Traffic issues in and around the area have been raised repeatedly to the NCCA.
In an effort to be positive and proactive we're asking residents to email us with specific issues they've encountered, so that we can preserve a log here on this page.
It's our hope that having a centralised documented list of issues will be beneficial, helping us move forwards working with the local council and police in an effort to try and resolve some of the problems people have encountered.
Please email newmillerdam.info@gmail.com
Specify your name and address, your concern or suggestion, and confirm that you're happy to have your comments and details displayed here.
We've already negotiated for speed checks to begin taking place in our area. With your help and suggestions, we can try and do more to help make Newmillerdam safer for both pedestrians and motorists.
In an effort to be positive and proactive we're asking residents to email us with specific issues they've encountered, so that we can preserve a log here on this page.
It's our hope that having a centralised documented list of issues will be beneficial, helping us move forwards working with the local council and police in an effort to try and resolve some of the problems people have encountered.
Please email newmillerdam.info@gmail.com
Specify your name and address, your concern or suggestion, and confirm that you're happy to have your comments and details displayed here.
We've already negotiated for speed checks to begin taking place in our area. With your help and suggestions, we can try and do more to help make Newmillerdam safer for both pedestrians and motorists.
04.06.18: Wendy Anderson. Lake View.
My name is Wendy and I live in Lake View. Having been a resident of Newmillerdam since 2003 the speeding traffic through the village has been an obvious and persistent problem all through that time, and undoubtedly before. I now contact you as I have looked at the NCCA website for the first time following the recent newsletter (please excuse my not doing so before), and see that you are active in trying to find some resolutions to this historical problem.
This has prompted me to contact you regarding an incident I witnessed nearly 12 months ago, to inform you of what happened, that is if you are not already aware:
On Sunday morning 18/06/17 one of my dogs woke me as she needed to go to the toilet. It was around 4.30am. I got up and let her into my side garden from which I have a view of the junction of School Hill/Barnsley road. After a short time I heard the very loud noise of a car speeding down Barnsley Road and I looked up to see a red car whiz past at very high speed indeed. A split second later I heard a very loud crash and then silence. I immediately realised that the vehicle must have crashed – at this point my view is obscured by the flats opposite my house. My first thought was that it had crashed into the Dam pub.
I took my dog back into the house and looked out of the window to see a black car go slowly in the same direction as the red car had gone, and then the black car appeared again having turned around, and turned into School Hill and then Lake View, and it went and parked up near the flats garages half on the pavement. I got my mobile and went to go out to attend the crashed vehicle, and 2 young men got out of the black car and were walking along Lake View in the direction of Barnsley Road. I therefore changed my mind about going out, and called the Police to report the whole incident (log number 0493). I also recorded the number plate of the black car and later the crashed one, which I still have. I awoke my husband and due to the fact of the second car and the young men we did not go out until the young men had gone not long later. I then went and looked around the corner of the School Hill/Barnsley Road junction and could see the red car had in fact crashed in front of the old Mill building and the Police were in attendance.
When I reported the incident the Police said they would contact me again to follow up but they never did. I also scanned the local press for any reports of the incident but never found anything. The crashed vehicle was removed very quickly, by normal morning hours. However there were EIGHT concrete bollards that sit on the pavement in front of the Mill building that were completely destroyed by the crash – you can now see where they were replaced with new ones – which I think indicate the speed the car must have been doing. I also wonder if the vehicle driver and any other occupants were injured – if not they were very lucky indeed!
I do not wish to speculate as to what was going on with the second vehicle, but I find the whole incident very suspicious. And I also wonder why the incident was never reported. I also looked at the West Yorkshire Police website which stated at the time that speeding in Newmillerdam was a “priority” but I have never seen any active attempts to deal with the problem.
Please fell free to use this information in any attempts to get relevant local authorities to deal with this persistent and potentially dangerous problem.
This has prompted me to contact you regarding an incident I witnessed nearly 12 months ago, to inform you of what happened, that is if you are not already aware:
On Sunday morning 18/06/17 one of my dogs woke me as she needed to go to the toilet. It was around 4.30am. I got up and let her into my side garden from which I have a view of the junction of School Hill/Barnsley road. After a short time I heard the very loud noise of a car speeding down Barnsley Road and I looked up to see a red car whiz past at very high speed indeed. A split second later I heard a very loud crash and then silence. I immediately realised that the vehicle must have crashed – at this point my view is obscured by the flats opposite my house. My first thought was that it had crashed into the Dam pub.
