Consultation on £2.5m highways improvement scheme for Whitehaven
A consultation has started on revised plans for a £2.5 million highways improvement scheme for Whitehaven.
Cumbria County Council is proposing to reconfigure the road junction at Bransty Row / North Shore Road in the town’s North Shore area, which would help to pave the way for significant new development.
The scheme is designed to assist future development in the North Shore area and create an enhanced entrance into Whitehaven. In doing so, the scheme will ease congestion, improve traffic flow and enhance road safety for drivers and pedestrians. .
A number of changes are now being proposed to the scheme, in response to feedback from a consultation earlier this year, including improved provision for cyclists and those with a disability.
The county council has secured £1.66m of funding for the highways upgrade scheme from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund, together with a £834,000 contribution from profit for purpose property firm, BEC.
BEC will be bringing forward an exciting multi-million pound regeneration scheme for the North Shore, including plans for a digital and creative hub, artisan eatery, a c.100 bed hotel, a 75,000 sq ft office and mixed use development, and a multi-storey car park.
Cumbria County Council has launched a consultation on the improvement scheme, which includes:
- Introduction of traffic light controls on Bransty Row/North Shore Road junction.
- Improved pedestrian crossing points and links between the harbour, the proposed new developments and the town centre’s historic core.
- Enhancement of the road junction at Tangier Street/George Street to improve traffic flow and facilitate development.
- Relocation and increase in provision for taxis to reflect forecast increased footfall in the area.
- Public realm improvements to enhance the gateway into Whitehaven.
Local residents and businesses are being invited to have their say and discuss the revised scheme with Cumbria County Council. Drop-in sessions will take place on:
- 8 October 2018 between 2.30pm and 7pm at the porta cabin, Bransty Row, Whitehaven (opposite the Wetherspoon’s pub)
- 11 October 2018 between 2.30pm - 7pm at Tesco, Bransty Row, Whitehaven
Full details of the plan and feedback forms will also be available at Whitehaven Library throughout the consultation period.
More information about the plans can also be found on the county council’s website at cumbria.gov.uk/bransty
Councillor Keith Hitchen, Chair of Cumbria County Council’s Copeland Local Committee, said: “This is a key junction providing a Gateway into Whitehaven. The improvements being proposed will not only unlock substantial new investment in the town by BEC, but also improve traffic flow and road safety locally. The original plans attracted a lot of good ideas, comments and interest when we held a consultation in April. We have listened to what people had to say, taken account of that feedback and made changes to the scheme. We’re now holding a new consultation on the revised plans and inviting people to tell us what they think.”
Michael Pemberton, CEO, BEC, said: “We are delighted to see Cumbria County Council progressing with its consultation. This time taken to listen to the local people, who will benefit from the redevelopment of the North Shore area, will ensure that Whitehaven’s gateway gets the road infrastructure it deserves. Work commences on the first element of North Shore later this year - the revamping of the old bus station into a premier workspace hub for the area’s growing digital and creative industries, with complementary artisan eatery that will be open for all local residents to enjoy. The speed at which our plans are progressing and the favourable response we have received during our own consultation underpin the need for these long overdue improvements to Whitehaven’s roads and we look forward to the works commencing following final review.”
The consultation will close on 18 October 2018. Any comments or objections to the proposals should be emailed to kim.baxter@cumbria.gov.uk or posted to: Cumbria County Council, Customer and Community Services, Cumbria House, Carlisle, CA1 1RD by 18 October 2018. Correspondence should be marked with the reference: KB4.41008/15001358.
For more information, go to cumbria.gov.uk/bransty
