West Bank
Winster, Derbyshire
An accident waiting to happen?
The village of Winster in Derbyshire is pretty - maybe
even quaint - but like so many such old villages contains its share
of difficult road conditions. One in particular is West Bank - by no means the
only dangerous hill in Derbsyhire,
but certainly one which causes its residents serious concerns all year round,
and particularly in winter.
(Image: Google Earth)
Nice isn't it?
The problem is that it is very difficult to tell from a picture like this just how steep some parts can be.
West
Bank, Winster
Is a steep and in places narrow hill
with no footpaths and, often, a number of parked vehicles. It has an average
gradient of 1:6 but in places is steeper than that.
As a result there have been a number of
incidents where property and vehicles have been damaged by HGVs and where
considerable disruption has been caused.
Residents have been calling for action to reduce this
menace since at least 1988.
A 3 ton weight restriction was placed on West bank in
1973 and updated in 1988. These were largely ignored by vehicles.
A proper weight restriction of 3.5t was established
for West Bank by Derbyshire County Council in July 2008.
This is enforceable. However, the road signs concerned
are not easily seen by drivers at either end of West Bank.
Even with the data added above it is still difficult to understand how steep parts of this hill really are.
Look at it another way:
This hill is about 500 yds top to bottom. It rises 156 feet over that distance.
Drivers at the bottom think it only a shallow slope. Drivers at the top think it
is a shallow slope.
And HGV drivers think they can get away with breaking the law.
But in the middle the incline covers a rise of
50ft in 100 yards.
This is the most dangerous point and it is invisible to most drivers
with blind bends at each end.
That is why there are signs like this one top and bottom.
And like this one at the top.