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.