Worcestervista

Proposed North West Orbital Road and Its effect on Lower Broadheath 2006.

Lower Broadheath Parish Council has just informed the villagers with a newsletter and attached map.

There are outline proposals for a new road to the North West of Worcester; this will link the Roundabout to the west of St. Johns at Dines Green to the Claines junction at the Northern Link. This will complete the Worcester ring road.
Two routes are to be considered one will take a line closer to Worcester and another will be closer to Lower Broadheath and cutting through Hallow.
Both proposals entail constructing a new bridge, the inner route crossing near Hallow Park and outer crossing near Bevere.
This Orbital route will enable expansion of Worcester beyond its current boundaries and could possibly provide up to 10,000 new homes with Schools, Medical facilities and shops.
As far as Lower Broadheath is concerned the outer route would be the most intrusive and would definitely threaten village identity; Lower Broadheath would become just another suburb of Worcester.
The huge building development would cause disruption on a massive scale and would decimate the rural aspect. Our village community would be destroyed and could possibly be overwhelmed with undesirable elements.
The considerable amount of traffic that passes through Lower Broadheath at the moment is intrusive, making an urgent need for this road but full account must be taken of the residents views that would be affected by the outer route.
Residents in the Crown East and Lower Broadheath Common area would be likely to benefit, with less traffic passing their houses but homes in The Knoll, Lovington, Hallow and Peachley area would see a reduction in their quality of life as the outer route would pass close to this area. Residents living in this area would see a massive increase in traffic from the outer route, and the price of houses will plummet.
New houses would be built as near to the village as Lovington Lane. This would put pressure on our local community to become part of Worcester.
These proposals are not expected to materialise until 2011 at the earliest and probably will not happen until 2026

A series of village walks reconnoitered by a member of the parish council.

Walk 1 an easy walk of 2 miles.
From the Post Office walk down Bell Lane and turn right into Partridge Lane.  At the end of Partridge Lane turn left onto the footpath with hedge on the right.  Continue over a stile into the first field.  Walk through the kissing gate into the next field keeping the hedge on your right.  On reaching the stile on the right, and cross, (Stile is usually muddy and sometimes flooded, wear suitable footwear)  and follow the footpath keeping the hedge on your right.  Continue across three fields and then across a double stile and bridge into the next field and pass through metal gate.  Continue diagonally across the field to stile (use green barn for position of stile).  Cross stile and turn right into Frenchlands Lane.  Walk up Frenchlands Lane to junction with Martley Road.  Turn right into Martley Road and walk back past the School and the Church on the left until you reach the Post Office. .

Walk 2 a fairly easy walk of 2 miles

From the Post Office and Shop walk up track alongside it.  Enter allotments and follow track with hedge on right past the Scout Hut on left.  Pass through kissing gate into field.  Continue along footpath with hedge on right to end of field.  Cross stile on right into field and continue along path with hedge on left.  Cross the stile into Lovington Lane.  Turn left and follow lane past Lovington Lodge on left and after approximately 100 yards cross stile on right (Stile is now demolished) onto footpath.  Continue along footpath with hedge on right and fence on left.  Footpath descends down steep slope to small stream at bottom. (Footpath is sometimes overgrown, be prepared for brambles).   Cross small bridge and follow footpath up middle of field until you see Eastbury Manor on the left.  Continue along footpath with hedge on left past equestrian centre and onto surfaced driveway.  At the T junction turn right and follow driveway to left hand sharp bend.  At this point leave driveway and carry straight on across the field following the bridlepath.  Continue along bridlepath until you reach gate onto Lovington Lane.  Cross lane and go through gate opposite.  Follow footpath/bridleway keeping hedge on left until you reach another gate.  Pass through the gate and walk down to Martley Road.  Turn right at Martley Road and walk past Heath Nurseries on right and continue until you reach the Post Office.

Walk 3 a fairly easy walk of 1.5 miles.

