Category: Channels Development

51 Bus Service Update

Last month, Melanie Williamson (Channels Resident & Parish Councillor for Little Waltham) attended a transport planning meeting arranged by Essex County Council. First Bus advised that the frequency of the 51 Bus Service would decrease at certain times and whilst the overall average and mean times for the service over the six days that it runs would remain at 30 minutes, some buses would only run up to every 40 minutes.

Unfortunately the amended frequency and timing impacted the busy period between 5pm & 7pm which would not have been helpful for either those that work in Chelmsford or those that commute as buses did not align with the arrival of trains.

As previously reported this issue was raised by Melanie Williamson at the Little Waltham Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 4th June with the result that both County Councillor John Aldridge and the Parish Council agreed to support residents in lobbying for the timetable to be re-considered.

We also wrote directly to Channels Omnibus Ltd, which is the organisation originally commissioned by developers to procure the 51 Bus Service, on behalf of residents noting concerns raised as a result of the the proposed timetable being shared.

A response has been received from Channels Omnibus Ltd as follows:

“…I am very pleased to report that they (First Bus) have both revisited and revised the timetable for the Channels Bus Service (Number 51) to address the concerns that you raise. They will be adding two additional buses from the Bus Station to Channels (at 18:00 and at 18:40) which means that a 20 minute service will be provided between 17:40 and 19:00. I attach a copy of the revised timetable for your reference and distribution. These changes to the timetable will take effect from Monday, 2 September 2019.”

On the assumption that reliability continues to improve, and is maintained, this should provide a robust and regular bus service to Channels residents which addresses the general concerns in relation to frequency and timing at key periods during the day.

To conclude, the originally amended timetable will still take effect on Monday 1st July and the new timetable with increased frequency at the peak evening time will take effect from Monday 2nd September.

Timetable wef Monday 1st July
Timetable wef Monday 2nd September

If you do encounter problems with the bus service (i.e. if it does not turn up or is more than 10 minutes late), don’t forget to log them so that we can provide feedback to the appropriate stakeholders.

All in all this is excellent news. There has been a significant improvement in the reliability of the bus service over recent months due to the persistence of the Community Group and the revised timetable shows that we do have a voice as residents as well support of key stakeholders. 🙂

Andrew Wright
Channels Residents Community Group

New Managing Agent

Please find some important information in relation to the procurement of a new managing agent to replace DJC.

Although all residents will receive this information formally from RMC Directors, as the partnership with DJC has just over one month left to run it was felt that residents should know the position at the earliest opportunity.

Brassie Wood Road Surfacing

Please be advised that Bellway have programmed in remedial works along Brassie Wood in anticipation of the Bus Route change at the end of June. The programme is as follows:-

Current Work
Raising iron works to both areas highlighted on diagram below.

Thursday 13th June
The shaded area in yellow/orange to have 40-60mm of the current surface (binder) planed off and replaced in accordance with Highways Essex instruction. There will be disruption on Brassie Wood from Plots 159 to Plot 169 on this day. Chris (Site Manager) will contact clients individually that live along this part of the road.

Friday 14th June & Monday 17th June
Remedial works to kerbs and preparation for surface/topping layer.

Thursday 20th June
The whole area highlighted will receive the finishing surface coat inclusive of a patch near the temporary bus stop. Again there will be disruption on this day whilst surface works are carried out. Chris will contact the clients individually who are directly affected by this.

Update 19/06/19:
Due to a problem with the facility that manufactures the tarmac, the works will now be completed on Friday 21st June. All affected clients have been contacted by Chris however please be aware that there will be disruption along the entire stretch of road for a further day.

Parking Issues & Covenants

Dear Residents,

Further to the on-going debate about commercial vehicles, parking, restrictive covenants and the enforcement of them, it is important to note that the Community Group Committee has no power or mandate to make any decisions in this regard and it is our Resident Management Company Directors that would need to consider and determine what, if any, action should be taken.

The Community Group has however attempted to engage with the incumbent managing agent to assist in finding solutions to some of the parking concerns that have been raised by residents over recent months. This has largely been where cars and vans have been parked in locations that are unsafe or that potentially block access to emergency vehicles (which has happened on one occasion).

Unfortunately DJC were not prepared to assist given the emotions that often accompany parking concerns and as such the Community Group will look to work alongside the RMC with the new managing agent, once appointed, to consider ways of dealing with issues that cause concern for residents.

