TT % a S18 * 200/09/£R 34/ 020 34/8 020 Inspector ¢ F A ADAMS CB Secretary of State fer the Enviroment (Regional Controller, Guildford) ERTDGE BY-PASS REPORT OF PUBLIC INQUIRIES Held at Hrtdge Place, Bridge, Kent on 8, 9 and 10 May 1973 Me LD Kremer ATLA Me DH Ritehie BSe MICE MILAnB ie J M Vince BSe MICE M7Munk AMIHE EXIDGE-BLEAN RURAL DISTRIC? COUNCIL x tee: Me DC We saee OrEertan be id ay wo cl me se Ghee BRLOGE PARISH COURCIL Me L J ¥ Sherley BISHOPSBOURNE PARISH COUNCIL Mes EC Chemoden PATRIXBOURNE PARISH MESTING Me EB P Geeenrood EAST KENT ROAD CAR CO IfD Me J S Paul BA MCIT Me J H Goulden ir J Purchese Me BA Lewis EIGHLAND INVESTMENT CO LID Mz J H Goulden, KENT FEDERATION OF AMENITY SOCIETIES Me E Freshman MB FRCS EBITISH EORSE SOCIETY Brigadier J EH Slade-Poweil DSO OBS £ % de he mea cake hitesct, Area Manager end Pe Secretary SOX» harek Page, Fi vock, Canterbury 1 RESIDENTS “Me KA Bailey MIM Peofessor RE Pahl Me R J Hooke ie DG Pratt MB BS and Mes Pratt Me R T Watson Me G F Stoneham Mec L H Young Cing MIER Mr W D Stewart BA VetiB. MRCVS PT Collingrood HA EB Wotherall BR Mummery and Mesa J Quine Colonel GG Eiliott » St Marys Road, FPatrixbourne Patrixbourne Lodge White Gates, Patxixbourne The Old Vicarage, Patrixbourne Bourne Corner, Eekesbourne Road, Beidge 20 Conyngham Lane, Bridge 28 Conyngheam Lane, Bridge Bridges Down Bridge Down Bridge Down mM Ww Cc SN ~j Great Petts Farm The Old Palace, Bekesbourne The Faddock, Bishopsbourne x 8 1 * URCE 1973 in ction of a “held concur. to any of the he they & te A2 & AS the Inqui riot, ane nort) “cred to as the “west” (or Cant Yeast" end. to as the "nort jivection Hm TX THE DRAFT 0: ee te ae ee oes eee re eee ae continucus builteup area with side roads and private a of danger to through traffic. The single carniag: fees and 17% fest and £ vy varies in width patvecn 23 the footpath is only 4 feet wide in the shopping aX€ae In June 1971, the Secr ary of State for the Invirenment, Mr Peter Walker, announced plans to pecans the environment and to moulate econcmle develorment by means of a comprehensively improved trunk road work which would divert long-distance traffic from towns and villages. The ork would, in addition, provide adequate access to the major ports, in most cases by the mide197084 As part of those plans and in furtherance of the intention to improve the A2 to dual-carriageway standard between peed and the end of Me at ncaeeacd Corner, 1% is proposed to by-pass the village of Bridge by construct. ew trunk read on the north side, The proposals also nrevide for the neces: altenations to side roads and footpaths affected by the new route. The new trumk reed would be about 2 miles long lene Carrlageways would be provided with grass verges 12 feet wide feet wide central nese ervat ion. a8 new road would leave the existing mk read east of dary and rejoin it to the e: Bishovsbourne Road, s to the by-pass except at its terminal polnts where 1% : Pe Alterations wow 1 3 by the ela om he new 53 “ess Th sxisting trum ad west access to Renvi Wow. th of the new nay road joins it, A slip road would be constructed to take Canterbury bound traffic from the existing trunk road on to the proposed by-pass, A length of farm track running from the existing trunk road to Hode Farm ean be stopped up where it is erossed by the by=pas man and a new sen ice asad coca oe alongs ide me exist~ ing footpath from Bekesbourne Roa: by-pass by a bridge. A new lengi highway “would be een from ‘the northern boundax pass t he improved part of Bekesbourne Read. enabling eastbound traffic to travel into Bridge Village. The access to Bifron's Park from Bekesbourne Road would be stopped up where it - crossed by the by-pass, and a new length of access would be provided aleng the northern boundary of the by-pass to comnect with Bekesbourne Read, Lengths of Bridleway No. 299, and Footpaths Nos. 297 and 318 would be stopped up where they would be affected by the by-pass and they would be diverted along new Lengths of bridieway and footway which would be constructed on either side of the 6 LEAL e by-pass and would be connected via an agricultural subway. 3 Patcrixbourne Road would t would be crossed by th Bridleways 268 and 325, an bridleway would be sto they would be crossed by the new a6 new leneth of bridls provided aleng the southerm boundary of the bypass to connect _ unnumbered, bridleway with Bridleway No. 268. A length of bridleway would also be provided along the northerm Serene of the by-pass to connect the severed parts of Bridleway No. 263, This new lensth of bridleway would Join Bridleway No, 268 south of the by-pass by way of a bridge which would also carry the eastern vrivate access to Highiand Court Annexe over the by-pass, The western private access to Highlend Court Annexe would be stepped up where crossed by the by-pass, A grade-separated junction would be proveded at the south-eastem end of the proposed by-pass. A length of the existing trmk road would be stopped up and new lengths of highway constructed to provide access to and from Bridge Village from the south, Lengths of Coldharbour Lane and Frog Lane (the Bishovsbourne Road) would be stopped up. ‘They would be improved and realigned to pass under er by-pass, and would be connected to the new highway linking the existing trunk road to the by-pass. Ultimately it is envisaged that a full by-pass of Canterbury will link the north- western end of the proposed Bridge by-pass with the proposed Upper Harbledown by-pass". 2.2 The third draft Order = Compulsory Purchase Order = was published on 16 February 1973, An Explanatory Statement with it said: "1, The Secretary of State proposes te construct a by-pass of the existing London - Canterbury - Dever Trunk Road A2 avoiding the village of Bridge in the County of Kent. This road, together with the M2 Motorway acts as a main route for vehicles travelling from London and axeas to the north of the River Thames (ey | way of the Dartford Tunnel) to the cross channel port of Dover and the holidsy resorts on the east Kent coast ¢ abe ang & tride oni Net he relevant section of the existing trunk oak in which a be + I 2AGALLY » ke aS . aed ne Beam beh ATS pect owl cr fe a ot & ce rye @ except at “tho ‘north-western end and a would be provided to give ® termin Ly geade-separated junction at access to the village. The ce Read and Patrixbourne Road would be maintained by the dees over and under the new road respectively whilst all other side owe public fcotpaths and private accesses 1 would be affected by the proposal would be stopped up and re-provided, improved or diverted as necessary. iS § scheme i: itended to improve the environment of the all through traffie from the exzistiz tL will also increase the mg eae of to a good standard of desien for 5 of a comprehensive progren en Er enley Corner and Dovex The ertake normal accommodation works, erecting ing would be carried out where necessary. Qe ree fat tools fag 'y* ” x the Schedule to the Order is required for these bet ter publication of the draft preposed a modification of the publi ion with Coldharbour Lane and I m3 th o Soe > ry cr he il fected by the modification were Orders, a8 published, would requir: III CASE FOR THE DEPARTMENT CF THE ENVIRONMENT 2 Vor Biff R Ta wanes l wis d en ES ove ~ 2 C oe Sed RAD namniond read a statement wi ALek nad been pre vLouUsLy CLVCcuLat 2 it he ed th In explained the purpose of the Inquiry anc< ad to the Statutery Authorities which gave power to the Secretary of State to malice proposed Orders He drew attention to the various plans and Orders exhibited. The Londor Canterbury = Dover trunk read was the main trunk route from London to Dover passin Dartford, the mid-way towns, Sittingbourne and Canterbury. There was to the Dartford Tunnel giving an approach to and from East Anglia, th: she north of England, The motorway M2 by-passed the Medway tow me, S ehh tte and re~joined the A2at Brenley Corner about 3 miles east of Faversham, use of its importance as a road to the Channel ports, it was the general policy to bring this trunk route up to @ standard suitable for the traffic it must Arey now and in the future and the map at exhibit