ANGRY residents are demanding a face-to-face meeting with Home Office officials over a controversial travel plan at Longbarn, Warrington.
Residents have already held two meetings with local councillors, council officers and the police to review progress on the construction of new crossing on Harpers Road and Woolston Grange Avenue.
The travel plan is designed to discourage office workers at the Olympic Park employment site from using cars to travel to work.
A new Home Office training centre is due to open on the site and nearby residents fear office workers will park outside their homes if the travel plan is unsuccessful.
Cllr Geoff Settle (pictured), who represents the area on Warrington Borough Council, said: “Back in 2006 planning permission was granted for the construction of the offices. Few if any of the local residents knew anything about it. They were left out of the decision making process.”
Residents want the Home Office to send a representative to a further residents’ meeting to outline how they will make their travel plan work.
Cllr Graham Friend, who also represents the area on the borough council, said: “I only learned about the new crossings when a notice on a lamppost was pointed out to me. Surely there is a better way to inform people about such developments, especially when it has such a potential impact?”
Nominated residents have been invited to attend a walkabout with officers and councillors so that they can highlight their areas of concern and discuss how these can be minimised. Details of when the walkabout and next meeting are to take place will be announced shortly.
Cllr Friend added: “During our street surgeries over the last three weeks residents have pointed out issues and we have been able to get some of them resolved, like an extension to the pavement from Blackburne Close to the bus stop and a drop curb for disabled residents in Freshfield Avenue. Hopefully the walkabout will result in other measures to allay other concerns”.
Residents demand talks over travel plan
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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Again, it’s the consultation process that is missing! These major works affecting an area of the Borough ought to have been consulted on widely before being imposed on residents. Let’s hope at this late stage that residents can make a difference to the quality of the environment. Councillors seem to want to back residents, however, again it is the WBC Officers who are running rough shod over an area.
Let me get this straight….. There are new offices being built that will maybe add jobs and add to the local economy with regards to local shops, chippies etc. but residents are complaining??? The easy answer is to make the residential areas permit only surely? That way, the council can send the parking nazis out on their scooters every day and cop a shed load of parking fines for anyone not displaying a permit…… or am I missing something here?