Conservation

The Current Situation- June 2007

There is a conservation area throughout the old central core of the village. There are details about this within our planing and development focus group area. There is a conservation group within the village which is currently suspended due to lack of support.

CLOPHILL CONSERVATION GROUP by Rosemary Ilet CCG performs a “Watch Dog” roll in planning matters concerning properties within the Conservation Area of the village. MBDC forward us copies of all planning applications relating to properties within the Conservation Area, whereupon group members consider said application and also canvas the opinion of residents living nearby, then forward their comments to the Planning Authorities. Public footpaths are carefully monitored and if found to be overgrown or inaccessible for any reason, we ask MBDC to investigate.

For conservation area details contact the Development Plan Team for Mid Beds District Council, Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Bedfordshire, SG17 5TQ tel 08452304040 or email LDF@midbeds.gov.uk or look at their website: www.midbeds.gov.uk

click here to view clophill map

Footpaths

General maintenance of Public Rights of Way

Clophill has 8,915m of Public rights of Way that are maintained by the County Council. Maintenance ranges from grass cutting and vegetation clearance to full resurfacing of the paths as well as construction of bridges and culverts. The replacement of two large bridges over the River Flit in Clophill. Following on from a Highway Engineer report done on two footbridges crossing the River Flit, works were undertaken in 2006 to replace them. The bridges were in such an unsafe state, the engineer refused to leave site until the footpath had been closed off. The dismantling of the bridges on public footpath no. a3 (a well used route running from Clophill High Street past the remains of Cainhoe Castle to the A507) revealed their age, as 1935 was found cast into one of the concrete deck slabs. The replacement of the bridges was made possible due to us securing additional Local Transport Plan funding specific to bridges. This new funding will allow the Rights of Way Team to carry out repair and maintenance on major bridges identified in the initial bridge inspection programme and to institute a regular programme of bridge inspections over the next 5 years.

The old 1935 bridge was slowly dismantled. The new bridge has a non-slip surface. Plan for the future Works have been identified to improve the surface of public footpath no.4 from the High Street to the playing field on Kiln Lane. This will include laying topsoil over the existing surface and grass seeding to protect the rural nature of the path. Works are also planned to either re-open the correct route of public footpath no. 2 across the former quarry site next to the A6 or legally divert it to the current used route. This path was the subject of a temporary closure to allow the quarry to be worked, which subsequently expired in 1996. For reasons unknown the legal route was never reinstated but the alternative route was maintained. Useful Links

www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/EnvironmentAndPlanning/RightsOfWay

http://www.iprow.co.uk/http://www.letsgo.org.uk/

http://www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk/www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/issues/public/index