One of the proposed approaches is to hold regular ‘town hall’ style meetings which residents can attend and air views on key topics that affect the development so that we can collectively, as a community, determine the best way to deal with any problems that arise, parking or otherwise.

It is important to note that there are indeed a number of restrictive covenants that residents signed up to as part of their property purchase which are legally binding and which all residents are obligated to comply with. The new managing agent will also be asked to assist the RMC in determining the extent to which the covenants should be policed, including the need to provide more clarity in relation to the wording of them. For reference, the covenants can be found here.

Ultimately there is a need to ensure that the community as a whole is happy and the covenants need to work for us, not against us! 🙂

Community & Parish Updates

There was a further Little Waltham Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 4th June and a number of issues were discussed that impact on the Channels Development. You will note from the updates below that the Parish Council, together with City & County Councillors, are all very supportive of residents on the Channels Development and the Community Group has forged good relationships with each of them to ensure continued engagement.

Planning Applications
The Parish Council will formally submit an objection to application 19/00581/REM which proposes the construction of 300 new dwellings in the area on the other side of the bridle path (Zones K and L). This is on the grounds that the design of the dwellings are not in keeping with the surrounding area and more importantly that there is insufficient infrastructure in place to support them, including the lack of a crossing at the bottom of the bridle path on Essex Regiment Way.

Bus Service (51)
The Parish Clerk and Parish Councillor Melanie Williamson attended a transport stakeholder meeting on 4th June and it transpired that First Bus have amended timetables (by increasing the gap between buses) to ensure buses run on time. First Bus indicated that once the new route begins to include the parts of the wider development on the other side of the Radial Distributor Road, the time between the 51 services will increase with the service only running every 40/45 minutes (assuming it’s on time!) rather than the 30 minutes as originally planned, even at peak times.

This is considered unacceptable and County Councillor John Aldridge confirmed to the Parish Council that he would take up this issue on behalf of residents. The Community Group will also write to Councillor John Aldridge on behalf of residents and will again make contact with the organisation (Transport Planning Associates) that was initially secured to arrange the contract with First Bus as we believe that developers have provided funding to deliver a bus service every 30 minutes.

Crossing for Essex Regiment Way
The Parish Council confirmed that it would formally support Councillor John Aldridge in continuing to lobby for a crossing at the bottom of the bridle path to enable safe passage across Essex Regiment Way. Councillor Aldridge believes that residents are essentially ‘land locked’ and does not accept that there are any valid reasons as to why a crossing cannot be installed immediately, even if it is not in line with the planned trajectory for the work taking place. The Community Group will additionally write to Councillor Aldridge on behalf of residents noting the same concerns.

Highways Adoption for Phase 1/2
Residents will no doubt be aware of the poor state of the roads on the Bellway phase of the development. Many of the roads are only a few months old and yet look more like they have been in place for many years. There are sunken drains, sunken paving, damaged and poorly laid paving, pooling of water, weed growth and general poor workmanship. The Community Group has been pushing Bellway in recent months about this and yet we have only received high level generic updates and no evidence of any tangible corrective action.

As a result contact has been made with City Councillor Barry Knight who has raised the issue on our behalf and he formally advised the Parish Council that he will be supporting residents in ensuring the problems are resolved. Key stakeholders within the City Council (Planning) and County Council (Highways) are aware and are currently investigating.

Running & Riding!

As the community expands, and as people may be new to the area, I have set up two Facebook Groups and two Strava Clubs (one each for running and cycling) to facilitate the sharing of information.

This might simply be sharing favourite running or cycling routes or perhaps warning others when there are road closures, when the dreaded surface dressing is being undertaken on roads or where there are other issues on paths/bridleways etc. Of course, feel free to use the groups to discuss anything running or cycling related!

For Runners:
Facebook Group ¦ Strava Club

For Riders:
Facebook Group ¦ Strava Club

I am a triathlete so I do a fair bit of running & cycling so I will certainly be sharing some favourite routes. As the area around us develops, there are also some great combinations of running/walking routes appearing so be sure to share your favourites & experiences!

If you have never heard of Strava, you can find out all about it here!