C shewed the length of the route between Brenley Corner and Dover which it was intended should be comprehensively improved by the sarly 1980 Os referr » 3.2 It was envise =o that the Bridge by-pass would eventua Cantevbury by-pass with the improved scction of the trunk xeac< ae Farm at Barham, to dyads Hu in ee, From Rop ill, the improved to a good standard dual carriageway. The section roach to the decks and town centre at Dover was under cons seta 5 ~ end = tne ‘pro- Public Inquiry in 1972. ‘The sections between Borers sole Farm and the jected Bridge by-pass was programmed for Giaaeabins by the construe tion of a second carriageway, where only one existed, in the present financial year. Subject to the outcome of this Inquiry, and the availability of funds, it was hoped that work would = stars on the Bridge by-pass in 1974. Proposals for a mid-Kent mo vorway Linking London with Folkestene were published in June 1972. This motorway, if constructed, would become the main access route to the channel ports and a Channel Timnel terminal, if this were also built, It would attract much of the crossechamel traffic which now used the A2 trunk road, 3.3 The existing trunk road through Fridge, pease of the old Roman road, deseended into the village at a gradient of about 1:18 and climbed out of it by Bridge Hill ata gradient of about 1:13. Through the village the trunk road was continuously built up on both sides for a distance of 0.6 miles; the carriageway averaged 23 feet wide, but narrowed to 17 feet 6 inches in the built-up area. Parking on the road was prohibited in the village, but it was difficult for delivery vehicles to stop on any part of the trunk road without causing congestion. Conditions oo pedestrians were inadequate , footwayS exleting ont y in places and were generally 1% narrow. Along the section of the trunk road to be by-passed there were 13 road stions, 5 junctions with public Yights of way and 33 private accesses. cut & ce Xe bao 3.4 Atraffic census in Aveust 1971 showed the average traffic, during a 16-hour day, was 16,292 peu's. Of these 6 were heavy goods vehicles. A previous census in August 1965 showed 10,367 peu's per day, an annval increase of about 5.1%. At such a rate of increase it was expected that by 1980 the trunk read would be required to carry approximately 22,000 vehicles a day in August. Traffic flows on the A2 route would be reduced if and when the Channel Tunnel and the mid-Kent moterway were built. Ab thi present time no decisions had been Ana about eee but if they were in cperation by pe bee re) oo a Rane ¥h44 % y This shovwe n lly. The village of Bridg were injured, 2 1 fatal ad de the old Roman road and Wass eos cons muh eped eee Ox ¥ ed mM, 3 3 ay traf f a @ aie pals pron te Cass in the larger number of nolddasana! in ever-increasing congestion, =< slling to Canterbury a and Bover, had resulted ae damage to property and difficulties for pedestrians. All local traffic me to join the trunk road at one point or another, it 4 and the commmity life of nD ene lage suffered as a result. As an alternative to a by-pass for the village, the wldening of the existing road would ie a mumber of g attractive buildings, many of which were on the sta cel hany PTH. re > pal AAG O6ON GSS. gMatea aS & CONSCIVStLON area, 2ne widening of the villag 23 Suresy Was not therefore a true alternative; what was needed was clearly a new road, utory list. The village of Bridge L° 197 305 A new road would generally be designed to have a life of at least 20 years and in the case of Bridge the predicted eS oe on the trunk road in 1994 was approximately 26,000 vehicles or 31,000 peu's a day This would require a dual 2=lane carriageway. The plan, exhibit H, showed that the x road would be about 2 miles oe would leave the existing A2 trunk road just to the south of Milestone Farm, cross Hifrens Perk on the north side of the village, pass between the ee Down Estate and Highland Court Hospital to re-join the existing A2 at the junction with Coldharbour lane and Frog Lane, It would pass under Bekeshourne Read in a Gas tine: | transfer to. an Sey with a nt 26% Pa wourne Road and then into a Guiting - through the high groun the Bridge Down Estate. Beyond Highland Court it would return to ground level to cross Coldharbour lene by an overbridge, The road would pass houses at Bel dge Down at a minimum distance between the nearest house end the centre of the road of 230 feet, though at this point the new road would be in deep cutting. In Conyngham iene the nearest house would be 380 feet from the centre of the road. At this point the road would be chenging from cutting to embankment, A route for a by-pass on the north side of the village! “of Bridge was shown on the County Development Plan 1967. The road now proposed was based on this line except that the alignment had now been moved approximately 100 yards further east between Conyngham Lane and Highland Court so that its effect on residential property could be minimised as far as possible, having regard to severance and the effect on other property and land to the east of the by-pass. eeiey Sop has inte ae iere ti a ote at WGXLIAU NGLEey 3.6 The scheme as published in the draft Orders would requixe commercial vehicles meking lecal journeys to continue to use the existing roade threugh and at the southern end of the village. It had been proposed, therefore, to the Lecal pielipeaace i and all _ w. Re persons affected, that the published scheme should be modified +t tA 19] to tater the herwmeeo at th 2 twnta thea wfllaeses ac ae c > We gp ebds wade Ly FES fortensnat au yetoy easter end and aVGLG wae Fone eben Tae pis, Soe Bact Sah modification, shown as exhibit J, would conmect slip roads frem ¢ : Frog Lane with the by-pass, The modification was before the Inquiry for consideration. Feu yvepass, Mr Hammond said that other routes had been considered for the by-pass and were shown on the plan exhibit M,. The route marked "B", widening the road on its present alignment, had been rejected, put. the route marked "C" was investigated in more detail, (Route "C" would pass to the south of Bridge between the village and the disused railway; its terminal junctions with the A2 would be at approximately the same points as the proposed read), The alternatives were rejected in favour of the present proposal on grounds of greater = 3.7 After summarising the advantages of the proposed ey oO Bd ad Ge taety new rowl required, geea ber with ¢ dered. bla hp Sor ae a] 2 could be ¢ combines =o Reet? eA Dae UF m2 fox “For the as 1954 on an cation for liane i again ir LOSE Thang che ary che coe, rn serene Bane mn ene ee oe bh a yagek Estete. The PLOVOCER. 202 & ce G55 01 WG NO been known since 1952 and had been disclosed i enquiries 3.46 Une - yment Plan had def imuch of the locality as an Area landscape Value and in 1968 the Nationel Parks Commission aopermess a 8 as of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Commission also s sc a de for a long» distance footrath which, in July 9, became North B er of Lei as of special archi axsa of about 80 O “yards on both s ides of Bridge Conservation Avea, A similar and one proposed for Bishopsbourne. trunk road in Bridge, Mr Waters said that the Plaming Authority, considere a that a by-pass — Rey oe iD Ed se Bs oy ao 3,11 The choice of route for the by-pass between a by no means clear cul ugh it was the opini route would cause least damage to the eave gseostion for widening the existing © in 1970 when a northerm and a eedeangiaa Piserce en the selection of @ rout £3 " 0» zane Park ¥ Was a fine irs sopS % aE ary 82 Eo ce. ntury lant b ornamental lake, The park eae a fon the genie ee to the “digused railway line and Bishopsbourne Village lay on the south-eastern edge. The park was traversed hy a highway and two public foote paths and, in addition to its intrinsic value, provided an important amenity for visitors to enjoy in comparat : Bifrons Park, on the north side of Bridge, was also a fine parkland area though the intrusion of a new road pone it could be reduced by selecting } proposed in 1951, Of the two areas of : the northern route would cavse the J 3.12 -In considering