Future of Stratford's proposed South Western Relief Road could become clearer in the autumn
THE results of a study which is investigating alternatives to building a South Western Relief Road will be available in September.
Stratford District Council announced in late 2021 that it would research alternative – and sustainable – travel options for people living at the Garden Village at Long Marston, where thousands of more homes are yet to be built.
The aim, with partners at Warwickshire County Council, was to determine if Covid had changed the need for a major new road – at an estimated cost of £200m – linking the area to Stratford as more people worked from home or in hybrid situations.
That study seems to have grown in its complexity – it is, after all, a situation that needs to take in current and future traffic growth and all the developments being planned for Long Marston, south of the river in Stratford, along Campden Road and other parts of the district.
Two parts of the Sustainable Transport Options Study have been completed, but a further stage has been added to access the viability of its conclusions prior to the results being published.
As the future development of around 3,000 homes at Long Martson are reliant on upgraded transport infrastructure, the planning decisions for these houses have had to be put back again.
A council report states: “To this effect the current deadlines for the planning performance agreements in respect of the current planning applications have been extended until 30th September 2023 to take into account this ongoing study.”
When it announced the study, the council stressed the option of the relief road was being retained, although the elephant in the room for that project was a lack of funding.
Another, as reported by the Herald in September 2021, is that an insider at Warwickshire County Council revealed to the newspaper that the road project was unlikely to happen – not only because of the funding gap, but also because of public opposition.
The Sustainable Transport Options Study will take into account the need for green alternatives and the work-from-home culture, but there is some doubt that people’s working habits have changed permanently.
Cllr Tony Jefferson, leader of Stratford District Council, told the Herald: “The situation is more complex than people think. There has been a behavioural change and we need to understand if that is permanent and how much is temporary. It seems to be in flux at the moment.”
He wants to see a strategic, much wider approach to tackling transport issues in the district.
The parts of the report that are complete have looked at vision for Long Martson and if people’s travel habits can be changed by increasing services and active travel options around the Garden Village. The council’s report adds that it examines ‘services which promote local living and tackle isolation’.
A second stage of the study details assessment of mass transit options and ‘shared mobility solutions’ as well as an appraisal of a viable size of ‘a truly self-sustaining settlement’.
The report adds: ‘Once the findings of this study have been reported they will need to be considered by all parties and a possible way forward in respect of the current applications agreed.’
However, an opposition councillor has called for the council to abandon plans for the relief road altogether.
Cllr David Curtis (Lib Dem, Shottery) said: “It’s extremely disappointing that it’s suddenly been found necessary to extend deadlines for this work yet again.
“The relief road would have a major impact on Luddington and Shottery and residents have complained for years that the proposals have blighted their properties. This extension will not help them.”
He added: “Meanwhile building continues in Long Marston and the surrounding area and traffic has been increasing.
“Since I was elected in 2019 I have campaigned against this road. Surely it is now time for the Conservative-controlled county and district councils to abandon their plans which will destroy valuable habitats, shattering the peace and quiet of the river meadows and increasing pollution and congestion. How is this compatible with the district council’s climate change emergency?”
A proposed route for the South Western Relief Road would go from Luddington Road, across the River Avon and the Greenway to join Campden Road.
That route was included in a 2016 road capacity study which also suggested Stratford would need an Eastern Relief Road – that would run from the A422 Banbury
Road, crossing the River Avon at Tiddington and joining the A439 Warwick Road.
