Welcome to the Civic Society Pages

PRIAN and the Civic Voice are passionate about empowering local civic societies to improve their streets and have the ability to help your organisation.

We have technical expertise that may be helpful in improving the appearance of your town, village or locality. Often by simply removing street clutter, the real character of a street or whole area can be improved.

Village traffic calming and rural roads
Traffic calming at the village school
	Clifton village in Cumbria is on the major trunk route of the A6. It is used by large farming vehciels and is an emergncy route alternative for the M6. The low cost calming scheme has slowed traffic throught the village and restored the village rural quality. Simple and low cost methods include, planters, reduced white lines and built out kerbs. Drivers are encouraged to slow and the character is enhanced with soft landscapling and simple signage at the village entrances. The scheme complys to Department for Transport Guidance and is featured in their document, LTN 1/08 'Traffic Management and Streetscape' see: www.dft.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/ltnotes108.pdf Friends of the Lake District website: www.fld.org.uk Link to scheme overview

Civic Voice: the new voice for civic society movement
Following the closure of the Civic Trust and much consultation, Civic Voice has taken over the mantel to be a voice for the many civic and amenity societies. The organisation has been nurtured by National Trust and English Heritage to take the message forward. With support from David Cameron and Nick Clegg for the Love Local campaign, they are well on the way to achieving lasting improvements.
Love Local Top 5 things people love about where they live: 1. Lots of open space and gardens 2. Having a natural setting and views 3. A friendly and spirited community 4. Well cared for historic buildings 5. A range of cultural and community activities	For more information click here
www.civicvoice.org.uk

 

Griff Rhys Jones, speaking on his passion for streets.
	At the Civic Society Initiative's recent event to support local societies with a unified voice

How can you improve your streets?
Look at our two pictures. One shows what, sadly, is a typical cluttered street.
The second, a sketch of the same street shows that when clutter is removed,
the effect is positive and dramatic.
With a unified approach, smaller low cost improvements allow the character
of a place to shine through.

A typical cluttered street. Signs, paving, workmanship could all be improved. The character of the town is overshadowed by the clutter.	Before picture shows a typically cluttered street
The second, a sketch of the same street shows that when clutter is removed, the effect is positive and dramatic. The area is now a much more pleasant for residents and visitors.

The difference between the second and the first sketches are:

• No railings or guard rails

• Neater traffic light arrangements.
   For more information follow link to Quality & Design

• Far less traffic signs.
  For more information follow link to reducing the need for Keep Left signs

• Street lights fixed to buildings, rather than on lamp columns 

       

• Neater litter bins

• Neater direction signs, fixed neatly to buildings rather than on separate posts

       

• No redundant posts or bollards

• Pavement slabs that are neat and tidy.
   For more information follow link to Construction Know How Footway maintenance 

• Manhole covers that fit neatly into paving

All these things can be done within the official highway design rules, and are done by some local authorities.

Responsibilites for the street scene are spread across many departments and organisations.

Street scene responsibilities Co-ordination and consultation of streets in historic towns
Element in the street scene	Responsible agency or Local Authority officer	Legislative approval required	Formal co-ordination or public consultation
Bus shelters	Highway engineer	No (except adverts)	No (except adverts)	Street scene services
Cycle paths	Highway engineer &   Cycling officer   (Sustainability officer)	No	No
Cycle racks /   stands	Cycling officer   (Sustainability officer)	No	No
Flower baskets	Parks officer	No	No
Footway paving   (pavements)	Highway engineer	No	No
Graffiti cleaning	Cleansing officer	No	No
Guard rails	Highway engineer	No	No
Litter bins	Cleansing officer	No	No
Parking ticket   machines	On-street parking	Yes, Traffic	No
Post boxes	Royal mail	No	No
Public arts	Arts officer	Yes, T & C   Planning	No
Recycling bins	Cleansing officer	No	No
Rubbish cleaning	Cleansing officer	No	No
Security cameras	Security advisor	No	No
Shop fronts	Planning /   Conservation officer	Yes, T & C   Planning	Yes
Shop signs	Planning /   Conservation officer	Yes, T & C   Planning	Yes
Street lighting	Lighting officer	Yes, Traffic	No
Street traders	Market inspectors	Yes, Street   market	No
Tactile surfaces	Traffic engineer	No	No
Telephone boxes	Private pay phone   company	No	No
Traffic Signals	Traffic engineer   (signals)	Yes, Traffic	No
Traffic Signs	Traffic engineer   (schemes)	Yes, Traffic	No

 

 

Please help us provide the information you need.
If you have any problems you would like us to tackle please email us at:

                                                   publicrealmprian@aol.com