the present proposals the County Planning Committee had xaised no planning objections but had asked for further (Cone on. (2) the iendscaping or d #3 Cacrylng & the new route including the treatment of banks and slopes and (2) the bridg the new route over the stream and Patrixbourne Read which should be a single-span structure to retain an open view down the valley, The read embankment across the valley rising to a maximum height of about 35 ft d cause anes intrusion and the woul a treatment of the slopes of thie embankment was very important. He hoped that’ th x a hy Ty owners of the adjoining parkland would cooperate in this; the County Coucil would assist with tree planting proposals. Intrusion would be less to the east of Patrixbourne Road w the by-pass would enter a deep eat which would give adequate protection to the houses on the Bridge Hill Estate. There would be environn ental disadvantages to seme houses including several at the north end of Conyngham Lane. Some of these houses were in existence before 1951. The County Council would reserve its position on the landscaping proposals, but Mr Waters considered that the route proposed was the eptimwa one having regard to all the environmental considerations which had to be taken into account in the locality, id that this had been re-examined because of the constraints GQ, + Farm and by Bourne Park all the possible routes would be severely damaging to the envirenment, would inixroduce major severance and could not be recommended in planning terms in preferance to 2 northern route. There was only 650 feet between the buildings of Renville and the existing trunk road and between them and the old railway Aang Between Great Fett Farm and the railway track the space was reduced to 500 feet, A bypass would need to pass through two of these gaps which were far to narrow to accommodate a new highway without very serious consequences. At first sight the use of part of the o1d Kailway track appeared attractive. West of Bridge the new road might leave the existing trunk road between the Gate Public House and Milestone Farm to join the track without serious difficulty, but very strong objections would arise when the new road had to leave the railway track te rejoin the trunk road east of Bridge, There appeared to be three possibilities (which he deseribed) but any of these alternatives would be so seriously damaging to the environment as not to be considered as offering an alternative to the northern route. 3-13 Turning to a possible southern route, in some detail in 1970, The conclusion reached + imposed by Renville and its farm, Field House, Gre : a by Dm ps act . = = oF et © @ hy . ae fer] iy & ou er 02 ory @ 8 ah Evidence of Mr LD Kramer AILA 3.14 Mx LD Kramer, a Landscape Architect to the Department of the Environment, deseribed his proposals fox landscaping the new xoad and exhibited plans and drawings of eress-sections of the road which were also projected on the sereen. He said that the details should not be regarded as final at this stage as the detailed proposals ) a RS no were more readily and accurately assessed when the line of the 1 d been established on the ground. At this stage there was difficulty in deciding whi lews should be sereened and which should be opened up, He hoped that by the time the line of the road could be walked, the local Authority and individuals would have given their views and comments on the draft proposals, In addition to the planting of trees and shrubs, which he described, there were possibilities of regrading the enibam kment slopes to merge with the adjoining lend and earthworks to soften the visual impact at the ee These Pre e Gre: 3% car arte ABUTre that as Jor through srvation Orders transition from the cutting to the works would require the coope would be taken to preserve ex par a8 possible the existing v whi hich the by-pass ran maintai could help to achieve this S ANISIEG Owners < ey Pe 15 In reply to questions Me Kramer said that tree planting in itself would not ave much effect on the noise, though it might have some psychological effect if the source of the nolse was no longer visible. Centouring of the slopes also would not have much effect on noise except perhaps at the junction between the cutting and the embankment to which he had referred, Evidence of Me D H Ritchie BSc MICE MIMun® Assistant County Engineer, giving evidence about the possible ne new by-pass, described the measurement of 2ound levels on the decibel scale and defined what was meant by the "L1O index" and the "L90 indéx" as measures of the average level of noise ee eeed to a normal 18-hour day. He discussed the maximum valuea recommended in the Wilson Report 1963 and the recommendation of the Roise Advisery Council in 1971 that no existing “devolorent should be subjected to 3.16 Mr D H Ritchie, is ae Popa a level of noise from th ad * é hs more than 70 dBA on the L1O index. This must be regarded as the maximum for nei housing or aie imposition of noise on existing housing es roent of exists ne ee se ; this Level levels at three sides in Bridge (by methods which he Pep idge H There was reached Fite at the second site in the middle of Bridge } rPAEE 21 was 77.5 dBA reaching 80 dBA for most of the ey, The other two sites, at the top of Conyngham Lane and at Brid, with averages of AJ dRA and 51 dBA, At the first site there 7 and 8 in the morning due to bird song and at the latter a sharp rise between 5 and 6 pm caused by the local lawn-mowers, ~ rl working Hhourse n were very quist, te 8 between se to over 70 dBA 3.17 The prediction of future noise levels depended on estimates of the traffic flow, the percentage of heavy goods vehicles, speeds and eae: with adjustments for ground attenuation and sereening effects. Me Ritchie exhibited a large plan on which ne had drawn ea to the line of the by-pass, the 70 dBA contour and the 65 dBA contour, The only houses within or near to the latter were those at the top of Conyngham lane. When the by-pass was opened the present level of 49 GBA could be expected to rise to 63 dBA though houses lower down Conyngham Lane would be partially screened and have lewer levels. This was an extremely quiet area at present and 65 aBA would be a normal index for a residential ‘through road in a suburban area. The second eite, in the High Street, would benefit substan tially from the construction of the byepass. The oresent L10 average of 77.5 ae would drop to 67.5 dBA when the by-pass was opened. The third site would show virtually no are as a result of the by-pass, This alse was 2 very quiet area with an ares ae LLO index of 52 GDA such noise as there was being due to “traffic on the existing A2 and to noise generavod on the estate itself, The by-pass, although closer than the exist 2, would be in a deep cutting which would act as a substantial barr pas ies were expected te fall within the 7° dBA contour of the by-pass; 1 cael the existing A2 would obtain substantiel reductions in noise and, with the e exception of a few houses at the top of Conyngham Lane, the majority of the remaining properties between the existing A2 and the eastern edge of Bridge were expected to experience either no change or a Slight reduction in noise levels, pee Lea) bs bed 10 Me Ritehie said thats the effect on the noise level at sbably be nid il3; there would be some noise from traffic on 83 able reduction in that. from the A2, He agreed that the aera by an in: Conyngham Lane would va: those at the top % the bottom would have more and would also enjcy a considerable om the High Street, degree of eeree would have less, CH08 reduction of noise fr IV REPRESENTATIONS ON BEHALF OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND THE A2 GROUP Bridge ~ Blean Rural District Couneil 4.1 Mr DC Foreman, Deputy Clerk, said that the Coumcil had given full consideration to the proposals for the by-pass and were in agreement with them, They were also atisfied that _the proposed modification at Coldharbc ur Lane at the eastern er ment on the published propos i nud they supported the : a = 3G LTR Eh ak bt ao be ~ that this modification should be recommended, & S si Grainger, a