From the Plough Inn turn left along Crown East Lane (with pub at your back).  After about 50 yards turn left onto bridleway with Elgar’s Birthplace on you right and the Elgar Museum on your left.  Continue along bridleway down hill into valley and then up hill.  Ahead you will see a large green barn in front of you and a gate right on to a driveway.  Shortly before the green barn turn left onto a footpath which drops down towards a series of fishing pools. Cross over stile and follow the footpath to left, over a plank bridge and left again continue along bottom of valley adjacent to a small stream. Continue along footpath and a hedge now next to the footpath on your right.  You will pass a Severn Trent sewage pumping station on your left. (sometimes very wet at this point, wear suitable footwear), The footpath then becomes a stoned track.  Pass through kissing gate onto Sling Lane which is still a stoned lane.  You will pass houses and bungalows on both sides of the lane.  In approximately 100 yards the lane turns right and it is a surfaced road.  At this point take the surfaced drive to the left and walk along this keeping the hedge on your left.  This soon becomes a footpath around the perimeter of the Common.  Continue walking along the edge of the Common until you reach Crown East Lane on the southern edge of the Common.  Turn left and walk back to the Plough Inn.

Walk 4 an easy walk of 1.25 miles

From the Plough Inn turn right along Crown East Lane (with the pub at your back).  Continue along the lane until you reach the Common your right.   Walk onto the Common and follow the footpath diagonally across the Common keeping the football pitches on your right.  On meeting Bell Lane cross over the road.  Follow footpath sign and walk up track with house on the right (Orotava) and across small paddock until reaching Little Common.  Turn right onto driveway.  The drive becomes a grass path after passing the white coloured house on your left.  Proceed through metal gate and turn right through yard and onto Grange Lane.  Continue along lane with pony paddocks on both sides until meeting Bell Lane.  Cross lane and onto the Common turning diagonally right past cottage and across football pitches until reaching southern end of the Common and Crown East Lane.  Turn left into Crown East Lane and walk back to the Plough Inn.

Walk 5 an easy walk of 1.5 miles.

From Post Office and Shop walk down Bell Lane.  Just before reaching the Dew Drop Inn on your right, take the footpath sign leading left between house and bungalow.  Continue to end of driveway and pass through kissing gate into paddock.  Continue along footpath keeping hedge on your left until reaching a further stile and footbridge.  Cross footbridge and pass through kissing gate.  Continue along footpath keeping hedge on your left.  Ignore the first stile and continue to wood which you will see on your left.  Turn left here and cross a plank bridge.  Continue along footpath keeping wood on your right.  You will arrive at an opening with a derelict building on your left. (the correct route has been blocked for many years). Turn right through the gate and follow the track down to Martley Road.  Cross over road and follow bridlepath sign ahead of you.  Pass through gate on your right into field and then diagonally down hill across the field to a stile.(not dog friendly)  Cross the stile and walk directly ahead of you up the field to the hedge.  At the hedge turn left with the hedge on your right and continue around edge of field until you reach a stile.  Cross the stile and turn left with the hedge on your left.  Continue along footpath and through kissing gate into allotments.  Proceed along path and track with Scout Hut on your right until you reach gate.  Pass through gate and continue along track for a few yards before arriving back at the Post Office

Walk 6 a more difficult 2.25 mile walk.