I took my dog back into the house and looked out of the window to see a black car go slowly in the same direction as the red car had gone, and then the black car appeared again having turned around, and turned into School Hill and then Lake View, and it went and parked up near the flats garages half on the pavement. I got my mobile and went to go out to attend the crashed vehicle, and 2 young men got out of the black car and were walking along Lake View in the direction of Barnsley Road. I therefore changed my mind about going out, and called the Police to report the whole incident (log number 0493). I also recorded the number plate of the black car and later the crashed one, which I still have. I awoke my husband and due to the fact of the second car and the young men we did not go out until the young men had gone not long later. I then went and looked around the corner of the School Hill/Barnsley Road junction and could see the red car had in fact crashed in front of the old Mill building and the Police were in attendance.
When I reported the incident the Police said they would contact me again to follow up but they never did. I also scanned the local press for any reports of the incident but never found anything. The crashed vehicle was removed very quickly, by normal morning hours. However there were EIGHT concrete bollards that sit on the pavement in front of the Mill building that were completely destroyed by the crash – you can now see where they were replaced with new ones – which I think indicate the speed the car must have been doing. I also wonder if the vehicle driver and any other occupants were injured – if not they were very lucky indeed!
I do not wish to speculate as to what was going on with the second vehicle, but I find the whole incident very suspicious. And I also wonder why the incident was never reported. I also looked at the West Yorkshire Police website which stated at the time that speeding in Newmillerdam was a “priority” but I have never seen any active attempts to deal with the problem.
Please fell free to use this information in any attempts to get relevant local authorities to deal with this persistent and potentially dangerous problem.
17 10 17: Shaun Booth. Slack Lane.
Please find below a recent correspondence that I sent to wakefield council re slack lane. If there is anything that you can do to help with this ongoing issue it would be greatly appreciated.
Dear Sir/Madam,
With reference to the three previous emails that I have had no reply to that were sent on the 15th of July and the 30th of August;
I would like to enquire if you could assist the residents of Slack Lane, Newmillerdam, in coming to a sound conclusion of the recent problems with parking that now takes place on the lane. The problem is twofold. Firstly, Durkar Devils football club have recently improved their pitches and this has led to increased traffic on the road. Due to this, residents who live near the pitches are sometimes unable to park (anywhere)
on the lane due to the footballers, of which I can provide photographic evidence. Secondly, as Newmillerdam is a popular area, we often get visitors coming and parking up so they can visit the dam and avoid paying a parking fee, again this impacts on both being able to park on the lane and on many occasion even lead
to access problems getting onto slack lane. Slack lane is totally unmarked from double or single yellow lines and the rest of Newmillerdam has permit parking for residents; we seem to be the odd ones out to this end. I have spoken to residents and we would like to raise the possibility of permit parking. We are not opposed to paying for this to happen and would like to explore all options. As you can imagine, this issue is providing a somewhat stressful environment to live in on occasion due to these issues. We have a variety of residents living here, a young mother with children who needs to park to get herself and her children
safely out of her car, elder residents who require ease of access to their houses and shift workers who need to know they can come home and park up, alongside others who just want to be able to go out and come back and be able to park when they come home. Any assistance on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
With reference to the three previous emails that I have had no reply to that were sent on the 15th of July and the 30th of August;
I would like to enquire if you could assist the residents of Slack Lane, Newmillerdam, in coming to a sound conclusion of the recent problems with parking that now takes place on the lane. The problem is twofold. Firstly, Durkar Devils football club have recently improved their pitches and this has led to increased traffic on the road. Due to this, residents who live near the pitches are sometimes unable to park (anywhere)
on the lane due to the footballers, of which I can provide photographic evidence. Secondly, as Newmillerdam is a popular area, we often get visitors coming and parking up so they can visit the dam and avoid paying a parking fee, again this impacts on both being able to park on the lane and on many occasion even lead
to access problems getting onto slack lane. Slack lane is totally unmarked from double or single yellow lines and the rest of Newmillerdam has permit parking for residents; we seem to be the odd ones out to this end. I have spoken to residents and we would like to raise the possibility of permit parking. We are not opposed to paying for this to happen and would like to explore all options. As you can imagine, this issue is providing a somewhat stressful environment to live in on occasion due to these issues. We have a variety of residents living here, a young mother with children who needs to park to get herself and her children
safely out of her car, elder residents who require ease of access to their houses and shift workers who need to know they can come home and park up, alongside others who just want to be able to go out and come back and be able to park when they come home. Any assistance on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Since these emails were sent (that no one replied to), the problem has posed further problems. Last night on return home after work NONE of the residents could park or indeed pass many cars on the way down slack lane. This included, a shift worker for the police, my wife who had our two children in the car ready for bed aged 1 and 3, a shift worker who works in IT and admin, his wife who works in Leeds and London, myself and another neighbour who both work in education and a retired couple. There are just 8 houses that are affected by this and it is now causing a considerable amount of stress and anguish for all concerned. We deserve to return home from work without this - the scenario at times is complete mayhem, not only for us but also for the football club. I also think that this is now becoming an anti-social issue (which I have taken advice from the wakefield council definition of anti social and refer you to the case study on your website about traffic congestion around Pontefract Park) and may also be causing problems with health and safety. We are more than happy to pay for permit parking which I hope would help to rectify this. We also think that there should be more involvement by Wakefield Council and Durkar Devils to solve this issue. As a resident I reiterate previous points I have made to the club that we have no issue with the club and recreational football but it is this issue that needs to be sorted out for well being and safety.