member, he gave general support to the northern reute and would also express his & & of the efforts of Mr Kramer in landscaping the road. Beidge Parish Council 4.2 Mr LJ F Sherley said that a Parish Meeting in December 1972 had passed a resolu- tion by le? vetes to none appr roving the construction of the Bridge by-pass as presented. Their resolution did de iE ore the refusal of the Ministry to consider the Dover, and it objected to : a to the north-east as far a op i o OW @ ‘Parish Cound gave theix full suppoxt to the propos yale. They had considered the traffic forecasts, as quoted by Mr Hammond, and were convinced ke tad be done in the building of motorways or the Channel Tunnel a arta he .nedca case He undorstoce that the vrov layeby ee BA in asiy CaSSe @ UNGSES tod what the proposed Vey Uy from the plan. = & e due Ea Ew) iss] co) et o a a “3 | S28 5 ty te? wa be Bishopsbourne Parish Council 423 Moxa EC Champion said that her Council were fully satisfied with the r hoped that the by=pass would be completed quickly, She said she thought the evidence of Mr Waters on the planning considerations which led to the choice of a northern route was convincing. mopesals and Patrixboure Parish Meeting 4.4 MrP Greenwood, Acting Clork, referred to a resolution passed at a Parish Meeting on the 14 December 1972: which expressed cencern for the environmental consequences and the impact upon residents of Fatrixbourne which would result from the censatruction of the proposed Bridge by-pass, . The Meeting could not support the preposed northern route without further information on alternative routes being given and it was not convinced that all possible alternative routes had been thoroughly examined. The voting was 22 for and 7 against this resolution, He had sent copies of this resolution to the appropriate authorities but he had not been authorised to make any objection te the proposals on behalf of the Parish Council, He agreed that the evidence given ai tne Inquiry showed that the alternative routes had been examined, He gave his personal view that the evidence in favour of the northern route would be convincing to his Council. ; ee Be 11 fumes and the and that the e could have CHE &Gl oute which had fic census Mm O@ necessary, ; dangers to ee Ee errors was agre need was urgent, This had been a ve been in douht sbout the Groun's intentio wid the had always known their aims, The northem mae was in fac! ever been put forward or advocated, The Group eee over a 24-hour day for 4 days, Their mane the ce % and althoug zh the Group accepted it had to be geet out that projections made £ other fac such as the Co The only cuest Lhe on. ¥Y guess Hg a ed Ps : © ce) only a ag f s given by > iu ture traffic, could not whether the by-pass sho 50 © consider eo ERLE The é for the by-pass was too great a at for furt time to be on. sidering alternatives to the proposed scheme, Mr J Pure hese and said tiat the historic route for the by-pass was on the no Eeidge. This ha, d always seemed to the Group to be the route of choice 8 ab of the villase, put ib was now - t favelved less eae lee with agriculture, would give less rise + intzusion since much of the road would be in eutting and would prob The Group therefore gave full support to the present proposals, The Compulsory Furchase Order 5el Mer J H Goulden, Solicitor, on behalf of the Hig! Land Investment. | Co Ltd sald that tie Company cavecled on the bus iness of farming at Highiand Court Farm and had a large cold-store housed in the annexe to Highland Court. Enis had a capacity of 4,000 tons with facilities for cooling, processing and packing prodvce. It was regularly visited oy heavy lorries up to 32 tons so that in addition to the problems of land-~take and severance caused by the scheme, there were problems of acc for these heavy vehicles, Under the proposals as published many of these lorries would have had to go through Bridge to reach Gen, Court, but if the modification to the junction ef Coldharbour Lane now put forward by Mr Hamncnd were adopted, the lorries would be able to use the by-pass, This, BC aeoen with the widening of Coldharbour lane envisaged in the Side Roads Order, made the proposals acceptable to the Company and their objections would be withdrawn. te ©} 52 The objection made on behalf of S W Mount and ; discussed and agreement reached, it was understood 5.3 Mr WD Stewart, of Bridge Down, appeared therefore as the sole remaining objester to the Compulsory Purchase Order, He said that he shared with the protagonists of a tec Cee etd scanty informa- thi southern route the view that the Inquiry had been Rees ork tion. If the Mini stry had presented full plane of a sou information about eubondonente, cuttings, tree planting, no: ets on visual anenity and on the farms as they had done in the case of the proposed route, the Inguiry ¥ would have had a real choice between the two routes and night here sugges sad possible improvements to either, His objection to the proposed route was that it came so close to his house that he would lose part of the fieid which adjoins his garden and which he owned jointly with Mz R J Good. Eeyond the loss of the land which was in o 7 @ ey o jaa a Tee E a) Hy a, QM ie ena for his own and his neighbours childare at; the top of 4 much too close to all the house: table intrusion of noise and fh Tf £ the newly ope fo North Downs Wea of 3 De the attractions of the patl Gd j oposed road could be moved 100 yards further there would be Biaeeee it would leave the line about equi~distan’ Highiands Cours ¢ homes at Bridge Down, This would be an obvious to the residents i significantiy inereasing the noise or Bridge Hill Estate without si ean 2 intrusion at Highland Court. ‘The e ae on 2 Yo, icultural land would be small since the severed portions of orchard and azabl e land would be easily ees e, Above all, an outstandingly impressive part of the recently desigmated W Downe Way would be preserved for walkers and riders instead of disappearing w over, @ footbridge could be provided across the by-pass at e line ae the North Downs Way could be preserved and the rather oring new £ h proposed along the east edge of the by-pass could be avoide si nea by SO residents had been submitted to the Department Anan. proposals and suggesting modifications on the lines that he had Prop a 1 > estat t at Wided that the children on the HO r 7 woodland, from their own or their neighbours gardens and they ¢ this area to play in complete safety. When the road was built access an country north of the road could be gained only by a circuitous x Fould not be possible for unaccompanied small children. Residents of Patrixbourne, Bekesbourne Road eto 5.4 The resolution passed by the Patrixbourne the choice of a northern route for the by=pass 5.5 Mx K A Bailey MIN said that the proposed road would cross the most beautiful area of Birrens Park and bring the new road within about one-auarter of a mile of the village of Fatrixbourne. The village dated back to the 12th century, had many ancient buildings and was of almost eros character, A large modern road crossing this landscape would be there for always: it was essential that it should be in the right place, A line to the south of Bridge would be in the more direct line from Cantexbury to Dover, could use the old railway line and would probably save costs and land with less damage to the environment. They all wanted a by-pass, but it must be in the right place, 5.6 Professor R_E Pahl emphasised the importance of public partiotpetion in the decisions about the by= by-pass. Mr Waters had said that the choice between a northern and a southern route was not "clear cut" but the Department nad acted as if the choice were quite clear even on environmental grounds, ‘The case for a by-pass to Bridge w as indeed clear enough, but the case for a road on this line had not been made out one eos ES intrusion on tne landscapes the 2 generation of noise and the economic evaluation of the route in comparison with + igt me iTRe naan wanes AaAsshiem hast BIC LS HULLS UYU LO GeV Ud alternatives. Too much weight appeared to have been given to the t ing Bourne House and Eoux “park; there