good method. If you've only just joined
17:45me here on Froome, in Froome I should say, it's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter.
17:51We're talking about the Froome Safer School Streets trial which will be getting underway
17:56after the Easter holidays. The weather is just starting to darken overhead, not unlike
18:02the sky going dark on the first Good Friday itself. And we're going to just cross over
18:08here and head down this public footpath past Victoria Park, just making sure of course
18:17that the traffic is going to stop. We should point out that the additional crossings that
18:25we pointed out with the yellow tarmac, they are not formal zebra, pelican or puffin crossings,
18:33they are more informal. Whether that was done because of cost or because they didn't feel
18:38it was needed, it remains to be seen. I'm also just having to keep the camera quite
18:43delicately because there are people using the play area, which is good. Although we
18:49are on a public right of way, that doesn't mean that we can ruin everybody else's time.
18:55It will be interesting to know if you live in this part of Froome, if you have children
18:59that attend any of the schools we've mentioned, were you properly consulted about the proposals?
19:05Where do you stand on them? Are you looking forward to them being able to walk and cycle
19:09their way to school? And if you're sceptical about it, let me know what your concerns are
19:14These streams are not about me parroting one person's opinion or one set of opinions,
19:19it's intended to open up debate and provide background information so that you feel more
19:25informed and engaged in your communities. So we are now just skirting around the green space,
19:33people enjoy the skate park, there's just a little bit of drizzle starting to come down.
19:38Fortunately, the last section of this is all downhill, so I won't sound totally out of breath.
19:45It's been relatively flat terrain so far, which I suppose is one of the reasons why
19:49Froome was chosen for this trial. Although Froome does stand out prominently for much
19:57of the surrounding landscape in the former Mendip area, it's not all hilly. You can enjoy
20:03flat surfaces for a good deal of it. And like I say, we will put the precise timings of road
20:11closures in the article that will follow after the long weekend about this, along with details
20:19of any remaining roadworks over the Easter holidays. You saw a couple of signs as we
20:22were passing on Nunney Road about closures in the first week of April, that's after Easter Monday,
20:27and we will just ensure that you're fully informed as we go past our fourth and final
20:34school, Avanti Park, with its two entrances, one there and one which we just skirted through. So
20:40these four schools, for people who live in the western part of the town or have children that
20:48go to these schools, it will become so much safer and more dependable to actually use active travel,
20:54that's walking, cycling, wheeling, anything that doesn't involve motorised vehicles.
20:58Mobility scooters would count as well, I suppose, and non-fossil fuel-powered vehicles. It can be
21:04very difficult to provide an accurate definition of these things, but I think you know what I'm
21:08talking about. So I'm just going to continue down Park Road here, which is also going to have the
21:17temporary closures that I mentioned. It will be at a slightly different time to the closures that
21:22are at Oakfield, Critchhill and Trinity School, but it's worth being aware of. You can see there
21:31are already quite a few restrictions on parking with single yellow lines and limited on-street
21:36parking available, so it's already a challenge to get up here by car, but I can imagine at pick-up
21:43and drop-off times, with people endlessly going up and down and turning around, it wouldn't
21:47necessarily be much easier to do it that way. Just go past these people. We're going to come
21:57past the Town Hall and we will end our stream on the busy A362 Christchurch Street West in front
22:06of Froome's Memorial Theatre. It was pretty quiet coming in this morning, but you can see it's
22:11really starting to pick up now. People parking on the side of the road, nipping into town to
22:16do their shopping or have a cup of coffee, and that's what I'm going to be doing in a minute. I
22:20hope that this stream has been informative and illuminating. Hopefully it will spark some
22:25discussion and we will be keeping a close eye on how the trial unfolds over the next 18 months,
22:30so if you have any concerns about it, do please get in touch via our website or via social media
22:36and leave a comment on this video. If you missed any part of the stream, it will be available
22:41indefinitely on our Facebook page. I will put various relevant links in the comments sometime
22:46over the long weekend and keep an eye out for the relevant article coming up in a few days. I'm not
22:52going to be streaming on Saturday or Easter Sunday, but on Easter Monday you can join me at the
22:59opposite end of the county when I'm going to be in Minehead talking about their brand new police
23:03station that's just about to be built. In the meantime, this is Daniel Mumby, your local
23:07democracy reporter, wishing you a very happy Easter. God bless you and bye for now.