I have copied Councillor Kevin Barker into this email as I have previously had discussion with him about this issue and I’m sure he would like to be kept updated on the scenario.
Yours concerned,
Shaun Booth
I have copied Councillor Kevin Barker into this email as I have previously had discussion with him about this issue and I’m sure he would like to be kept updated on the scenario.
Yours concerned,
Shaun Booth
22 04 17: Lesley Brown. Hill Top Road.
Thank you for the recent copy of the NCCA Newsletter and I agree it would be a good idea to erect some Birdsmouth Fencing near the bus stop.
However, please could I make a request for edging on the hedgerow of School Hill to take priority as I have been asking for this for quite some time to prevent soil from escaping onto the pavement, which is a constant nuisance.
Thanking you.
Regard
Lesley Brown
However, please could I make a request for edging on the hedgerow of School Hill to take priority as I have been asking for this for quite some time to prevent soil from escaping onto the pavement, which is a constant nuisance.
Thanking you.
Regard
Lesley Brown
22 04 17: Jonathan Emmott. Hill Top Road.
A couple of recurring traffic issues on Hill Top Road:
1. Builders parking on double yellow lines causing traffic hold ups, particularly first thing in the morning.
2. Traffic driving along the pavement as the road is a single carriageway and the volume of traffic is too high for such a narrow road. Suggest it should be made a residents access only road or possibly traffic light controlled or rights of priority put in place.
Kind regards
1. Builders parking on double yellow lines causing traffic hold ups, particularly first thing in the morning.
2. Traffic driving along the pavement as the road is a single carriageway and the volume of traffic is too high for such a narrow road. Suggest it should be made a residents access only road or possibly traffic light controlled or rights of priority put in place.
Kind regards
15 04 17: Michael. Crab lane.
Hi
We agree with the above comments regarding the speed and acceleration as traffic travels up the hill on Barnsley Road leaving the village, especially late at night when the noise is very loud from cars leaving the car park.
Living on Crab Lane there are numerous parking issues relating to School Hill, particularly on weekends and bank holidays, these are:
Please note that we are happy to have this added to the Traffic webpage.
Kind regards
Michael
We agree with the above comments regarding the speed and acceleration as traffic travels up the hill on Barnsley Road leaving the village, especially late at night when the noise is very loud from cars leaving the car park.
Living on Crab Lane there are numerous parking issues relating to School Hill, particularly on weekends and bank holidays, these are:
- Non-residents parking their cars on the pavement, meaning that everyone (including wheelchair and pushchair users) has to step/move on to the main road to get past.
- Non-residents parking in the permit holders' bays, taking up places reserved for residents, as well as parking on double yellow lines.
- On numerous occasions blocking off Crab Lane and thus preventing access for residents or emergency vehicles.
- When the drivers are confronted the argument is often that there's nowhere else to park, many times including verbal abuse.
Please note that we are happy to have this added to the Traffic webpage.
Kind regards
Michael
14 04 17: Peter Babbage. Hill Top Road.
I live at Hill top Road and am concerned at the volume and speed of the traffic using this narrow road.
The length of Hill Top Road was recently resurfaced and this has resulted in a huge increase in speeds and volume -better road higher speed.
I have tried over the last 30 years to get the council to install speed humps or traffic calming to no avail. They said they don't work and other residents objected.
I asked why if they don't work are they used in Durkar, Walton, Agbrigg, Hall Green, Lupset etc. etc
I have no faith in the Police to tackle speeding or the council to have any interest at all in this ward.
Good luck with the campaign but I gave up years ago frustrated and bloody annoyed!
The length of Hill Top Road was recently resurfaced and this has resulted in a huge increase in speeds and volume -better road higher speed.
I have tried over the last 30 years to get the council to install speed humps or traffic calming to no avail. They said they don't work and other residents objected.
