Cheshire East Council,

Development Management,

PO Box 606,

Municipal Buildings,

Earle Street,

Crewe, CW1 9HP Friday, October 14th, 2016

Dear Sir or Madam,

POYNTON RELIEF ROAD PLANNING APPLICATION: 16/4436M

The North West Transport Roundtable (NW TAR), which operates under the auspices of the Campaign for Better Transport, promotes sustainable transport and land use and healthier lives. We espouse ‘Smart Growth’ and reducing the need to travel.

Our Comments

NW TAR sustains its objection to the A523 Poynton Relief Road – one of the SEMMMS roads - and refers to the detailed letter, dated November 29th, 2015, that we submitted to the highways department in response to the pre-planning consultation on the road.

None of the many issues and concerns we raised in that earlier submission have been addressed. There has, however, been some more information revealedby Cheshire East Council. We note that the estimated time saved for a journey from Hazel Grove to Adlington on the new road as opposed to the existing one would be just two minutes and eight seconds. This would be at scheme opening, before the road suffered the usual problems of new traffic movements generated by the existence of new road space. There is now plenty of evidence to show that drivers do not notice such small time savings. Yet, based on this and the number of vehicles predicted to use the road, a case is made to spend £30m. – which could be so much better invested in improving the Manchester-bound railway stations at Macclesfield, Adlington, Prestbury and Poynton (including cycle parking provision and access) and improving the service. This would achieve modal shift. Providing more highway capacity merely encourages more vehicle trips and creates demand for more highway space. This is not sustainable.

We have also, in previous submissions, referred to the forming – by stealth – of a new strategic highway corridor that would eventually run from the M60 in Stockport to the M6 at Sandbach. Cheshire East Council has been sent a ‘think piece’ written by leading transport consultant, Keith Buchan, in which he drew attention to this 30-mile route which includes the A6 Stockport North-South Bypass (still very much an aspiration of Stockport MBC), the Poynton Relief Road, the Macclesfield Silk Road, the Macclesfield South West Distributor Road (a part of Cheshire East’s plans to develop a large area of Green Belt around Macclesfield), proposed improvements to the A536 and the planned Congleton Link Road. Only a tiny area of the A523 south of Macclesfield is missing from this scenario and there have formerly been plans to improve this section. No modelling has been carried out/revealed for this scenario any more than any has been carried out/ revealed for all the SEMMMS network of roads as an entity. This is inexcusable and should be remedied before planning permission is considered.

Yours faithfully,

LILLIAN BURNS, ConvenorE:

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