Proposed House Numbering Scheme for Barroway Drove

[Tim]

Following the meeting at the Village Hall we'd like to open a discussion on the proposed scheme.

You can see the maps and house list in the Gallery here http://barrowaydrove.org/smf/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=album;id=4

Please leave any comments below and we'll pass these along to the Parish Council.

Tim

[Apple]

I can see the advantages of numbering the properties as it will make life a lot easier for anyone who needs to make a delivery, to say nothing of the emergency services, but I wonder how much trouble it will cause residents who will have to register their address change with their bank, credit card company, DVLA, TV Licensing etc. It could turn out to be a time-consuming and frustrating exercise for everyone 

Also, can the council really not come up with something better than 'Main Road'? it is not exactly imaginative is it? What about Barroway Drove Road', 'Nordelph Road' or, if we are being honest, 'Undulation Road' or 'Pot-Hole Mile'?

Finally, with all the work this will involve, why not also number Lady Drove at the same time? 

[Tim]

As the second meeting has been set I'll print out this thread and take it to the meeting on the 15th October.

If you aren't able to attend it'll give you an opportunity for your comments to be heard by the Borough Council.  This is likely to be the last public consultation in the Village so it's now or never.

Tim

[The Vicar]

Main Road......how pikey is that. I was speaking with my MATE this morning re this and he said the road used to be called Lords Road, I think from its association with Stowbardolph etc who used to own the land. I will not be able to attend the meeting myself due to work commitments but would encourage residents not to opt for the Councils suggested name. Either Barroway Drove Road or Lords Road/Lane....... failing that then maybe "Ypres" due to the ever growing craters we are seeing latelly.

[nennyrainbow]

I only just heard about this from my neighbour so I'm glad I saw it in time for the meeting. I can understand the need for house numbering for the emergency services / deliveries (although don't they all have sat nav anyway?) but PLEASE come up with something better than Main Road. 251 Main Road sounds a deprived inner city address, not a rural idyll surrounded by farmland. I thought it was already called Barroway Drove Road anyway so why the need to change it? Or as an alternative, since we have Lady Drove, then why not Lord Drove or Gentleman Drove?
Also, since I was led to believe that there is to be no further building on agricultural land (in any case the government has vetoed building on flood plains which technically we are), then why the need to number the gaps? Or are we being led up the garden path regarding future development?

I would have liked to attend the meeting but the timing is awkward with 2 small children and a husband who doesn't get back from work until late so will probably not be there so would appreciate my comments being passed on.
Thanks
Emma

[Tim]

I must admit there does seem to be some precedence on calling it Barroway Drove Road.  I checked a couple of Sat Navs and they already list it as Barroway Drove Road.

Also sites like Streetmap.co.uk list it as Barroway Drove Road too - http://www.streetmap.co.uk/street/BARROWAY_DROVE_ROAD_in_NORDELPH_in_DOWNHAM_MARKET_in_NORFOLK_in_PE38_666371_412505.htm

Tim

[nennyrainbow]

When I was initially given our address I was told it was on Barroway Drove Road and the next line was Downham Market. However if you look on the Post Office website, it has dropped the word "Road" off. Does it not say "Barroway Drove Road" on the sign at the T-junction? (maybe I am imagining this)

Main road just conjures up an image to me of a noisy busy A-road. I imagine the name could be offputting to future buyers of properties on the road since many people stipulate that they don't want to live on a main road (even though we are an unclassified road). And let's face it, we've got enough problems with subsidence and the prospect of rising sea levels - we don't want to devalue our houses any more!

Some further options: how about something reflecting the landscape / surroundings - Wheatfields Road, Farm Road, Horses Road (in light of the many equestrian properties), John Deere Way ... maybe we should put it to some of the younger residents to come up with a more imaginative name than Main Road. Chocolate Ice Cream Road, anyone?

[5napp3r]

My partner and I will be moving to Barroway Drove (hopefully) very shortly. We have been keeping an eye on this thread as obviously this will effect us when we eventually move.

Firstly just a quick question. With all the house numbering going on, will this mean that all the house names will be lost? or are these to be still used in conjunction with the numbering system? Not sure what everyone else feels, but if this is the case then doesnt losing the house names seem to be losing a bit of identity? Dont know the area a great deal as we dont live locally, but would imagine that some of the house name go back generations?? Can totally understand the need for it for emergancy services, but perhaps the numbering system could be used as and when needed eg emergancy services and still retain the house name and identity?

Also, 'Main Road'? As most people have said on here that its not the greatest and must have taken all of 2 seconds to think of. 'Main Road' does sound exactly like a major road in the middle of a city (and sounds like what we are moving away from!!! hehe ) It just doesnt do the area any justice what so ever.

We personally feel Barroway Drove Road as the 'default' name would be perfectly fine, or maybe Barroway Lane as a suggestion?, but also do like the idea of having something which represents the area (really liking Wheatfields Road!) but as not having lived in the area wouldnt know what really fits best!?!

Hope this input can be used?