I asked why if they don't work are they used in Durkar, Walton, Agbrigg, Hall Green, Lupset etc. etc
I have no faith in the Police to tackle speeding or the council to have any interest at all in this ward.
Good luck with the campaign but I gave up years ago frustrated and bloody annoyed!
11 04 17 : Aileen Talbot. Barnsley Road.
Hi,
I have been given a copy of your newsletter as I live on Barnsley Road and have had constant issues with parking.
I have repeatedly informed the Council that cars park in the “permit holders only” zone on Barnsley Road without a permit. Initially I was told that it was not their responsibility and I should contact the Police, who were not remotely interested. I was then informed that the Council would be taking over responsibility for parking from June of 2016, again, they were also not interested. I have been informed that a new system of issuing permits is being discussed, and that residents will be consulted; however, this does not seem to be the case as they have thought up a replacement scheme, which is beyond ridiculous and rather than helping the residents, it actually punishes them by charging them for the privilege of having a piece of paper that says “if you are lucky enough to find a vacant space in a permit holders only zone outside your house, you may park there”. The reality is, regardless of whether you have paid for a permit or not, everyone from the surrounding areas know that you can park in the permit holders only zones, on the grass, on double yellow lines and on pavements as the Council do not do anything about the illegal parking in these zones.
Every Saturday and Sunday, I can guarantee a minimum of 10 vehicles, each day, will park in the zone outside my home without a permit. Sometimes I take a photo and send them to the Council but again, nothing happens. Taking a worst case (or best depending on how you look at it), scenario, if you have 5 illegally parked vehicles (on Barnsley Road alone) Saturday and Sunday, with the parking fine being paid in the 14 day period to reduce it to £30 you are looking at £15,600 minimum revenue generated. How can the Council state that they do not have the resources to fund this, it would be self-funding? Just think how much that would be if you had someone patrolling all the permit holder only zones in Newmillerdam!
I have asked for clarification of the new scheme with regards to how many permits each property will be allocated and have been told that permits will be issued to vehicles rather than properties to stop them being passed from one vehicle to another and that visitor permits will have to be paid for at a cost of £1 per time, therefore, it will cost me an extra £100 per year for my cleaner to carry out her duties. Would it not be better that each property (in the relevant zone) is issued with 2 permits and a visitor permit, does it really matter which vehicle it is attached to, the theory being that a vehicle can only take up one space and use one permit. It all still falls down if it is not administered and monitored correctly and consistently. Why are they wasting so much time and money thinking up another scheme when the existing scheme would work if only they got off their bottoms, came out of their snug offices and did their job by issuing penalties to illegally parked vehicles. Do any of them live in a permit holders only zone?? I guess not.
I don’t mind having to pay for the permit, however, if that is the case, I would want it to be for an allocated space that is outside of my home. What I do not want is to pay for a permit, which I cannot use because the sun is shining and everyone has decided to park on Barnsley Road outside of my home whilst visiting the Dam Inn (other local hostelries are available)!
The next issue I have is, on 23rd December 2016 at 9.45 a.m. I was sat quietly enjoying a cup of coffee whilst reading the paper, when there was an almighty explosion. Once I dashed to the front window to see what it was, it became clear that someone had run into my car. It turned out that the driver, whilst driving erratically, at speed on Barnsley Road towards Barnsley, was turning the radio down and reading a text! The result being that he lost control of his vehicle, drove into my vehicle, exploded the air suspension and 2 tyres, pushed the vehicle a meter on the road resulting in cracked suspension, distorted gearbox and steering, two tyres blown to shreds and the back panels very crumpled.
My car was taken away the same day and was subsequently written off, leaving me to find a temporary vehicle 2 days before Christmas and then a replacement vehicle, the total of the claim coming in at in excess of £40,000. I called the police to say what had happened, told them that he was speeding along a main road whilst using his phone, which was all recorded by the vehicle behind him, also, that if my vehicle had not been there to take the impact he could have caused serious injury or even death. The reply I was given was that there was no point them coming out if there weren’t any actual injuries, so clearly, they don’t care whether drivers are speeding through the village whilst using their phones.
Apologies for the length of my text, please feel free to use either the parking permit frustration details or the details of my car being written off by a speeding texting driver.
I have been given a copy of your newsletter as I live on Barnsley Road and have had constant issues with parking.
