Cabinet approves CPO for Cheshire bypass

Cheshire East Council will enact a compulsory purchase order and side road order to enable the delivery of the Middlewich Eastern Bypass.

Initial construction work was scheduled to start in 2021, with an estimated 20-month period, subject to planning, land agreements and funding approvals.

However, the council said that due to severe wet weather in the 2019-20 winter, combined with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, ground investigation works have been delayed and won’t now be complete until later this year, pushing the start date back to winter 2021-22, with an estimated 22-month construction period.

Scheme designer Jacobs has, said CEC, managed to mitigate some of the delay by reducing the amount of imported material required, shortening the construction period and overall programme, potentially saving approximately £3.5m.

The bypass will be a 2.6km, two-way single carriageway connecting Cledford Lane and the A533.

Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “This scheme will be a tremendous asset to Middlewich and the surrounding areas.

“The plans will also support the delivery of housing and employment in the town and include a combined cycleway and footway, as a demonstration of our commitment to active travel.”

Cheshire East is to press ahead with two key walking and cycling routes in a £2.8m plan, with one route to be created in Leighton, Crewe and one in Wilmslow.

In Crewe, the A530 scheme will support the north west Crewe housing package and will improve walking and cycling links to the Bentley campus, Leighton Hospital and Leighton Academy.

In Wilmslow, the new scheme will link the railway station with the town centre, Wilmslow High School, the Royal London campus and Alderley Park. Construction could begin as early as the autumn.

Consultation on the proposed Wilmslow walking and cycling route scheme is open until 24 July. Grant funding of £1.6m from the Cheshire & Warrington LEP has been confirmed.

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