P.S. We cant wait to move to Barroway Drove!!! (as long as its not called 'Main Road'! hehe  )

[Abbey]

FWIW , I think all this ' emergency services help' reasoning, is an excuse , pure and simple . I work for the biggest police force in England and Wales , in the communications command , and if they can manage to have maps that go as small as the house numbers , I don't see why Norfolk can't do the same and replace numbers with names . I know it's possible , I use the system all day , everyday. It's not rocket science .  If they want to use both numbers and names , that's fine too,  but whatever happens , I won't be changing our address . As long as there's a name and a postcode , that's all anyone needs .

And as an aside ,  Main Road ??   Perlease .  Barroway drove road at a push , because there's already a sign in existence up at the Nordelph end near East View , but I fail to see why years of history should disappear because some faceless beaurocrat with no imagination wants to make life allegedly easier. 

[nennyrainbow]

One more thing (my last post on this topic, I promise!), I'm not sure how many residents know about this meeting or the proposed numbering system. Apart from on the website, I have not seen it advertised anywhere and judging by the number of posts on this topic, I don't think many people are regular visitors to the website. I frequently walk the dog up and down the road at the Nordelph end and I haven't seen a single notice about it, nor have there been any leaflets given out. Tim, is it not possible to send out a group email to alert people to check the website if there's something important on there?

[Tim]

Yes it is possible for me to send out an email to everyone registered on the site, however I don't like using it very often as I know how annoying getting loads of unwanted email is.

Not a bad idea though in this case.  I'll send one out later.

Tim

[Fenlander]

There has always been some mystery surrounding the name of our lovely little ‘village’.  When people first occupied this road in the late eighteenth century it was called Lord’s Drove – Faden’s Map of Norfolk 1797 clearly shows us as Lord’s Drove in Bardolph Fen. (Check out www.fadensmapofnorfolk.co.uk)   

For some reason by 1826 (Bryant’s Map) we had changed the name of our road to Barraways Drove (still in Bardolph Fen).  There are some theories as to why this happened – there was a dispute and subsequent court battle over who owned the land and some people think the locals took offence at the name Lord’s Drove because they didn’t like that particular Lord!  However I think it is more likely that the name came from the Barrows used to cart peat out of the Fen.

Anyway, as a ‘village’ we were still known as Bardolph Fen and although the road was officially known as Barroway Drove (you can see it on maps and censuses) I don’t think it was used much by locals.  My family have postcards and letters that were sent to people in the village in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the address used was always Bardolph Fen (no mention of Barroway Drove). 

It stayed that way until around 1910 – 1920 when for some reason we became known as the ‘village’ of Barroway Drove – I really have no idea why that happened and one day when I have time I might research it further!  We really should have stayed Bardolph Fen then we wouldn’t have this problem about changing the name of the road!  But I suppose changing the name of the village is out of the question!! 

As for what to call the road, my suggestion would be Stow Road because it leads to Stow Bridge and Stow Bardolph and we are in the Parish of Stow Bardolph.  But to be honest I would be equally happy with Main Road…..

[Angela]

I agree with most of what has been said, I don't like the idea of Main road, I have thought about what to call it, many things came to mind regards the state of the road and its unique road surface, but my suggestion is "The Drove" as that is what it was. (also the surface is not much better than when cattle was drove, or driven up it!)

[Roadrunner]

Thanks for the e-mail. It's the first i've heard of this . I'm a Lady Drove residient but feel strongly about this . My house has a name , If that's taken away or my house is given a number it will lose it's charm and character (on paper if that makes sense).So will the village. Barroway Drove is Barroway Drove for a reason. Until i moved here i didn't know what a drove was!. Can C.C really justify this change and expence. Maybe they are keeping employment up. Just think of all documents that would need rewriting would your SAT NAV work ....can you imagine where you would end up !

I can't make the meeting so i will be writing to C.C to put my point across and i will also be asking why local residients where not invited by letter . Just remembered they need the street numbered so they know what direction to go in .

I can say for sure that the money should be used to repair the roads or even to begin to introduce some pavements,but not for this.

[Apple]

It seems to me that most people are not enthusiastic about the house numbering anyway, and I have deep suspicions about the prescident that will be set if the council is allowed to allocate theoretical numbers to plots that have not been developed, and in some cases do not even fall within the 'village envelope' but are on 'agricultural land', for which a change of use would need to be approved before building could commence.

Perhaps I could suggest a different solution which would assist the emergency services, probably more than having house numbers, especially if there are to be huge gaps in the numbers anyway, while allowing people to retain their house names.

Every so often, say every 200 metres, mark the road and/or instal a roadside sign with the measurement from one end, say the Norldelph end for instance. Then, any call to the emergency services can include the number of the nearest marker which will take them straight there without the need to bother householders with all the trouble associated with numbering. This has been used on the railways for many years to pinpoint locations on the track.

As to the change of road name... this will probably mean that the post office changes your postcode too. This happened in Salters Lode when a road name was changed from 'Sluice Road' to 'The Lane'. Residents were able to use either postcode for a year but after that had to use the new code. You can imagine all the problems that caused for them with all the large companies that identify you from your postcode.

There is nothing wrong with it being called 'Barroway Drove'. A bit less money spent on pointless things like this, and a bit more on attending to the dreadful condition of the road would be far more appropriate.