Traffic & Transport Task Group

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The initial Traffic & Transport Working Group was formed as part of the support for preparing the Holmes Chapel Neighbourhood Plan. Once its main analysis work was completed, the group disbanded.

 

When the Neighbourhood Plan was “made” it was decided to create a Strategic Planning Group to both follow up on the many issues raised by residents, through the consultation process and to monitor how the Plan delivered on its objectives. Later this was extended to looking beyond the current Plan duration, at how the village might evolve post 2030.

 

As part of these objectives and recognising the degree of concern expressed by residents on traffic and pedestrian issues, it was decided to re-form the Traffic & Transport Group. In this case, it became a Task Group which reported back to the Strategic Planning Group.

 

Councillor Mike Blomeley agreed to set up the group and sought volunteers from the community who had an interest in traffic issues. Initially just two residents joined the group, who had been involved in the original working group. It held its first meeting in February 2017. From this small nucleus, the group has grown to ten members, including some with professional expertise in traffic and highways matters.

 

Having identified the key issues the group worked up a comprehensive report on traffic issues in the village and identified practical solutions to alleviate those problems. The initial work was extended to identify a number of pedestrian safety concerns and six locations around the village were prioritised for remedial actions. Finally, a consolidated report was completed and approved by the Parish Council.

 

The next stage was a presentation to Cheshire East Council, the highways authority with the responsibility for funding highway maintenance, improvements and new capital schemes across the Borough. The Council Leader and senior Highways Officers attended the presentation, together with our Member of Parliament. Whilst the presentation was well received and the problems acknowledged, Cheshire East Council did not have sufficient funding to undertake the necessary improvements in the short term.

 

Following the elections in May 2019 and a change of political control, a further presentation was made to the new Deputy Leader of the Council and Highways Officers, to try to ensure the new administration was fully aware of the issues and concerns in Holmes Chapel. Once again, the report was well received, but also again, new funding is not forthcoming.

 

Another topic of concern is the state of the footways around the village. Footways include roadside pavements and surfaced footpaths between roads. As a result, the group carried out a comprehensive survey around the village, backed up by photographs and a priority condition scale to highlight the worst areas. The group was particularly concerned about residents with limited mobility and parents with small children in buggies and prams, where uneven and broken surfaces present the most hazards. This was submitted to Cheshire East Council, but once again, funding constraints mean there is little prospect of any remedial work being carried out.

 

The Group has taken a pause but will meet again when able to in the current crisis. New members with a willingness to contribute to the process and particularly with relevant expertise, are always welcome, as not all the current members are always able to attend meetings. It is a friendly group but has debated the issues covered with robust arguments and opinions that over time have delivered probably the most comprehensive survey of the issues of any Parish or Town Council in the Borough. The frustration is the inability to secure funding to deliver some positive results, but we will not give up!