were houses and a park on 141 Bridge which merited Beal nChice ian There had been no discussicz effects and possible landscaping of alternative routes, The 35 £t emb anxment sous bridge over Patrixbourne Road would throw the traffic noise over a consi and he suggested that noise levels would rise above those recommended in Ranort Noise intrusion mi sht well be Ta as @& 3 ,& 4 fea = 2 7. go @ less from a by-pass south of Bridge ; ae ore WAS no evidence, In the economic evaluation the relation between the Rridre hp “Pees end the Canterbury by-pass had to be taken into account, The Canterbury by-pass was a wo pte SO Bete Ais Nek bb ES oS 13 RMATRM CE A ax 4 new eatin re ba finde ale eae oi ad a. be ‘that a dis ; rar he ter ike ry by : ebury could not wait for would be adopted & to the propos ee was urgen wily ne eded and ections might delay its complet yen postrene it, 5e7 Mr Hammond said treated as one pr ears, If either that if the by-passes for Canterbury and for Bridge had to be Lem the effect would be to postpone the Bridge by-pass for many pass depended on the other, neither could go ahead until both 4 3 were ready and Canterbury would not be ready Fee some time te come, What could be said was that the point chosen for the beginning of the Bridge by-pass was a reasonabl point for the Canterbury by-pass to terminate. A combined by-pass for Canterbury and Bridge, even if it were ae and feasible, would be a mistake it would leave a laxge volume of residual traffic going to and from Cante vontinuing to pass through Bridges 3 one said that the recommendations in the Wilson Ee referred els inside dwellings, More up-to-date recommendations w hose of he would not, however, regard the measicted Levels stent with the Wilson Report recommendations with 3 the top of Conyngham Lane. A%t the street ratfie, The school was some distance the pessible exceptio school most of the noise Co 9 a ef cr S ce from the proposed by=pa <: ty that there would be any change in the present noise levels either inside the school or outside it. He agreed that noise was enerated by the steep hills on either side of Bridge and that the effect on the present g Z A2 was considerable. On the by-pass there would be a freer flow of traffic at a more nearly constant speed, 5.9 Mr RJ Hooke said that he was wholly in favour of a rapid solution to the problem of the Bridge by-pass. There had been a failure of planning when the M2 was built and terminated at Brenley Commer - the need bom extending the motorway to the not been foreseen. They now had to find a second beet solution and although he was anxious to avoid delay, a little delay could be justified if it led to t answer to the problem. The problem of Bridge could be solved equally well by a route to the north or to the south. The merits of either route were "by no means c as Mr Waters had said; amenity was a subjective test, very illusive as a decis factor and so far as cost and engineering aif ficulties were concerned, the rou roughly equivalent. The north ee nue had been on the map since 1952 with a slicht alteration in the Revised County Plan and it seemed that it had been adopted as a fait 2 accompli; no proper case had been made for it. This was not a very demoeratic ch b> procedure nor was it satisfactory to those affected by it. Perhans the fact that there was only one (absent) land-ovmer on the north side had led the a ca to onefer a northern route in the expectation that the land acquisition would be easier than on the south where the land-owners might give more trouble. Mr Hooke Sen that there had been letters in the press es the opponents of the proposals as moved by "selfishness and self-interest". He was sure that this was not the case; 80 far as he was concerned, his house stood between the two possible routes and would be out of sight and out of hearing of either so that he had no personal interest to pursue. ‘The objections were not aimed at delaying the by-pass ~ it was not a matter of whether the by-pass went by particular houses - but there was proper concern that the planning cf the by-pass should be right, % Fu 14 ee 5.10 It was 5. ante between B shoulc my roy hat Sader SoA be a link between the Bed by-pass Ps “ ena the £ ad = « we ex ro! Pi me the actu construction of the (eats MB BS al 80 «advanced % ury and Beldee eee Lette The eas route 3 map exhibited was one of three routes . over 20 years ago and would not ce his. re if one studied the wrong route ould of course find good reasons against it, The route pRopoRed. in the schene preduced conflict with the existing roads that crossed it and difficwlt interche s at the two ends, That at the west end would become worse when the Canterbury by-pass had to be fitted in, The possible level of noise at the primary school gave concern; 65 dBA was a high level ba and even intermittent noise at this level could interfere with the echoolwoxrk. ee o & ftp pte ta oO sifect of noise had also to be considered at Highland Court which was a mental tal and at the houses in Bridge Down, The 35 feet embankment across the valley oe near to the ene would have an unfortunate visual effect in severing the = T 2 SE 24.9 ae mi 2 ¥ o st Was not possible to screen this. These disadvantages, said Dr Pratt, have to be eens if there were no Se ves but in his view there were alternative, and better, lines to the sonth of Bridge even if the extension e M2 had to be ruled out, Db’ ck O a5 ~ 2 @ 4! f BS) fe ta f ae Es pa O 3 © Ue severe Ts a 7 K Aa cz © by er nbs . 5.12 Me Hammond said that the proposed M20 motorway would provide the main accesa route between London and the channel ports and it was for this reason that the M2, which was a valuable by-pass to the Medway towns, would not be extended beyond its présens termination at Brenley Corner, Some traffic would eventually transfer from the A2 to the M20, but Bridge would still need its by-pass. The Department had, of course, consi ideved a link by-pass for Harbledowmn, Canterbury and Bridge but th Harbledown by=passes were ready to start in 1974 and it Was hoped that Bridge would also atact in that year; there was no need to wait for the Canterbury scheme which. must inevitably take seme years yet. There was an important argument against a comprehensive scheme from the wes A of Haxbledown to beyond Bridge in that it might fail to achieve the main object so far as Bridge was concerned, Canterbury attracted a good deal of treffic and would eae to do so when the by-passes were built; Bridge must not be linked with Canterbury in a way that continued to bring much of this traffic through Bridge. A small by=pass was Likely to be much more effective in taking all the traffic ont of Beidge, 5213 Mes Pratt referred to the dangers to children and the concern of mothers and alk sanaa FD other residents for the relief from traffic in the High Street which a by-pass would give. She looked forward, however, with apprehension to the difficult period of construction when the side roads would be muddy, noisy and dangerous for YOarse She felt that the benefit of relief in the High Street WO ald | be oe pee by the continuing presence of the ugly 35 feet embankment across a beautiful velley, I+ seemed that the worst aspects of the construction period and the permanent damage to the landscape were unnecessary when a goo od alternative route to the south of Bridge was available. Fewer people would be affected by that route, but it seemed that the avoidance of Bourne Park had been the determining factor, Bifrons Park on the north side was, in her view, equally beautiful, it was more accessible and much more important to the residents, 15 5en4d Proposals for routes : a Bridge were made by the above and other speakers - s a we 18x section. 