Plans to change the traffic flows around Clopton Bridge in Stratford have hit a funding jam
CONTROVERSIAL plans to change the traffic flows around Clopton Bridge in Stratford have hit a funding jam – with one expert now suggesting the £2m project will never go ahead.
Warwickshire County Council confirmed the latest delay this week. The six-month project had been due to start in February but funding issues, the council said, meant the start had been pushed back to the autumn.
As previously reported in the Herald, the scheme could see traffic lights installed at the junction of Clopton Bridge with Swans Nest Lane, Tiddington Road and Banbury Road, with other measures included such as a traffic light-controlled pedestrian crossing at the start of Tiddington Road.
The aim of the project, which was created to cope with cars from new housing being built south of the river, is to allow traffic from Tiddington Road to turn right onto the bridge, rather than join the queues heading into town from Banbury and Shipston roads.
A spokesperson for the council told the Herald: “The scheme is being funded through Section 106 contributions from various development sites.
“The complication is that not all of the funding has been collected yet from the various developers and it is unclear if sufficient funding is available given the current sharp rise in construction costs as a result of inflationary pressures.
“We are working towards a solution which will hopefully see the scheme into the construction phase in the autumn. Warwickshire County Council and Taylor Wimpey homes continue to work closely together to develop and deliver the traffic signalisation works at Clopton Bridge.
“There are still some issues to be resolved, but we are working hard to ensure this vital scheme is delivered.”
The scheme has faced opposition and the latest delay is likely to spark further calls for a rethink.
Stratford Town Transport Group believes the £2m cost of the project could be better spent on financing a sustainable transport study for the town.
Its chairman Colin Stewart, a
transport consultant and former director of Arup – responsible for transport projects, told the Herald: “From the start we cannot see that the project works.
“It would make all access routes considerably worse and increase traffic congestion and pollution, which affects the climate and the environment, despite the climate pledge taken by town, district and county councils to reduce carbon and pollution.
“We’ve seen people on seats in the Boathouse gardens enjoying the water, but six months of construction would make the pollution even worse.
“The money should be spent on a sustainable traffic survey for Stratford because many of the decisions involved in this scheme were made seven years ago and we want to see it withdrawn.
“My understanding is that county councillors in Stratford don’t buy into it and Stratford Town Transport Group doesn’t buy into it. We recently approached Taylor Wimpey and Spitfire Homes and asked if they had requested a variation in the planning application with the county council to try to do something different and they told us ‘their hands were tied’.
“We’re going round and round in circles, however, both developers and the county council could deliver something of real value to the town.”
The Town Transport Group says a sustainable transport study should include road, rail, park and ride, cycling and other active travel modes to improve the long-term transport.
Town, district and county councillor, Kate Rolfe, who is also a member of Stratford Town Transport Group, said she is opposed to the scheme.
“I’d rather it didn’t happen but if it has to go ahead, isn’t autumn the best time? It’s better than spring and summer, it simply cannot happen during the summer,” she said. “I’ve had no specific date but if the bulk of the work can be done in September then it will avoid the run-up to Christmas.”
Cllr Rolfe also hoped the scheme would allow some traffic flow across the bridge during works, rather than it be fully closed throughout.