I have repeatedly informed the Council that cars park in the “permit holders only” zone on Barnsley Road without a permit. Initially I was told that it was not their responsibility and I should contact the Police, who were not remotely interested. I was then informed that the Council would be taking over responsibility for parking from June of 2016, again, they were also not interested. I have been informed that a new system of issuing permits is being discussed, and that residents will be consulted; however, this does not seem to be the case as they have thought up a replacement scheme, which is beyond ridiculous and rather than helping the residents, it actually punishes them by charging them for the privilege of having a piece of paper that says “if you are lucky enough to find a vacant space in a permit holders only zone outside your house, you may park there”. The reality is, regardless of whether you have paid for a permit or not, everyone from the surrounding areas know that you can park in the permit holders only zones, on the grass, on double yellow lines and on pavements as the Council do not do anything about the illegal parking in these zones.
Every Saturday and Sunday, I can guarantee a minimum of 10 vehicles, each day, will park in the zone outside my home without a permit. Sometimes I take a photo and send them to the Council but again, nothing happens. Taking a worst case (or best depending on how you look at it), scenario, if you have 5 illegally parked vehicles (on Barnsley Road alone) Saturday and Sunday, with the parking fine being paid in the 14 day period to reduce it to £30 you are looking at £15,600 minimum revenue generated. How can the Council state that they do not have the resources to fund this, it would be self-funding? Just think how much that would be if you had someone patrolling all the permit holder only zones in Newmillerdam!
I have asked for clarification of the new scheme with regards to how many permits each property will be allocated and have been told that permits will be issued to vehicles rather than properties to stop them being passed from one vehicle to another and that visitor permits will have to be paid for at a cost of £1 per time, therefore, it will cost me an extra £100 per year for my cleaner to carry out her duties. Would it not be better that each property (in the relevant zone) is issued with 2 permits and a visitor permit, does it really matter which vehicle it is attached to, the theory being that a vehicle can only take up one space and use one permit. It all still falls down if it is not administered and monitored correctly and consistently. Why are they wasting so much time and money thinking up another scheme when the existing scheme would work if only they got off their bottoms, came out of their snug offices and did their job by issuing penalties to illegally parked vehicles. Do any of them live in a permit holders only zone?? I guess not.
I don’t mind having to pay for the permit, however, if that is the case, I would want it to be for an allocated space that is outside of my home. What I do not want is to pay for a permit, which I cannot use because the sun is shining and everyone has decided to park on Barnsley Road outside of my home whilst visiting the Dam Inn (other local hostelries are available)!
The next issue I have is, on 23rd December 2016 at 9.45 a.m. I was sat quietly enjoying a cup of coffee whilst reading the paper, when there was an almighty explosion. Once I dashed to the front window to see what it was, it became clear that someone had run into my car. It turned out that the driver, whilst driving erratically, at speed on Barnsley Road towards Barnsley, was turning the radio down and reading a text! The result being that he lost control of his vehicle, drove into my vehicle, exploded the air suspension and 2 tyres, pushed the vehicle a meter on the road resulting in cracked suspension, distorted gearbox and steering, two tyres blown to shreds and the back panels very crumpled.
My car was taken away the same day and was subsequently written off, leaving me to find a temporary vehicle 2 days before Christmas and then a replacement vehicle, the total of the claim coming in at in excess of £40,000. I called the police to say what had happened, told them that he was speeding along a main road whilst using his phone, which was all recorded by the vehicle behind him, also, that if my vehicle had not been there to take the impact he could have caused serious injury or even death. The reply I was given was that there was no point them coming out if there weren’t any actual injuries, so clearly, they don’t care whether drivers are speeding through the village whilst using their phones.
Apologies for the length of my text, please feel free to use either the parking permit frustration details or the details of my car being written off by a speeding texting driver.
09 04 17 : Ang & John Hemmingway. Almshouse Lane.
I have just returned home after a cycle ride via Barnsley road A61 southbound and encountered at least 12 cars parked illegally on the opposite side of the road where the double yellow lines finish all along the section of road where the central double white lines continue.I rang 101 and informed the police only to be told this is probably a council issue and that they would make police officers aware
A separate issue also is the number ofHGVs turning left into Wood Lane illegally.This is probably because there is no advance warning sign on Barnsley Road,the sign is only visible once they have entered Wood Lane
A separate issue also is the number ofHGVs turning left into Wood Lane illegally.This is probably because there is no advance warning sign on Barnsley Road,the sign is only visible once they have entered Wood Lane
09 04 17 : Ted Kennedy. Crab Lane.
Really leased some action will be taken on this. The particular problem close to us is the speed and acceleration of cars but especially motorbikes as they leave the village and head up Barnsley Road away from he nutraceuticals to he park. I've seen some appalling overtaking as vehicles go up the hill towards the bend. Additionally there is the problem of noise from these vehicles. The issues are really severe on weekends and later in the afternoon.