4 ba On Conyng sham Lane 2 Mr GF Stoneham said that those interested in this see aad fell into three groups. ‘The first Comprised those who had been > oe en venae or & by-pass passionately ry Many years and were prevared to accept the | Sera as providing the lickest solution despite the many defects, The 1 eecond group tale people ilke pees who had much to lose in amenity value from the construction > the by-pass and re appalled at the scale and scope of what was intended, Thirdly, a were those at ao par) ou nd ee would have considers no were convinced that an alternative route could be f to small delay while ly less effect on the environment and were prepared é vy studied, He had been aware for | 3 that the likely route be north of the village and that mus’ ct hi 11G o ity DUST affect his : i in Conyngham lene accepted this situation taking the broad view eee wane greater than their own peace and tranquility. They by ee sails put forward only last November to run an elevated than any thing achieved on the Mz and to do this without properly prep caring an alternative route, The 13 residents concerned had all bovgh’ their houses without knowledge of this motorway; the solicitors searches in 1964 when Wey i FRE Fyre TOUT he omy iis Ge oe 3 % bought had given no indication of a motorway on this scale, Right up t this Inquiry, it was the general belief in the village that the line ° was to be moved 100 yards further to the east, It was an additional be this Inquiry that this was a misunderstanding and that the Department hac on of altering the ] ed epi es not suggest that it was aed byt & the tment's intention to mislead, but the fact remained that both the statement of the Bridge P Parish Council and the unqualif ied acceptance of the preposal by the A2 Group was based on this misunderstanding. All the residents of Conyngham Lane were dseply concerned at these proposals, many were elderly or unwilling to speak at a _ Public Inquiry, but he knew that he could speak for them. A consideration that had not yet been mentioned was the proposal to build old people’s homes at the back of onyngham Lane, I+ seemed particularly unfortunate that old people in need of peace ce and quiet Should be ¢ iatuxbe ad by the noise and bustle of a motorway. a 5.16 He would put 3 questions to the Inquiry. First, was such a grandiose proposal justified in view of the development of the M20 motorway Second, was there not still time to integrate the Rridge byepass with the Car eae by-pass, Third, could the previous proposal to move the ey uss 100 yards further to the east be revived to the gveat benefit of the residents of Bridge. Lo ee a Me LH Young CEng MIES pointed cut that the nearest house in Conese Tane would be only 300 feet from the centre line of the by-pass, In his written objection beet a he had also pointed out that at the end of Conynghem Lanc the read would be on an embankment of 18 feet vising to 35 feet at Patrixbourne toad. Noise and nollution rom traffic on this raised embankment would spread over a wide area, which inclu he local school, and would be mich worse than that from the present AZ which lay ower down and was well screened. a ch Pay ¢ 5.18 In veply to the point made about solicitors searches, Mc Hammond said that there was of course no Order for the read in 1964 and the soliciters would find no reference to it. But the line of the road had been shown on the County Plan in 1952 and the line had been safeguarded in 1954 when a planning application bad been made for the development of what was now Conyngham lane. Solicitors would be aware of this. 16 above where mention is made also of the Bridge Hill 5.20 Mx P T Collingwood said there mist be concern abor this scale on private houses, Noise and pollution weul spread over a wider area, a ds CEUs road could be taken further valley between Bridge and Patrixbourne wa anied the age in which w » but it aia ffe ected by noise Tt was true that the area to eater pylons and 4 railway and hee were fewer houses "here x pollution. ta. EH Wotherall referred d 100 5 BO “although che De * 2 Junction and Diversion at West End of By-Pass Paul BA MCIT, Area Manager, East Kent Road Car Company Limited, ny operated three bus services y the ir2in street of Eridge., Thess stween Canterbury and Dover and Canter sbury end Folkestone, but many were picked up on this part of the A2 and in Bridge Village itself so that oo buses must still continue to operate via Bridge Village. The proposed modification at the sonth-easterm end of the by-pass shown on exhibit J would be convenient for buses entering or leaving Bridge at that end and was fully acceptable, The gerance anent of the junction at the Canterbury (west) end of the by-pass, however, would create considerable problems for the buses and required modification. 5.23 Buses travelling towards Canterbury through Bridge could continue on the existing A2 and get through the junction with the new by-pass at the west end without difficulty. Buses from Canterbury on the A2 would have to turn onto the by-pass for a few hundred yards, leave it again by a slip road to the left, turn Ee into Bekesbourne Road, cross the new bridge and then go down the (unnamed) spur i to rejoin the A2 on the ill leading down into Eridge, This would have several Hee affects. The - ore posed diversion would add an estimated quarter of a mile to each joumey, ineluding ty70 additional "I" junctions. This would add to bus-journey time as wel i diversion very noticeable to passengers so reducing the attractivens The additional mileage would add to the time required to cover the 3 negotiation of the two "[" junctions would also add to delays in bus services. over the spur road was only 15 feet 6 inches wide in places which was not allow the wide buses to pags other large vehicles, The "2" jumetion at th particularly difficult since it was se shaped that a bus emerging from the would block traffic both ways on the hill out of Bridge. Taking these aireic into account, together with the additional mileage, it was estimated that the the diversion of the three bus services would be over £980 a year, This cost could only be recovered by an increase in fares. ao ec4 The Company appreciated the need fer a Bridge by-pass and agreed with the proposals ith the exception that it was considered that Bekesbourne Road, including the spur oad, was unsuitable for bus services involving at least 3 journeys an hour, It was 17 problen ney buses on lane GO ky @ Mk PO ed he Be, bhAG 4 this niga’ ART td be 80 bus at “the west ¢ nEpOrt wad a . ae is 3 ad it Ar and ta & op and to the a & ‘ dange Q TALL of the ‘Lend, an exp e3 which were qu ita i ing them up to ste Is hrs be simp Lt) ® Snos tandard mor rae cyte} more costly Cant towa st a be DE vovide age through sald that the caleulatvion of additional co: ae to the Bos Company 3 ta, .cocunt of the time that would certainly be save a by unis buses in passing through Bridece High Street, The object of the nropesed divers } of Deidge and If a righteturn were pez would both increase the hazard and defeat this object. It m : i unec teaffic outs even from a "buses only"™ nee The improvement of Bekesbo me Road nd the spur road might well prove to be necessary, but this would be a watter for the een & County Council and was not nart of the pres sont provosals. VI ALTERNATIVE LINES SOUTH OF BRIDGE 6,1 Exhibit M before the Inquiry showed three altermative routes. Route WA" being ha the route propoged north of Bridge, route mpe a widening ore he High Street on the | i nd ing at bigcvemiags day Ene line of the existing A2 and Route "C" a line beginning and same points as route "A" but passing to the south of ik the disused reilwey. The disadvantages of route "C" of o objectors argued that there were other poss 2 WAG GLA hob snow the seme disadvantages and Pe ery Seren a sacks ee ae Salley gauggested that the road should 0 wuld save land and be less damaging to the environment. iderabi fs) environs a bak gs ~ the southerm route had been diemiased, but the In aquizy had about it. They knew that the route proposed would generat the 35 f£% embankment would be visually intrusive, but no evidence disprove the assertion that a southern route would be quiet Silay A ene to the south would conform with the Canter ‘ory fyenees "ek muss = z aiso pass to the south of the City and although it had been suggested that the eee siffeconces were marginal, it might be that if the Canterbury by-pass and the Rridse by-pass were dealt with together a southern line would be substantially cheaper. The mguiry di et vid ence to make the economic evaluation, Mr Stewart said thet if the southorn route were properly studied, planned and presented in the same detail as the northerm route it would be possible for the residents to choose between them and perhaps suggest improvements. 