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North West M6 – Port of Heysham link road North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce 35 years is a long time for a scheme to come to fruition…but no one would be surprised if in another 35 years time people will still be talking about the possibility of the M6 Port of Heysham link road. Access to the Morecombe and Heysham peninsula from the M6 is severely constrained by the existing crossings over the River Lune. All journeys from the south and east have to travel into the City of Lancaster to use the gyratory system which takes in the two bridges over the river. Average speed in the morning peak? 9 mph. In 1962 (35 years ago!) a northern route was proposed but in 1985 a western route was identified and both routes were taken to Public Consultation in 1993, 1997 and again in 2001. There was overwhelming support for the completion of a route, with approximately equal public support for each route. Lancashire County Council originally favoured the Western Route. However, the report on the Examination in Public of the 1991-2006 Lancashire Structure Plan, the Inspector's report on the Lancaster Local Plan Inquiry 1998/9 and the Government's response to the 2001/2-2005/6 Local Transport Plan were all critical of the Western Route due to its potential visual and environmental impacts. So, that leaves us with the northern route… On the advice that the Western Route was unbuildable due to impacts on European Protected Areas and Species, Lancashire County Council chose the Northern Route as the preferred option in September 2004. The estimated cost is £87.7m. The Planning Application for the Link Road (Northern Route) is the subject of a Public Inquiry which starts on 10th July 2007. The latest news is that last week Lancaster City Council voted to oppose the planning application. The Link Road needs to be built. To show your support please sign the petition below.   Full Name:   Name of Company:   Email Address: East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce The M65 was originally intended to be three lanes; indeed bridges were even constructed for that. Unfortunately it was actually built as two lanes at what many predicted precisely to be its critical point, on the outskirts of Blackburn. It is effectively the transport artery for 1/2million population and its industrial base. Being two-lane it is prone to stoppages and queuing on slip-roads to avoid stationary and high speed traffic colliding. This is already hampering economic growth and, more worryingly, may lead to severe constraints on future growth. The Highways Agency, with its development control remit, can place restrictions on future industrial development along the M65, like the Whitebirk Strategic Employment Site, in order to cap congestion. Restoring the M65 to the original 3 lanes between Junctions 5 and 7 would ease congestion, however, one of the justifications now for expanding a motorway is 'super-congestion' - a state we are unlikely to reach in the near future if much needed industrial development is blocked. East Lancashire's efforts at economic catch-up, from a poor starting point, are therefore further disadvantaged by the M65 being improperly resourced at two lanes in the first place, and there is now the 'Catch-22' in that planning restrictions on future Motorway development prevents the very conditions that have to be satisfied to amend this. Sign our petition below if you want to see the M65 expand for the future growth and prosperity of East Lancashire.   Full Name:   Name of Company:   Email Address: Widening of the M6 between junctions J11A and J19 Birmingham, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce As anyone who has whittled away hours of their life sitting in traffic on the M6 between J11A and J19 knows, there is perhaps no better example of the inadequacies of the planning system than this. This section of the M6 services both the West Midlands and the North West and is an integral part of the UK’s road network. Congestion currently costs the West Midlands an estimated £2.2 billion per annum with this projected to worsen dramatically as peak hour travel times increase by up to 35 per cent by 2011 in the West Midlands Local Transport Plan. Similarly, it is estimated in the next decade 30,000 jobs in the Greater Manchester region will be put at risk by rising congestion. The congested and overloaded M6 makes a significant contribution to these difficulties with one firm in North Staffordshire attributing costs of £15,000 to delays between J. 17-18 on one day in 2006. The proposal to improve the situation involves widening the M6 to four lanes within those junctions. This will increase capacity and allow businesses to get to their destinations quicker. The current proposal was supposed to be refined for Spring 2007 entry into the Department for Transport’s Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI). However, as of June 2007 further decisions have been held up pending a report on the impact of a widened M6 on traffic growth, climate change and the local road network. It is not expected to be taken to public consultation until 2008, with a Preferred Scheme Announcement in 2008 at the earliest. This would though depend upon the final form of the scheme and whether it is actually taken forward. The Highways Agency does not expect to be able to publish draft Orders or the Environmental Statement before 2009/10. We do not expect the widening to be implemented before 2017. This is simply not good enough. To show your frustration at the failure of politicians and officials to get on with this crucial position please sign the petition.   Full Name:   Name of Company:   Email Address:

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