CAMPAIGNERS opposing an experimental plan to reduce traffic at Orford have organised a peaceful protest outside Warrington town hall on Monday evening, ahead of the council’s Cabinet meeting.
More than 4,000 people have now signed a protest petition, with Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols also raising concerns, with many residents claiming they knew nothing of the proposals until they heard about them via media reports, or recent signage.
Key concerns of the Central 6 Traffic scheme are the introduction of a ‘bus gate’ and closing Hallfields Road to through traffic at Orford.
Campaign spokesperson Rachael Harper said: “Thousands of residents are against this, especially since we were not given appropriate consultation and the majority of us only found out about this through road signs and the local press three weeks prior to this being implemented on the 20th of June.
“The main concerns from residents are around Hallfields road/ in Orford being access only for buses and taxis, cutting out a through road that thousands of people use daily. This will consequently divert all traffic down the two busiest roads in Warrington (Winwick Road and Padgate Lane).
A sign warning of the new bus gate
The public consultation plans can be found CLICK HERE
“In light of this I started a petition for Orford residents, and this quickly gained huge popularity online and has now received over 4000 signatures. It can be found here:- https://www.change.org/p/oppose-the-central-6-plan-for-orford-in-warrington
(L-R) Cllr. Morgan Tarr, Cllr. Claire Lloyd-Fitzgerald and Cllr Helen Milner
Rachael added: “This is quite a statement given there has never been speed bumps, speed cameras or so much as a pedestrian crossing on Hallfields road despite there being a local school. It also ignores the fact that most residents (despite low numbers at public consultation) have been against these plans from the start.
“In response to this I then set up a public Facebook group for residents across Warrington who were in opposition to the plan, and this gained 3000 members in 24 hours. We are now closing in on over 4000 and expect that to grow more. From the group posts one thing became predominantly clear; that people need an outlet for their feelings on this. The facebook group (which is public for full transparency) can be found here:- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1145658036275644
“So with that in mind, I and some fellow people/ admins have organised a peaceful protest that is to take place next Monday 13th June outside Warrington town hall. This will start at 5:30 to coincide with the council cabinet meeting at 6pm (it will end around 6:30pm).
“I have given advanced notice to Warrington Police of the peaceful demonstration, and they are providing two community officers to assist. Given the amount of people who have shared and liked the post within the group in the last few hours, I am expecting at least a few hundred people to attend.”
Rachael concluded: “our main concerns regarding the scheme are as follows:-
-It will subsequently increase journey time for a lot of residents causing more pollution
-It will cause huge problems in people doing school runs and then getting to work due to the huge amounts of traffic using Winwick road and Padgate Lane at peak times
-It will impact on the local community where there is a new by residential care village and junior football matches nearby
-Local businesses have expressed concern on what impact this will have on them, I myself use the gym and hairdressers in the area and this will triple my journey time.
Meanwhile, posters are starting to appear in homes and premises throughout the area protesting about the proposed traffic changes.
4 Comments
Let’s just hope that this gives WBC the bloodied nose it deserves for ignoring public concerns and manipulating data to suit their agenda. On top of the financial fiascos of Together Energy and Redwood Bank and the apparently dubious loans to other businesses, it would seem the time has come for some of the senior members to accept their failure to adequately represent the wishes of the communities that have elected them.
A very generous article … giving the council enough space to call a re-think on a no-blame basis – well done Warrington worldwide. The sticking point now is the weakness of the local
Labour councillors to fight for public common sense and the extraordinary hubris of a council leader – out on bail – will they listen and act ? Let’s hope so ..
A great editorial piece by Gary – let’s just hope the arrogant Councillors pay attention to the people who pay their wages and expenses for once
Let us just hope that the good folk of Warrington remember this grossly arrogant proposition by our elected representatives (along with their dodgy financial investments, the Western Link road fiasco and all the other mis-managed schemes that this council has foisted on to the long suffering council tax payers ) when the local council elections come round again, and vote out this bunch of self-serving clowns. Somewhere there must be an awful lot of villages who are missing their idiots.