Traffic calming measures needed for homes plan on farm paddock

PLANS TO put new homes on a farm paddock in a Barnsley village would need a 30mph zone extending and other traffic calming measures such as ‘dragon’s teeth’ installing to stop vehicles speeding, councillors have been told.

The application at Glebe Farm in Silkstone is being recommended for approval by Barnsley Council at a meeting next Tuesday.

It is in outline form, meaning details of how many new homes would be created along with the layout of the site, would be decided later.

It attracted several objections, including concerns raised by Coun Robert Barnard, who has asked for the application to go before the planning board.

Access to the site would use an existing gate off Barnsley Road, but that is opposite the Pot House Hamlet, a successful shopping outlet, and close to a speed limit change to 30mph from the national limit.

Highways officials regard the use of the access as acceptable but say there would need to be a new traffic regulation order imposed to allow traffic calming which they say would “prevent” speeding at that location.

These include the installation of ‘dragon’s teeth’, triangular road markings which are used to warn drivers of a forthcoming hazard, as well as extending the 30mph zone.

Silkstone Parish Council has also raised concerns about the impact of development on the Silkstone Waggonway, a historic track which once carried an early form of railway for transport from mine workings in the area, which runs alongside the site.

However, Barnsley Council believe that track would act as a boundary to the site, which they say is suitable for housing.