6.2 Mr pe said that route "C" was clearly not the most satisfactory line to the é line should start earlier at the western end, cress to the disused "thus avolding Great Pett Parm and avoid the more attractive part of Pourne His advice was that the land south of Bridge was less valuable agcriceulinrally north of the village and in ae case the severance of farmland at Renville ‘eat | Pett Farm would be minimised if the railway track were eae The only ~ scene ry ¢ affected by a read on this line would be in Bourne KY with the two miles of beautiful country crossed by the en did not accept the suggestion of Colonel Elliott that this part Valley was a frost pocket or that a road more pale than on any other route. In reply to Mr merry od ae vo aouolish the oe houses near the old station. TI nN hich conte road ¢ on Hr P fieckete: ‘line ‘coulk on the aoe side ‘of NS La thie was now covered with trees and it would pr i the road, Hie solution for the probren” of bet se would be to take the ee across the ce > of Bourne Parke “to & * roundabout on Gre A2 at the tep of | a entrance to Highland Court. There would be more acute wouid be acceptable in thie environment. The road would then go whe use, there would be fewer intersections, landscaping would be be no extra cost. tee and suggestions, Me Hammond said that he was in some ey had been invited, no plans had beenlodged and he was dence about lines that had mot been defined, ‘The ‘ bt a4, hah b ternatives, including the use of the railway buy had ony not in a position offer ‘evid Davartment had locked at the 91: been forced to conclude that none of the alternatives gave aa satisfactory a line as the proposed northern route. In designing a route for a road, one could pick on features to avoid such as bul ildings, farms or fine landscape, and end with a line that was. quite unacceptable te the engineers, The more practicable course was to design a satisfactory line and then examine it to see If it would be acceptable on environmental, planning and economic considerations. 6.4 Me J M Vince BSc, Assistant Engineer, Kent County Council, exhibited a large plan on which he had drawm a line for the road using the railway track together with, the various alternatives that had been suggested, At the west end 1+ would be possible to get a satisfactory line from the existing A2 to the railway track at the expense of somewhat greater length and further intrusion inte farmland, though farm buildings could be avoided, Difficulties arose when the road came to leave the railway, The trouble was that the railway ran away from Bridge and from the AZ so that the more one used the railway track the greater the difficulty of getting back to the AZ. The lengthe of the two feasible routes, using part of the rallway track, would eppear to be 14,500 feet and 17,000 feet respectively. This compared with a length of 12,000 feet for the proposed northern routa so that a southern route en either of these lines would be longer and more Bonet It would not be impossible to parc a line, using part of the railway, which conformed to acceptable highway standards, but it would use only a bit of the railway, would be very twisty and would probably demolish Bridge Place, It would not be acceptable, in order to minimise intrusion into Bourne Park, to adopt the acute curves implied in Dr Pratt's suggestion, His roundabout on the A2 at Bridge Hill, even if it were acceptable on traffic grounds, would invelve the demolition of houses there. A road on route "en, or any of the varlanta, would have to be on almost 419 9 feet on one line » and there ng did not balance b it ee sr of tions on the ent wnen he had said, in k : : @ Southern rou "eles went", the ——— cr 4 lot of ec Lon Ihead been given ae ‘ ves of the two vou and in par — O88 seibility used railway track. The disadvantages 0: ern Toute wore | > intext erence with agrim val land ane the int rusion sate rekniahde WEONE) on peal — 200) a route 3) choice betwee > doubt thet the Co . Be #e, Pay t "hia Wwe Nel BP PS and by & hue + ¥ API wt By Bua bP MA, G preposed road and would t souta Bide of the t y conzidered os sawn Sse ja & OTD got though 3 ranee of hia holding 8 dovan oan ne Wade CASE, ee carried little we OF e ee sg 6 3 @ = S$ & © rd Ao ka ny, ee B in the prop others able and > Highland gf g —F ere? bas ra 2 outhern 2 as to areas of 10 to 15 eres which would be re unworkabie} the position was Aller at Renviile Farm. People spoke as if the railway were on 3 36 was not, peoplL|e laved and worked land there, Mx F za ation had given a lot ef consideration to the Bridge | discussion for many years. They gave full suppers to the x 4 wes a %O them, on be ALaNcey to be mich te be 3 § z He ed G6 the riek thet & Southern goute would be mone sudjess Sh URGCONeE a 3, 12 BLEO Pex is ‘fr ost ‘and fore He did, however, heve doubts abcut the proposal to clese entry to the A2 at the west end of the by-pass; he would support the request made by the bus company and asked if the read could be left open fer a time in oxder to see whether the risk of through traffic entering Beidge was in fact a real one. Letters were reat from Messrs Finn and Petley, Chartered Surveyors, on behalf of properin ere ab Bourne Paxk and in Bishopsbourne indicating that strong objection would be made to any proposal to a road through Bourne Park or near to the village of Bishopsbourne.. ek M4 o G Wit CLOSING ADDRESS ON BESALFP OF THE DEPARTMENT 7ol Mr Hammend said that it had been common ground at the Inquiry that « byepassa for Bridge was badly needed, And it was generally accepted that the need was uxgen) both to cut down traffic & congestion rig more particularly, to relieve the inhabitants of Bridge of traffic noise, pollution and danger, Despite the urgency, ae objectors would Golerate a vghort. delay" s9 that other routes could be studied, Others wanted the Beidge byenass to be Pav ted into plans for extending the M2 mo torway on for a combined by-pess of Harbledown, Canterbury and Bridge, He had explained why the M2 motorway was not being extended and how the inclusion of the Beldge by-rees in a larger scheme might defeat one of the main objects of the teoposale which was to keep through traffic going to and from Canterbury out of Eridge Village. In either case, @ "short delay" was not on; rejection of the present proposals would inevitebly postrone 20 40 2 years. —_ wr? os oO Bilga 4’ 29% on es 4 axe ¥ ible g ge was ol early pte md be cb OR a 8 ge | any ) : BOW gee ae mop ant : 2 pyre 4 Ne aS 89 ac 2 & * DO: DAY oF in dengta and st ne mort sed on @ atehes c on 15 the - OL bh Fae) een! ost, No Line hie 2% had boon Propo iZ@ 25 9 school and would be willl proper coy would be : well away — the came fron a the prese ang the Geet ant the cast at this point. The ue 1@ had already bee on the original County Plan, bat te move is “Pur ener Court and, to a lesser ex tent, on FPatrixbourne, The E at this point and noise levels on the estate, which was very a) area, Would hardly be affected, Rezidents at the top of Conyngham Lane had, pv: exhaps, the most cause to cbject because they were near a point where the road emerged from the cutting and passed onto the embankment, ‘The design would try to minimise the effects altering the vrefile of the road and by landsc eaping and Xe Krames in his evidence had referred to other possibilities, The visual inteugien inte this quiet area was regrettable though necessary as part the price of a byvepass, ‘The p 2 of level would be well within the accepted standard, 7e4. Given the need fo Bele and noeone had disputed this, the road prepessd would have a ml 3% on th iromment vk of peor id 5 damaging to asriewltere then 2 possible a the cutstanding problem of Br VitI SITE INSPECTION 8,1 In the course of the Inquiry I visited Bridge High Street, ReeriePOUnnes Bishopsbourne, Bekesbourne Eoad and Patrixbowrne Road, the two ends of the proposed brepasa and the lenesz on the south side of Bridge. 