Castletown Bypass - Western Access Road

[henryscat]

I see on a certain someone's Facebook that the government has dropped funding for the Stafford Western Access Road.

It hasn't completely dropped it.....

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?ClientId=202&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=416188&SubjectId=36

What it says is:
- there is a "development group" list of schemes which will compete for a pot of £600 million
- Stafford Western Access needs further appraisal / evaluation by January to decide whether it enters the "development group".

So in theory a decision could be taken in Jan that puts it in the running for part of the 600 million notes.

It says that it is unlikely any of these schemes would start before 2012/13.

 

[My Name is URL]

Just followed the link about the Newport Road works around Tesco and the Station and spotted this:

"Latest News

The Government has recently announced that the Stafford Western Access Route will not proceed to the Development Pool of schemes under consideration for funding within the current Comprehensive Spending Review Period (to 2015). However, as our scheme demonstrated high value for money in the context of the Stafford Growth Agenda, the County Council continues to support it, and is currently considering alternative funding opportunities to secure its delivery."

This was updated mid February this year apparently. Has anyone seen anything in the media and I missed it, or has this been released on the hush hush....

Seems strange that the County Council are so desparate to push this through... I wonder what the incentive could be *ahem* building houses *ahem*

 

[John Marwood]

"and is currently considering alternative funding opportunities ..."

love it!

are they taking all the bottles back to the offi?

or do they have a cunning plan?

 

[wizzard]

"and is currently considering alternative funding opportunities ..."

love it!

are they taking all the bottles back to the offi?

or do they have a cunning plan?

Picturing a whole load of council employees busking to raise the money

 

[ddub1984]

Personally I always thought it would be better for the western access road to come from castlefields & over a new improved doxey bridge, as suggested, but then to end up at the Gaol Square roundabout, rather than at Halfords... this would involve demolishing either the garage & tool hire place behind it or that big ugly factory building (what is that anyway??) to effectively make Glover Street wider & coming off the roundabout.

I just think it would make more of an obvious east-west route across town, linking up with the Queensway. That Halfords junction is an absolute nightmare & coming out there you end up with still a complicated route that involves lots of right & left turns, rather than just a straight intuitive route across town, if that makes sense. Plus using my route anyone wanting to travel from east-west eg castlefields to weston road won't be adding extra traffic to Foregate Street, which I don't think can handle any more traffic.

 

[Gramaisc]

that big ugly factory building (what is that anyway??)

That is actually the old power station, but it is now a power electronics laboratory belonging to GEC/Alstom/Areva or whatever they're called this week..

 

[basil]

that big ugly factory building (what is that anyway??)

That is actually the old power station, but it is now a power electronics laboratory belonging to GEC/Alstom/Areva or whatever they're called this week..

Schneider?......

 

[Gramaisc]

that big ugly factory building (what is that anyway??)

That is actually the old power station, but it is now a power electronics laboratory belonging to GEC/Alstom/Areva or whatever they're called this week..

Schneider?......

Went past later - still says 'Alstom' at the moment..

 

[basil]

That is actually the old power station, but it is now a power electronics laboratory belonging to GEC/Alstom/Areva or whatever they're called this week..

Schneider?......

Went past later - still says 'Alstom' at the moment..

Signage on transformers has Schneider.....

 

[Gramaisc]

Schneider?......

Went past later - still says 'Alstom' at the moment..

Signage on transformers has Schneider.....

Doesn't it still have one of the ones beginning with 'A' as well as Schneider?..

 

[basil]

Went past later - still says 'Alstom' at the moment..

Signage on transformers has Schneider.....

Doesn't it still have one of the ones beginning with 'A' as well as Schneider?..

Too true, how much longer before Siemens reappears......

 

[Gramaisc]

Signage on transformers has Schneider.....

Doesn't it still have one of the ones beginning with 'A' as well as Schneider?..

Too true, how much longer before Siemens reappears......

Strange that the name 'Seimens Road' survived both wars...

 

[basil]

Aah, the colony some fumblings spring to mind.......

 

[John Marwood]

Mandy used to live down there in the sixties, she was a 10

 

[gilbert grape]

Schneider?......

Went past later - still says 'Alstom' at the moment..

Signage on transformers has Schneider.....

Signage on my works fleece jacket says Areva but i ain't that any more either!

The option of bringing a road out at Glover Street would surely mean even more disruption of the marshes than the existing plans?

 

[gilbert grape]

Todays E & S has Mr Heenan saying the bypass route should be revived to help accommodate the traffic from the additional 4,000 homes to be built in the area.

I think thats stating the obvious, personally.

 

[tek-monkey]

Surely that depends where the homes are, and where the homeowners work? I was under the impression the main housing growth was to be to the north, therefore making it even more imperative that road networks are less congested when someone farts on the M6.

I can't help but be suspicious about using castle street as the only access to the new castletown development, as this will really increase congestion in the area and help force a western bypass? Although I fully expect them to link it to Martin Drive in the future to create a nightmare for the castletown residents. So glad they can't develop near me anymore!

 

[gilbert grape]

I think there has been some consultation re the new housing etc over near castle works and a lot of heels have been dug in regarding the only access being via Kingsway or a new road rather than Castle Street. There will be hundreds of extra houses going up in and around Doxey and there's only one main road running though, to and from the area.
Expansion is inevitable, progress and accommodating the way it comes about is paramount to the success/failure of the town,

 

[tek-monkey]

Kingsway already has the capacity, even has a ready made spare roundabout further up you could use. Its amazing foresight, in its present state the roundabout is not required yet they decided to build one anyway. That would then mean a road through the green bit they weren't developing on yet, but its for everyones good and is better than that silly Castle Street plan. And once the road is in place, it'd be silly to have an empty patch with no houses on...

Me, suspicious?


EDIT: Wouldn't be too hard to link Martin Drive to the old Universal club?

 

[Mr X]

Wouldn't be too hard to link Martin Drive to the old Universal club?

You'd think so, but trouble is there's a railway siding running across the logical route which, according to all of the WAR plans, requires a bridge to be built over it (at great expense). Does anyone know the purpose of this siding, because if Castle Works and the Universal site are to be cleared I can't see why it is needed?

Edit: as shown here.