Monday 17 October 2016

Birdcage Walk

At the start of all this, that was the name that Aggregate Industries' experts SLR mistakenly called Birdcage Lane. But maybe they were onto something, because that’s what the Ramblers call the circular walking route, here and here, that incorporates Birdcage Lane; the narrow lane now proposed by AI to access any quarry at Straitgate Farm.

We recently reported that plans for this new site access had made provision for two-way 44-tonne HGVs, but none for pedestrians. This was surprising given the number of footpaths that lead onto this lane; a lane also widely used by cyclists, horse-riders, joggers and dog walkers.

But it’s clear, here and below, that's it not just Ramblers who use Birdcage Lane as part of a circular walk:
This long but pleasant walk initially following Toadpit Lane & Birdcage Lane offers many beautiful views and takes you along the tranquil banks of the Otter. At Birdcage you follow an ancient perhaps pre-Roman track with spectacular views of Hembury Castle .
What a shock walkers on this quiet country lane would get if a 44-tonne aggregates HGV suddenly bore down on them - if there were no pedestrian provision. Really, what was AI thinking?

Because, as LafargeHolcim say themselves, in two simple words: Pedestrians First.

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