The Best Guide for the Neston Area

More Money Available for Sustainable Transport in West Cheshire

Cheshire West and Chester Council has successfully bid for £635,000 of Department of Transport funding to continue to promote and encourage sustainable travel.

The ‘Connecting the Atlantic Gateway' package focuses on supporting significant existing and emerging employment opportunities by encouraging local jobs and training, boosting economic growth and cutting carbon emissions whilst supporting deprivation and health issues.

The funding will be targeted at a range of initiatives including the promotion and signing of cycle routes and sustainable travel, improving air quality, business travel planning, personalised travel planning at businesses, railway stations and town centres and improving health and wellbeing.

Outlined in the Cheshire and Warrington Strategic Economic Plan, the package is essential in delivering the Atlantic Gateway, the North Cheshire Science Corridor and Chester Central vision and objectives and builds on the Council's existing Local Sustainable Transport Fund ‘Connect to Jobs' programme.

Executive Member for Growth and Economy, Councillor Lynda Jones, said: "I am delighted that we have been successful in our bid for funding from the Department of Transport and can continue promoting sustainable travel initiatives like walking and cycling.

"Focusing on the key ‘travel to work' corridors between Chester, Ellesmere Port, Merseyside and Deeside we will capitalise on our strong partnership working to support the local economy and residents, whilst highlighting the health and environmental benefits for individuals.

"This announcement comes hot on the heels of confirmation that a further £142.7 million bid for by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Area Partnership has been successful, which will invest in new road infrastructure to improve connectivity between and within key towns across Cheshire and Warrington.

"With this level of investment we can now continue our work to promote sustainable travel and its effect on jobs and the economy through the borough and beyond."

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Comments

J

At 11:49 on 13th August 2014, J commented:

This is great and I'm all for sustainable transport.
I am a keen cyclist and runner entering national and international events.
However there is one point I need to make: that is that on the Wirral Way more an cyclists are speeding down what is to be shared with walkers, families and runners (in my opinion if they want to exceed more than 6 miles per hour then they should only do this on a road).
As an example two week ago while out with my family and grand children walking on the Wirral Way groups of generally men speed up and down the Wirral Way in dangerously and when challenged are generally abusive say that we (as walkers) are on their cycle path. To use this as a shared facility I think that cycling should be limited to a maximum speed of 6 MPH. I often cycle between 25 to 35 mph but only on main roads not on the Wirral Way, if speed cycling continues on this path then someone is going to badly hurt.
Mike Harper

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Anthony A

At 14:36 on 18th August 2014, Anthony A commented:

This ought to be seen as a good news story....but it was the misuse of funds from an almost identical sounding scheme (the Local Sustainable Tranport Fund or LSTF) which led to the Cuckoo Lane debacle. The LSTF was also administered by the Department for Transport and had similar aims to the newly announced scheme. I hope our local borough councillors, as well as the Town Council, will keep en eye on ensuring that any funds that come Neston's way will be used appropriately, with any intended works going through a due consideration process before any work starts.

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J

At 08:57 on 24th August 2014, J commented:

There is more to Neston than cuckoo lane, the cuckoo'ers seem to get get everywhere, get a life.

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BHFL

At 20:33 on 26th August 2014, BHFL commented:

Would this be the occasion to plead for cycle lanes along the A540. Many cyclists have to use this as a route to work and it is so dangerous. Much money was wasted constructing the ridiculous central police lane by Badgers Rake Lane and the police layby by Ashfield Farm. The planners who allowed the huge disruption to the Chester High Road by the underground sustainable energy power cable routed through Wirral peninsula could have insisted the work should include the provision of cycle lanes as a goodwill gesture for the disruption of our environment. Come on Chester, cycling city, now is the chance, spread your good work a little in our direction.

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Peter

At 10:17 on 16th September 2014, Peter commented:

As a local cyclist and a member of the Chester Cycling Campaign we have campaigned for many years to make the A 540 safer for cyclists with little success. Two years ago CWaC put in a funding bid for a shared cycle/footpath from Two Mills up to Woodbank. This is where 2 cyclist were seriously injured 4 years ago and the area fitted the Times Campaign to make cycling safer in Britain. This bid failed because the DFT said the design was not safe enough in places. I recently had a letter from the CEO of CWaC who said at present there is no funding available to do any work on the A 540 to make cycling safer. He also told me that the utility cabling works due to take place in early 2015, from Leahurst up to Mudhouse Lane does not include a provision to provide/improve the existing footway for cycle use. To provide such a facility would cost £250,00 and furthermore this cable is going into lane one of the southbound carraigeway (Chester bound). I have sent a further letter to the CEO of Cheshire West and Chester Council I await a reply.

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BHFL

At 20:33 on 19th September 2014, BHFL commented:

I am glad I am not the only one campaigning for cycle safety on the A540. Car drivers should also be campaigning for cycle lanes there too. After writing to our MP on the subject a few years ago when the ridiculous central police lane was installed, he wrote to CWAC CEO whose astonishing reply was that cycling should not be encouraged on the A540 because it was too dangerous! If CWAC CEO Mike Jones was at all interested in our cause he could have attempted to include a goodwill gesture from the utility cable works while they have their machinery and tarmacking equipment disrupting the local area. Not only will there be chaos and further danger for weeks on end on the A540 as they dig up one lane of the carriageway, but we are also to lose Lees Lane car park for 6 months and suffer closure of the Wirral Way for 3 days. An appropriate sweetener should have been secured for the future of the local people, such as some cycle lanes and after all CWAC does have some funding as the title of this article says. And "travel to work corridors" as mentioned in the above article should include the A540.

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