Posted by Stella Gooch
Photo by Maria Fountain
In Summer 2011, following a meeting with Sally Bettinson of Norfolk County Council, the area from the corner of Bank Road along past Shepherds Port Farmhouse to the corner opposite Snettisham Caravan Park was identified as being extremely dangerous for pedestrians going from The Fish and Chip Shop and other caravan sites to the shop/beach. History has shown that traffic comes speeding down the hill and round a blind bend and this situation obviously posed a danger to pedestrians.
In light of this, it was agreed with Sally Bettinson that if an amount of money could be raised locally then Norfolk County Council would match it in order to create a “trod” for pedestrians. (NB: A Trod is a loose stone footway, tampered down.) Lilian Richardson in co-operation with a group of other public spirited locals began to raise the necessary money. At the same time a group of local volunteers including Maria, Eddie, Jane, Ian, Roger and Lilian set about removing some conifer trees that were in the way and clearing away some brambles in order to create as much room as possible for the Trod to fit in.
In December 2011, with the help of NCC Highways, the Trod was completed. The working party were very pleased with the final result and feel that walking along this section of Beach Road is now considerably safer for pedestrians. The new posts in place all along the Trod makes pedestrians feel safer as they walk. The final result also looks much more appealing to the eye and greatly improves the appearance of the area.
Lilian Richardson and her volunteers would like to thank everyone from the beach area, who voluntarily helped with their time and fundraising in order to achieve such a successful outcome which would never have been possible without it. Lilian and her team were particularly grateful Wendty for getting out and about shaking her collection tin and to Sally Bettinson at NCC Highways and ‘spanner and his mate’ for doing a great job.
Following on from their success with the Trod, there are now plans to begin work on a second Trod in 2012 from Diglea Caravan Park entrance along towards Beach Park. This area has many people in summer walking from the caravan site to and from the beach and it is difficult to get off the road away from the traffic, as the bank is very narrow at this point and slopes away down the drainage ditch. The volunteers would like to pipe this section of ditch, and fill in, then put a Trod in place. This will be slightly further away from the busy road and much safer.
Funding for the second Trod is being applied for, but this needs to be matched with a fundraising effort even if funds are forthcoming from the local authority. The group expect to hear if their bid for Council funding is successful in March. So once again, Lilian and her hardy volunteers will be raising money again this summer, so if you would like to donate they would be happy to put your money to good use on this worthwhile project.
Lilian and the volunteers are all looking forward to hopefully a warm busy safer summer here at Snettisham Beach.
