Birmingham Road plans paused to allow access to Stratford's Covid-19 vaccination centre

PLANNED improvements to Birmingham Road in Stratford have been put on hold to ensure access is maintained to the town’s Covid-19 vaccination centre at Stratford Hospital.

Warwickshire County Council had been planning to improve the road surface and create cycling and pedestrian pathways as part of phase one of the scheme.

Work would have been carried out from the Windsor Street junction to Arden Street junction, but is now on hold to enable safe access to the hospital, the council said.

The council added that it remained fully committed to the scheme but said the vaccine rollout, and access for motorists heading to the hospital, had to take priority.

The project was ready to be started and will take place once it is possible to do so without any compromise to access to the vaccination centre, the council promised.

Cllr Jeff Clarke, the county’s portfolio holder for transport and highways, said: “The county had moved at real pace to be ready to roll out the improvements in March. However, it is essential that we prioritise all our efforts to supporting the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines in order to control the virus. We will therefore pause the works on the Birmingham Road.

“Warwickshire County Council remains committed to supporting the residents of Stratford with excellent transport infrastructure and opportunities to walk or cycle safely. These works will be started at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccination deployment minister, said: “It is absolutely right that all current efforts are focussed on the vaccine rollout. I therefore support this decision and look forward to works starting on the Birmingham Road as soon as possible.”