Introduction.


Dedham Parish Council are reviewing plans to upgrade the Royal Square.
As custodians of the Square we have concerns about the loose gravel surface and the risk that it could migrate onto the road, causing safety issues. Also the manoeuvrability of cars with the current parking layout perpendicular to the road is poor, particularly given the restrictions around the war memorial.
To assess the design options available we are considering plans prepared by a landscape architect to replace the loose gravel with a natural stone paving and / or bonded gravel, as well as turning the direction of parking so that it is parallel to the road. We are also considering an alternative scheme to remove the carpark altogether and replace it with a market square, including formal trees and seating. We are interested in the views of all Dedham residents and businesses. 

Proposal’s


The outline proposals for the Square for consultation purposes are shown on the following three drawings. To view a full size version of the plan, just click on the image.

Carpark Redesign Option 1 Carpark Redesign Option 2 Non-Parking Option

Plan Drawing 1.

Whole area natural paving.

Plan Drawing 2.

Resin bound area with central parking.

Plan Drawing 3. 

Resin bound gravel with sandstone flag 

central area and formal trees.
     

 

A questionaire is being delivered to all households in Dedham along with the November edition of the Dedham Parish Magazine.  A copy of the questionaire can be seen if you follow the link below and you can also download a copy using this icon 

 DEDHAM PARISH COUNCIL ROYAL SQUARE QUESTIONAIRE  

Comments can be added to this page if you wish.

Page updated: 20/10/2023

Comments

Why change what has been there for decades, and more parking spaces lost if third plan is put into action.
Money could be spent in better ways, like looking properly after the many footpaths, tidying up the village for visitors, pot hole maintenance, Manningtree Road is a disgrace, only sprayed some sort of mess around the shape of the holes but left the drop into them, and as for speeding through here it is dreadful, there are plenty of places to stand for speed checks, extra toilets for visitors, I could go on, so leave the Royal Square alone and spend the money more wisely.

~Maureen Floyd

Remove the parking from the square entirely. There is ample parking in the village already and the cars manoeuvring in that small car park behind the war memorial are a hazard to pedestrians. Surely the option to have fewer cars in the centre of the village should be far and above the most obvious solution and a move to a safer and less polluted environment for all.

~Anonymous

The Square should be left as it is.People who move into the village from outside and decide to change things.Think of the families that have lived in the village for a long time.You are changing their memories and history.

~Colette Finbow

I am really concerned the Parish Council are proposing options 1 and 2. There seems an obvious safety risk with cars reversing into what is a busy pedestrian pathway. It would only be a matter of time before there is an accident involving a small child. Have planners given any advice prior to the options being drawn up? Option 3 seems the safest, most sympathetic option preserving the war memorial as it is. However, the Parish Council then need to consider the knock on effect that reduced parking will have. It will cause problems elsewhere and impact local businesses, who I am sure councillors want to see thrive. I would be interested to know what research, if any, has been done looking at travel patterns and parking behaviour in Dedham. If there is such a study could you publish alongside proposals so people can make an informed decision? As this is a public consultation, it would also be nice to see an Option 4 - do nothing - in the interest of representing all viewpoints.

~Sally Buchanan

Why change what’s stood for 100 years plus . . leave it be, it’s what keeps the tourists coming to the village and why when my parent travelled around the uk and round Europe, people knew Dedham . . if it’s modernised, we will lose our identity and heritage.

~Mark Sycamore

I think the village needs all the parking it can afford so I would prefer Option 1 or 2. We house a lot of businesses within the craft centre and when we come to work most of us have lots of stock to bring in. Sometimes it is very difficult to find parking in the street to load/unload and if we pull up right outside the craft centre it creates a bottle neck.

~Miriam Clark

There should have been an option 4 'Leave as is', which is where my vote goes. There are far more important things to spend the PC money on to keep the village safe and clean.

~Trevor Gilbert OBE