From the Post Office walk along Martley Road towards the Church (turn right with back to Post Office) until you reach Hallow Lane. Opposite road junction, cross over Martley Road and pass left through kissing gate into field.  Follow footpath across the field until you reach a stile at the end of Partridge Lane.  Carry on ahead along footpath, past house on the left and keeping the hedge on your right, over stile into first field and through kissing gate into second field.  Continue along footpath until second kissing gate is reached.  Pass through kissing gate, (tends to flood badly at this point wear suitable footwear) and continue along path keeping cottage on your right.  The footpath becomes narrow at this point but continue along this and you will see the Dew Drop Inn on your left and you will soon arrive at Bell Lane.  Turn right keeping Bell Lane to your left and after about 50yrds take the footpath to your right between Southbury and Greencroft.  Continue along this footpath until you arrive at a metal field gate.  Pass through the gate into the field and continue along the path keeping the hedge on your left.  You will then meet another path on your right.  At this junction turn left and head across the field towards the farm buildings ahead of you (it may be difficult to see the footpath at certain times of the year so please try to avoid causing any damage to crops) and pass through the metal gate.  The footpath then leads up between the buildings.  Turn left just after the barn conversions and head back along the drive onto Grange Lane.  There are pony paddocks on both sides of the lane.  You will then join Bell Lane.  Turn left into Bell Lane and walk back (towards the Bell with the Common on your right),  arriving back at the Post Office.

Walk 7 fairly easy walk of 1.5 miles.

From the Post Office and Shop walk along the track alongside leading to the allotments. Enter the allotments through the gate and continue along the track keeping the hedge to your right and Scout Hut on your left. The track soon becomes a path. Proceed through the kissing gate into the field. Walk along the footpath with hedge on your right to the end of the field. Turn left and follow the footpath down a slight slope with hedge on your right. Pass the gate and you will arrive at a stile on your right. Cross the stile and walk diagonally left to a small pond and gate. Pass through the gate and cross the field diagonally to your right (you will see a large Georgian House and bungalow in the distance on your left). The footpath leads to a metal field gate onto Hallow Lane. Cross over Hallow Lane and enter the field next to the bungalow on your left Continue along the footpath keeping the hedge on your left and you will arrive at a ditch and stile/gate (this area can be very boggy). On entering this field cross the field diagonally to your right and you will arrive at a kissing gate in the hedge. After passing through the gate you will see a further field (often with horses). Turn immediately left keeping the hedge on your left and you will come to a gateway onto Peachley Lane. Turn left into Peachley Lane and continue up lane past Little Peachley and the barn conversions and you will soon reach Church Lane. Turn left into Church Lane and continue past the Village Hall, the Church and School. Turn right on to Martley Road and walk back to the Post Office.

Walk 8 a more difficult walk of 3 miles.

From the Dew Drop Inn, Bell Lane walk towards the Common.  Turn left into Sling Lane and continue walking along this road with the houses on your left.  At the end of the surfaced road continue left along the stoned part of Sling Lane until arriving at the kissing gate.  Pass through the gate and continue walking along the track past the Severn Trent sewage pumping station on your right.  The track then becomes an unsurfaced path.  Continue along the path until you see the fishing pools ahead of you.  Follow the signs carefully and continue to walk ahead but keeping the pools on your left.  The footpath is well signed.  Follow the signs past all of the pools and you will eventually see a stile on your right which again is well marked.  This takes you along a narrow footpath and joins a surfaced drive just short of Oldbury Road.  Turn left along the drive and you will see a collection of houses and farm buildings ahead of you.  Keeping the larger dormer bungalow to the left proceed along the drive and follow the footpath sign to the right   behind the farm buildings. Continue past the buildings until reaching a drive to two houses on your right. At this point proceed through the gate into field on your left   Ahead of you you will now see Temple Laugherne House and the Bakery Factories.  Follow the footpath towards these buildings and they will soon reached on your right hand side.  Immediately after the factories you will arrive at a surfaced track.  Turn right at this point and then almost immediately left (past a concrete building also on your left).  Cross the stile into the field and walk along the path keeping the hedge on your right.  Continue along the path ignoring the two footpaths you will see leading to the right.  Upon reaching the kissing gate ahead of you pass through the gate and over the plank bridge and stile.  You will now enter a pony paddock.  Continue along the path keeping the hedge on your right.  You will arrive at another kissing gate adjacent to a house.  Walk through the gate and continue down the surfaced drive towards Bell Lane.  Turn left into Bell Lane and you will see the ‘Dew Drop Inn’ on your right hand side.