Interview: Hidden voices - Drove Road

Back in December at the big Village meeting, it was claimed that residents in the unmade section of Drove Road would be “grateful” if it were to be tarmacked over. chilbolton.news went to find out.

Sitting at a family dining table, people who live next to the bridleway explained how they had felt when they first heard of the Parish Council’s plans.

“I was cross. There was no consultation, and to find out with no warning, well it was very upsetting”. said one.

“They actually said that village residents wouldn’t need to worry about traffic through the village, because it would be routed from Martins Lane down Drove Road. Well these residents are worried” said another.

But wouldn’t they benefit from the road being properly made at no expense to themselves? The answer was a resounding “No!”.

“I don’t want to live on a route in and out of Chilbolton”.

“We specifically moved here to not have a road in front of us. Not having the sound of traffic going past is an important part of living here”.

And what about not having a bumpy, pitted road, but a smoother surface?

“We’ve got a WhatsApp group and every so often we work together, get some materials and fill in the holes”.

In fact, residents we spoke to believe they have a legal obligation for half of the track, with the observatory being responsible for the other half. One resident said “All of us who have bought properties here knew what we were buying into”. Another added “It’s a bridleway, and we’ve got access rights over it”.

Several people pointed out how the track benefits the whole community. We were told “It is a safe space. It is regularly used by dog walkers, people with children in buggies, older people and cyclists - young and old”

One resident said “Bridleways are few and far between. We are very lucky to have bridleways in the village which link up and provide a safe and enjoyable experience”.

She said “I’m old, and my daughter is deaf. We both ride horses, so we need a safe place to do that. It’s why we moved here”. She pointed out that there are stables on the bridleway where villagers keep their horses and ride out from there.

Everybody we spoke to expressed their fears over heavy construction vehicles moving up and down the track, and there was no indication of how many vehicle movements there would be. With the track as it is, noise and dust would be a problem. With a smooth surface, speeding trucks would be “an accident waiting to happen”.

“We’ve already asked for the 20mph limit to be extended up here, but nothing has happened.”

One person related what had happened when the road to the Observatory was surfaced: “It was done with no consent from anybody here. As soon as the road was smooth, the traffic became much faster. Too fast”.

Beyond construction vehicles, if the road were tarmacked, several people mentioned how it would become a rat run, with residents in the west of the village making their way to and from the A30.

Although the residents were upset, they were also stoic. We were told “The costs will be too high. You’d have to change its status and adopt it as a road, then improve the surface and put in drainage. It’s too expensive and we hope it will never happen”.

One thing was certain, the people we spoke to are not “a couple of busy bodies”. They are united and determined.