Andrew Wright

Community News

Parish Council Update
There is some more good news in that a further two residents, Chloe Tron & Michael Eve, have been co-opted onto Little Waltham Parish Council (following a formal application process). Together with Melanie Williamson, we now have three residents involved which will help give us a voice in what happens locally in what is a rapidly growing Parish.

We are still waiting for the outcome of our petition to amend parish boundaries so that the Bellway estate forms part of the Little Waltham Parish along with the rest of the wider Channels development. The City Council has been busy over the last couple of months preparing for both the City Council elections and the European Elections however we are due to receive an update imminently.

Site Wide Update
The village green area adjacent to the Channels complex will soon be ready for use by residents and as soon as confirmation is received, a notice will be posted on the website.

The landowner, land agent, developer and design company also met at the end of last week to discuss the construction plans for the public open spaces and information is awaited as to which areas will be made available for residents to access over the next few months. Again as soon as confirmation is received, the areas that can be used will be posted on the website.

Phase 1/2 Update
Bellway have advised that they will be leaving the site within the next month, although it may not be until the end of June. The central green open space between Eagle Rise & Aqua Verde will be landscaped and the nursery site will be prepared although as yet it is not clear how this will be left. There are still multiple highway snagging issues which need to be addressed and which are a cause for concern. These issues have been raised with both Bellway and local councillors.

Summer Community Event!
Following the success of the Christmas event (if a little damp), it has been suggested that residents get together and organise a summer event including a fete and if possible an open air cinema. The owners of the Channels complex are very keen to work with the community on this project and the new village green area will be an ideal location.

If you want to get involved in planning and running the event, click here!

Phase 4/Marden Homes Development

We have received confirmation that Marden Homes will begin construction of ‘Phase 4’ around the large lake to the side of Channels Drive in June 2019. You may have noticed that hoarding has been erected and that some ground preparation has already started to take place.

For reference, the approved ‘Construction Method Statement’ can be found here and the Construction Management Plan/Site map (also contained within the full document) is shown below:

There is clearly going to be an increase of heavy plant and contractor traffic along Channels Drive and the time-frame for completion is likely to be circa 18-24 months. If there issues that adversely impact on Bellway residents arising from the construction work, this can be fed back to Marden via site wide meetings that take place on a regular basis.

If you do need to report an issue, please do so using the Log A Concern form via this website.

Planning Applications

Please find details & links below of 3 recent planning applications that residents may wish to view and comment on:

The details can be found here and comments need to be submitted no later than 25th May 2019.

The details can be found here and comments need to be submitted no later than 28th May 2019.

The details can be found here and comments need to be submitted no later than 29th May 2019.

Fire Safety Concerns

For reference purposes, please see a response from Bellway Head Office in response to questions raised following the recent BBC investigation:

I write to acknowledge receipt of your message, highlighting your concerns with the content of recent media articles relating to firestopping and cavity barriers on a Bellway Homes development in Scotland.

West Lothian Development
Bellway can confirm that the properties in question have now been the subject of inspections carried out by an independent Chartered Fire Engineer. While we will not have the full report from this inspection until sometime in the next week, we have been advised that the minor gaps between the cavity barriers and firestops reported by the BBC will not affect the statutory time required for safe evacuation of the building, should a fire break out in any of the internal compartments of the home. There are no materials or components in the wall cavity capable of igniting a fire in the cavity in any of our homes and the cavity barriers and firestopping in this area are designed to impede the spread of smoke and flames through the separated compartments of the wall cavity.

The specific development in question has been constructed using materials and details which are completely different from those used in most of the homes constructed by Bellway in England and Wales.

Your Home
The structural element of your home is constructed using masonry blocks or a similar inert material. This construction method does not require the compartmentalisation of the cavity required in the homes in question in Scotland and for this reason we are able to reassure you that your home is not affected by this issue.

Should you be unaware of the nature of the construction of your new home, please consult the documentation provided at handover or alternatively, contact your divisional customer care team for clarification.

We understand that these news articles are highly alarming for all residents of new homes and I hope that the above statement has allayed any fears you may have over the safety and construction of your Bellway home.

Yours sincerely

John Enright
Group Head of Customer Care
0191 217 0717
firesafetyhelpline@bellway.co.uk

Bellway Homes Limited (Head Office)
Seaton Burn House
Dudley Lane
Seaton Burn
Newcastle upon Tyne

NE13 6BE
http://www.bellway.co.uk