Your views on the proposed Dereham Market Place Gold Standard Bus Stops

Overview

PBA044 - Dereham Market Place Gold Standard Bus Stops

Norfolk County Council is asking for feedback on proposed improvements to the Market Place in Dereham. The aim of the scheme is to improve how buses serve the town, including the capacity, safety and accessibility of the busy bus stops, as well as reducing congestion in the town centre area for everyone. This makes it easier for people to cross over the Market Place to access shops, amenities and bus services. 

What is Being Proposed and Why

Dereham Market Place is a busy town centre with an average of 180 daily bus departures. Two-thirds of these use the southbound bus stop layby, outside NatWest & Specsavers, which currently only accommodates two buses at any one time. Frequently, additional buses arrive when the bus layby is fully occupied and are forced to stop in the road until the layby becomes free, which in turn blocks the pedestrian signal-controlled crossing as well as the entrance to the Market Place for other vehicles, leading to congestion in the area.

The northbound bus stop, outside William H Brown, lacks space for waiting passengers and people walking past. There are also no accessible crossing points from this bus stop to the other side of the Market Place, making it difficult for people to cross especially if they have pushchairs, wheelchairs or other similar mobility aids. A new zebra crossing will be provided outside the Co-Operative food store and step-free crossings provided outside the Perfect Catch Fish and Chip shop as well as from William H Brown to the new zebra crossing.

New bus shelters will be installed at both bus stops which will include electronic displays showing the upcoming live departure times for buses serving the town, making it easier for people to know when buses will be arriving and where.

This scheme aligns with Breckland District Council’s future plans for the Market Place. We have worked closely with Breckland, who have contributed financially to these upgrades, to ensure these improvements serve as a first step toward their long-term vision for the area.

Funding is being provided by the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) grant. Since the start of the delivery of BSIP improvement schemes in Norfolk, bus usage has risen by 16% in Norfolk and has seen Konectbus to recently expand their services in the Dereham area providing more frequent and later bus services.

The documents below detail exactly what we’re proposing and why and the accompanying plan shows what the project could look like on the ground.

After reviewing the proposals below please answer the questions in the online survey on the following page.