Farthinghoe Parish Council
The Farthinghoe Traffic Problem
BBC South Today report by Angela Walker, 6th June 2018:
BBC South Today report on the Farthinghoe Traffic Problem.
Due to the continuous growth of surrounding towns such as Brackley and Banbury, Farthinghoe village has been hugely impacted by the associated increase in traffic passing through the village.
The main road through Farthinghoe is the A422. The A422 is a major trunck road connecting Northampton at J15A of the M1 as well as Milton Keynes with Banbury at J11 of the M40.
Farthinghoe is desperately in need of a bypass given it is now the only village between Banbury and Northampton/Milton Keynes that has not been been bypassed.
The road through Farthinghoe Village becomes particularly narrow at the junction of Baker Street where there is a very sharp bend. Due to the sharp, narrow bend it is not possible for two HGV's to pass each other.
This has resulted in several collisions between HGV's as well as damage to walls and telegraph poles that have been struck by HGV's.
As such the A422 through Farthinghoe is entirely unsuitable for HGV's and is putting the lives of residents at risk due to the risk of being struck on the pavements by HGV's that are too wide for the road.
Traffic Statistics
Many surveys have been undertaken in the village to ascertain the volume of traffic passing through Farthinghoe Village.
7th August 2014 Survey (Summer Holidays)
The survey was carried out at the request of South Northants Council over a 6 day period (24 hours per day). The survery recorder:
Total Vehicles: 50,527
Average/Day: 8,376
The above figures would suggest that in excess of 3,000,000 vehicles pass through our tiny village of 400 residents every year!
8th October 2014 Survey
The survey was carried out via a sensor between 7am and 7pm. The survey recorder:
Total Vehicles: 9,956
Of which HGV's: 1,274
The above figures recorded on a typical working day would suggest that the annual vehicle movements could be well in excess of 4,000,000 per annum of which circa 500,000 are HGV's.
The above figures are extremely scary for such a small village with a totally inadequate road to cope with the volume and size of traffic attempting to use it. Furthermore the significant inflow of new business coupled with extensive house building will only increase the traffic issues moving forward.
Farthinghoe Parish Council continues to work with Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Highways and our County Councillor Ron Sawbridge to push for a bypass for Farthinghoe. Indeed Northamptonsire County Council has now obtained funding to look again at options for a Farthinghoe Bypass as well as investigating the associated cost.
Accidents
Farthinghoe Parish Council is also extremely concerned about the number of accidents both minor and serious occurring around the village and in particular at Glebe Farm on the A422 between Farthinghoe and Brackley. This is being investigated by Northamptonshire Highways and new barriers are being designed in an attempt to protect drivers.