842 In company with the parties, I paid formal visits to the Beldge Hill Estate, including the footpathe end woodlands adjoininge, to Great Petts Farm and the disused veilway, and to Conyngham Lane, I also inspected the approaches te Highland Court Hospital and the possible location for the junction of a southern route with the A2 at the top of Bridge Hill, cb ‘ 21 bad uinimun width of Bt At sé heavy vehicles to pass without x pavements > . = LO7L was about 14,000 vehicles a day bse 209 pou 2a) Bae an increase 65 of ses imately 5.1% a year, 6% of eavy goods yeicleas. sar fee me ay rise to 22,000 v ted that by 1980 the average flow ca) 93 In the 3 years to 31 December 1972 there were 29 accidents inyelving persona injury in which 49 people were injured two of them fatally. ss will be a mederm voad with dual, CY It will rm for about 2miles: a just ee ‘the aouth of ee ES cee to rejoin 3 Coldharbour Lane, Access to 4] will be limited tc bridges at Rekeshonrne Read and sol dhanbous lene which are the east end respectively. 23% the road is es% 9.5 238 objections were received to the a Orders etter they were publis ef them reiat : Or The draft ree srt these arte wit. neti eae ‘Purchase Ox ae zeferred ss vt itece of land, or rights over Land af ? 9 required for the construction of the byepass and the alt cE: Four farms will lose land to the road, the tetal area invalved being a 4tiona to side roads ate, % about 55 acres. 9.6 Demolition of one house was involved in the prenesals as published, but this house will be avoided if the proposed modification is adopted, Wo other bulldings axe affected. : 9.7 Six bridle-roads or footpaths crossing the line of the byepass will be stepped including the North Downs Way (twice). ‘Three of these tracks can be connected by short diversions to the agricultural underpass in Bifrons Fark. A new bridle-road proposed on the north-east side of the by-pass will reconnect the severed parts of BR 268 (the North Downs Way) and will also give access (via the new accommodation bridge at Highland Court) to the other paths on the north side of the xoad. 9.8 The by-pass will run on an embankment, about half a mile long, from the tep of Conyngham Lane across Patrixbourne Road. It will reach a height cf 33 feet and will be cleariy visible rrom houses in Bridge and from some houses in Patxeixbourne., Most of the remainder of the road will be in cutting. 9.9 Average noise levels on the 110 scale will reach 65 dBA at houses at the top of Conyngham Lene. All othex houses, including those nearest to the road at ee Down, the school, and the projected old people's home will lie outside the 65 GBA contour. Noise levels at houses in the High Street will be substantially reduced. §.10 The volume of traffic using Bekesbourne Road and the (unnamed) spur road will be affected by the proposal to clese entry to the A2 at the west end of the by-pass. Bekes bourne Road will continue to carry the traffic fan Patrixbourne to Canterbury 22 - CONST Ter NS by CONS BBR IMA LS 10.1 It is declared ry : trunk route from the end of the M2 to Dover up to 2 ard anit efor the growl: ee it has to carry; ; i COMD. xv in BLOgFOsS over en d and ef the reute £ ty geste be to th 1088 ion and ae the lemean fro There ube 20,2 it ie, prospect of present proposals that they give the Nisa ay ejected, there must be a is brought forward, Dat aration of the merits ef to be clearly superior to | at, gt nig SEAT A PLE GOoLay, PEraape bHAS argunIens alternative the proposed A A ; lines suggested for a them show clear advantages over the forward on exhibit M as one that would reeting and txaffic. It wowld begin and and would, there ofore y not be much longer tages of geeater visual intrusion, greater into Bourne Park, and it found few supporters. ae ne = wae pie ae Ba Oi ek © end at the same aaint or more expensive. Beverance of fexme and serious 5 oe 10,4 There was more sups xt for a lines ee out, making use of part of the diaused rallwey embankment whi ge Peng g calle with the A2 at a distance of one-quarter - thres-quarters of a mile to the sou et. Spe attraction of this old railvay track ad the attention of highway planners in the past. railway which means that, if the by-pass is standard, cnly a short section of the railway the airest line fren the A2 to the railway Me Hooke suggested that the restead, though not the farm- ut it would edd half 2 mile ost. is obvious enough and if has not The trouble lies in the gcom to be reasonably short and of could be used. Even 80, at t would interfere seriously wit voad should start farther we land, and wowld enable mo to the length of the by-pass G ro] Crete ) os 10,5 All the "railway" routes, and any other feasible road passing south of Bridge, must made « deep incursion inte Bour ark, It was proposed that this could be minimieed by adopting subestandar ry and beinging the brepass out te a junction gion the A2 near the drive to Hight Court Hospital, It was shown, however, that a junction in the residential srea id cause great difficulties and that this, with the poor alignment, would make the a8 unsceeptable for a section of the A2 trunk road, The intrusion into Bourne Park would, therefore, have to be accepted if a southern route were adopted, 2a. 3 to @ southern route must be 88% TNS Lt cignt away wit 4 in it Gould wee part of the disused raliway. It would effect fewer people, If the Canterbury by-pass is to run south of the City and the A2, it would be more natural, and possibly more economic, for Bridge by-pass also to run on the south side, oe a " — LI ates aaale m ere ee f tha Wa? Seaaern TP. at whint It would avoid Bifrons Park and a beaut a the Nailbourne Valley which were more important to the lecal inhabitants than Bowens Park. 10,7 It would be a bold outsider wh Fourme Park and Bifrons Park » sides = but on this particular a route. By keeping closer to the Park than a southern route would County Plannin my the Aw wets Go GHe ENVITromuiens 10.8 Suggestions that a start on the Beldge by-pass should be deferred until it can be considered as part of some larger scheme, such as a Canterbury by-pass or the extension of the M2, raise questions of wider policy, Delay would not be welcome to most of the residents of Bridge, 10.9 I mist conclude that the published proposals offer an acceptable scheme for a byenass for Bridge, Woise and pollution will nowhere exceed tolerable levela and over most of the village will be greatly reduced. Visual iitrusion, although considerable en ene stretch, will be restricted over much of the Llengcth by the deep cuttings in which the road will lie. As was asid, the choice on environmental grounds between a "northern" and a "southern" route is by no means clear cut, but I am satisfied tha there is no balance of adventage on environmental, economic and technical grounds that would justify rejection ef the published propessls, 10.10 Three proposed modifications of the published plans require comment. At the west end of the by-pass access to the down-lane of the A2 will be stopped and all traffic diverted onto the by-pass. Traffic for Eridge ete will then leave by a slip voad aid go along Bekesbourne Road and the (winamed) spur xead back jo the AZ, a . ny Be = he 22. % aja oe tat bee et Joe Ff Amnnaada nm Foo diversion of about. one-quarter of a mile. The spur road is admittedly inadequate for heavy traffic, The problena of tankers and heavy lorries in nerrow country lanes is general and not confined te Bridge, but in this case the problem will bs aggravated by the addition of all the Canterbury ~ Bridge traffic to the existing traffic to and from Patrixbourne. The East-Kent Bus Company made a strong case for continued entry to the AZ at the west end which could be confined, if necessary, to “buses only" as had been done successfully at other by-passes. A “buses only” lane would meet only part of the problen, but the Company's case deserves congideration, The reasons for the diversion are clear enough = to discourage through traffie from passing through Bridge. It is possible, however, that the same object covld be achieved by re-design of the 24