High Legh Parish Council

Tel: 01925 75481818 Gleyve

e-mail: igh Legh

Cheshire

Clerk: Mrs D WalkerWA16 6PY

30 November 2011

Mohammed Swapan

Project Manager

Highways Agency

Piccadilly Gate

Store Street

Manchester

M1 2WD

Dear Mr Swapan

A556 Knutsford to Bowdon Road Improvement Scheme

Following your presentation at the High Legh Parish Council meeting on 17th October 2011, High Legh Parish Council would like to formally state that it does not support the principle of re-routing and upgrading the A556 and wishes to specifically put on record its objections to the proposed Option 2 Junction Strategy as set out in that presentation.

High Legh Parish Council wish to support keeping Chapel Lane open. The council does not in any way support the Millington Junction and ask the HA to reconsider again its junction strategy to accommodate the new by-pass. The Council support the principle of using current infrastructure such as the A50 and A56, and retaining the current access at the Tabley and Bowdon ends of the Chester road A556.

Our Concerns as High Legh Parish Council:

  1. You are changing significantly the traffic flows – and these will now affect a single track lane in the High Legh area - Peacock Lane, West Lane and surrounding lanes
  2. There will be a major impact on the local infrastructure
  3. You are proposing these routes be major diversion routes if the A556 is closed. They will also become diversion routes if the motorways are closed
  4. The effects on the lanes when the motorways are blocked, which is a regular occurrence
  1. We are concerned about the effects of the Millington junction design both on the people living in the vicinity of the route and on the ecology and historic nature of the area, including specifically
  2. The effect of significantly increased traffic – estimated to be up to 2000 cars a day on single lane tracks less than 4.5m wide in some places with no footpaths or lighting
  3. The effect on the historical Doomsday Book tree at Broad Oak Lane/ Peacock Lane junction

iii.The effect on Listed buildings along the route

iv.The effect on Rare Bats living in some of the buildings along the route

v. The effect on mature trees and hedgerows along Peacock Lane

  1. We are concerned that there will be a major impact on the local infrastructure which will in turn significantly change the usage of the road
  2. The width of Peacock Lane is less than 4.5 metres in places,
  3. making passing of 2 ordinary vehicles difficult without slowing down to almost a stop, and the passing of one ordinary vehicle and a tractor, van etc impossible without venturing onto the grass verge
  4. There are no white lines down the middle of much of the road – for it is too narrow

iii.There are no footpaths on the road – and this is a walking route for children to and from the school bus stops and a regular weekend walking route for people from all over the county

  1. This is a regular equestrian route. We are concerned with how the increased traffic flows, particularly in a diversion situation or a motorway blockage, will impact horses and riders travelling along the single track lane with the expected significant traffic including large lorries.
  2. Peacock Lane is part of the Cheshire cycle route 70.
  3. We are concerned with how the new Millington Junction will effect the many 1000’s of cyclists using this route, in terms of safety, route, and events
  4. There are 3 accident hot spots on Peacock Lane alone where there are incidents every year. Many of these incidents would be classed as ‘minor’ and so not reported, but where people are injured, hedges and road surfaces together with local houses and the vehicles themselves are significantly damaged. Local residents are happy to provide you with their eye witness statements of incidents in past years.
  5. The Broom Manor Bend – this is a narrow blind bend that also has a very significant dip, making it treacherous in the winter, and difficult at all times of the year. It is impossible for two lorries to pass through the bend at the same time, and would result in one reversing around a blind bend to let the other pass.
  6. Junction of Moss Lane and Peacock Lane – this is a ‘z’ blind bend where people regularly overshoot the bend, landing in hedges and ditches, and is particularly icy in the winter. Currently local residents keep the road salted – but this would be impractical with the traffic flows expected as a result of the Millington junction.

iii.The junction of Peacock Lane and West Lane – a T junction that results in many accidents of differing severity in all weathers, i.e good and bad weather. Local residents have set up speed watch teams to monitor the traffic down West Lane, and this has proven that the lane is notorious already for speeding, without the increase flows that would occur as part of the junction strategy and the proposed diversion routes.

iv.We have real concerns about the possible effect of emissions along Peacock Lane, including air quality, noise pollution, contamination due to water run off etc., bearing in mind that the area is a rural farming area – including organic farmers plus the home for rare bats and the Doomsday tree.

  1. Are you aware, and have you built into your costing the new A556 will cut across the new High Legh water main to the new pumping station. What provisions for supporting residents during the disruption have you considered?
  1. We note your comments regarding the two junction design allowing flexibility in terms of traffic management and the 2 junctions becoming part of a diversion route and this causes us significant concerns
  2. What is the traffic impact on all the adjoining roads to the Millington junction if this happens?
  3. We are concerned about the people, ecology and historic site of the area now affected for those proposed temporary diversion routes
  4. We are concerned that the traffic will NOT use the single carriage road (decommissioned Chester road) rather than the lanes which will offer a more direct route and certainly sat navs will send people through the lanes
  5. You have acknowledged[1] that congestion already gives rise to ‘rat running’ and that the lanes are not suitable for increased traffic and it adversely affects the quality of life for residents, in your business cases for building the new A556.
  6. How do these comments stand with the proposed Millington junction?
  7. You are proposing to make those ‘rat runs’ day to day routes – why? What is the revised rationale around this?

iii.What has made these lanes suddenly more suitable for more traffic?

  1. Have you considered the effects on the surrounding lanes when the M6 is blocked – which happens regularly. This already causes regular problems along the A50, but if this road offered no access to the new A556, people would be diverted through the country Lanes, exacerbating the effects mentioned above and we have real concerns that, like the diversion routes, the Millington Junction will create a ‘rat run’ for cars through the very narrow lanes – with peoples ‘sat navs’ and local knowledge taking them through the narrow lanes and expect a significant increase in the number of accidents in the High Legh Parish boundary.

We hope full and proper consideration will be given to these matters and that the current strategy will be influenced.

Would you please keep us informed of any changes/amendments to the proposals?

Yours sincerely

Doreen Walker (Mrs)

Clerk to High Legh Parish Council

[1] 2.1.11 A556 Knutsford to Bowdon Environmental Improvement EIA scoping report