Hardly a week passes without a new thread on Facebook or Twitter about the cycle lanes going through Stretford. The main complaint has been the lack of transparency and news about what’s going to happen to them. Will they be made permanent? Will they be taken out? Will the cones be there forever?
There’s been some changes to Trafford’s leadership since the election and Councillor Aidan Williams has been added to the cabinet to take on Climate Change and Transport Strategy.
Councillor Williams took the opportunity of addressing a petition to give a wider update on the A56 last week when Council met at the town hall. The actual petition sought to exploit unused rail space alongside the Stretford Metrolink all the way down to Sale to provide additional cycling capacity. The council leadership agreed to explore the potential of this proposal but highlighted the limited access as an issue that meant it could never offer an alternative to the A56 for short journeys on bikes.
The cycle lanes have been frustrating for drivers and cyclists alike. Now that Councillor Williams is in place, we’re beginning to get coherent messaging. First indication was a tweet that Aidan put out in mid July, a simple tweet that made its way to both the Manchester Evening News and the Messenger.
The update at last Wednesday’s council meeting built on the information given out in the tweet. The council is going to consult on permanent cycling infrastructure in Stretford linking it via the Talbot Road scheme and (Old) Chester Road that gives Stretford continuous segregated cycling to the Manchester border. The design and landscaping within the town centre itself will be wrapped up within the town centre masterplan there.
Personally, I very much welcome this. It’s beginning to join up cycling facilities. We need to see what they come up with at the Talbot Road junction because that’s still dangerous and if the test is a 12 year old being safe, we’re still a long way from that. But hey, this is so much better than what we’ve been used to.
I’m really pleased that we’re getting some transparency now and it sounds like Councillor Williams wants to listen to all interested parties. Clarity is vital. We now know that cycle lanes won’t be installed along Chester Road in Gorse Hill. That will disappoint many, but at least knowing it, means that we can focus getting more crossings of that road. A crossing at Gorse Hill Park gates is an absolute must.
And we still urgently need that pedestrian phase at the Park Road/Derbyshire Lane junction so people can walk to Stretford without having to sprint. If Councillor Williams’s Transport Strategy responsibilities extend to getting people across roads, we’ve got a chance to start seeing some real improvements.
Better maintenance of drains and general upkeep of streets wanted including weed control
– I heard this from quite a few residents. It’s a difficult one but we shouldn’t dismiss it. There was one grid pointed out to me that actually looked as though it had been cleaned. I might be wrong but if we have residents who believe their streets are not being serviced, and it worries them, shouldn’t we be giving better data. They’re paying council tax but we’re giving back information that’s borderline facetious describing the leaf clearance in terms of its weight in elephants. If residents want to know when and how often their grids ought to be cleared and whether that has happened we should be telling them.
I do think there’s a discussion to be had about street upkeep more generally. Cheap black tarmac patching on pavements highlight the fact that the pavements were originally laid to a standard that we’ll never match again. Whilst hopefully we can fund better than we do now, it’s probably unrealistic to think councils will ever realistically have sufficient funds to bring pavements and roads to a standard that people truly aspire to. How did that happen? Looking at it from a lay perspective, it looks to me that we’ve gone backwards even allowing for the increased workload we place on roads and pavements. Are we really using low tech and manual labour to standards lower than we used 100 years ago? Have councils and highway authorities demanded the sufficient improvements in technology and productivity that we’ve seen in almost every other field of work?
We really do need to enforce encroachment of vegetation onto the pavement. We’re denying people the right to move about freely if they’re pushing a pram or using mobility aids. This was raised by a resident in connection with a near neighbour and she’s absolutely right to raise.
I thought it interesting that one resident felt political parties ought to be more capable of working together. It’s polarised. I don’t know how we can change that.
Doorstep conversations are always interesting and provocative. I always come back with more challenges to the way we do things.
This week has brought a couple of pieces of casework that have not resulted in complete resolution (though have managed to get a couple of potholes fixed) but still worth the work in pursuing further.
Potholes in Lostock
There’s a lot of potholes in Norwich Road at its junction with Moss Vale Road. They’re not deep, but they are plentiful and the road looks a mess. Because they’re not deep, the holes do reach the criteria to be repaired. I’m arguing that the criteria should be tweaked to bring in sections of road where like Norwich Road, there’s been a systemic failure in a small section of road.
Barfoot Bridge
A resident noticed that the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct over the River Mersey was displaying visual signs of decay. I raised it with officers of the Bridgewater Canal and they’ve been to inspect.
The bridge seems to have weathered the recent storms and high water level in the river, but it’s worth giving consideration to the longer term. They’re hoping to bring forward the next more extensive inspection and have engaged a consultant of arched structures to look at the longer term. We want it to survive in perpetuity, so it’s worth following up on this.
A busy time for planning applications, both new applications and older ones being resolved:
Trafford Park Hotel
This is a new application for the Hotel which is oldest heritage asset in Trafford Park. It’s been allowed to deteriorate for some time though in recent years attempts have been made by what has been a procession of new owners to come up with a plan to provide new purpose to the pub.
We had an attempt to have it built into a boutique hotel development that included a new block adjacent to the pub. That was rejected out of hand by planners as the new block was considered too big.
We now have new owners and their vision is for apartments. Again there is a new block albeit somewhat smaller than that proposed earlier.
In terms of architecture, I’m supportive of the new application. It retains and repurposes the pub building and whilst the adjacent block is not blowing anyone away, this is what it might to take to preserve the pub building.
My problem is that it’s for apartments in a very much depopulated part of Trafford Park. It does have the tram and good bus connections. Trafford Park village actually has lovely shops but they are geared to a 5 day a week operation and there’s nothing there at all at weekends. We’ve very much reserved this whole area for industry and commercial activity since the last houses were demolished.
I think there’s a very good chance that planning officers will take a dim view of it being for residential use. This application might well go the way of the last application with summary dismissal.
Sadly, I think hotel use was a much better proposal but that application never even got to planning committee. I’m not making the same mistake twice. For that reason, I’ve ‘called’ the application in. At the very least it will allow councillors to have consideration of the remaining options for preserving this much loved listed building. I won’t be a councillor when the application is ready for determination but I’ve consulted with my fellow councillors and Dave and Laurence and both agree we need proper consideration of the proposal.
Manchester United Stadium
The future of Old Trafford has been the subject of much press speculation. It seems certain that significant proposals are being drawn up to either almost rebuild the current stadium, or to build a new stadium on nearby land.
I think it’s fair to say that as the main concerns will be traffic and community impact, local councillors will be sharpening their elbows to work their way to the front to be heard.
We know how these sorts of regionally significant projects have a tendency to pan out. There’s lots of ‘glad-handing’ of regional ministers, Metro-Mayors, not to mention leaders of Salford and Trafford, but little say from the communities most affected. Those local elbows will have to be razor sharp and in my view, it will be to the benefit of Manchester United if they are.
A Manchester United Stadium that meets the collected needs of the fans, the club and the people who live and work alongside has to be better than one that sets itself apart.
Greatstone Hotel
This was a planning application to build apartments on the site of the Greatstone Hotel adjacent to the Gorse Hill Park gates. The council refused planning permission but the applicants appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. The inspector Louise Crosby ruled in support of the refusal:
I have found that the proposal would have a significant harmful effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, great weight must also be given to the harm I have identified to designated heritage assets which is not outweighed by the public benefits. I have also found that the proposal would not provide adequate outdoor private amenity space for future residents of the apartments.
Louise Crosby
I’m sure they’ll come again with a new proposal or someone else will.
701 Chester Road – 169 bed hotel on corner with Warwick Road
This was the second time this site had come to planning. The first time, planning committee refused permission and to a certain extent, this was confirmed in an appeal against the decision.
The applicants tried to address the reasons for refusal endorsed by the planning inspector. So, this application had reduced maximum height and more car parking, particularly disabled car parking.
However, planning committee still didn’t approve the application for reasons of:
The design having a detrimental impact on the character and visual appearance of the street scene and the surrounding area.
The scale would give rise to an unduly overbearing and over-dominant impact and result in harmful overlooking to the detriment of the amenity that the adjoining occupants could reasonably expect to enjoy.
The proposed development would generate an additional demand for car parking which cannot be accommodated on this site in a satisfactory manner.
Interestingly to me as an observer, the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services was sufficiently disturbed by the overly theatrical performances of some members of the planning committee in their considerations, that he felt bound to chastise them over their lack of focus in what he rightfully reminded them was a quasi-judicial function.*
(*This is a nice way of saying that he gave them a bollocking and it’s unprecedented as far as I’m aware to do it in public unless one counts Jackie Weaver.)
School Streets – What are School Streets?
A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier and pleasant environment for everyone.
School Street schemes offer a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health and road danger reduction. A School Street scheme will encourage a healthier lifestyle and active travel to school for families and lead to a better environment for everyone.
Trafford is hoping to finally get one installed imminently. It’s taken too long but we’re there with our first pilot. Given we’re almost there, I’ve made a plea for data to be collated quickly in terms of how the school performs now. I want us to be able to show the difference that school streets make.
All things transport
Just to emphasise how important it was for Andy Burnham to have his franchising of Greater Manchester’s buses ruled as legal and legitimate, we can already see the benefit the decision to cap all bus fares to £2 for a single journey. The bus fares in Manchester over recent decades have almost forced people into cars. At last we’re allowed to bring some common sense to the issue.
Vernon Everitt has been appointed as Andy Burnham’s new Transport Commissioner to replace Chris Boardman who’s taken on a national role at Active Travel England.
Dame Sarah Storey takes over Chris Boardman’s other role for Active Travel in Greater Manchester.
If I’m honest, I’m not overly thrilled that the two disciplines are separated again. We really need everyone singing from the same hymn-sheet and I’m still concerned that those in TfGM responsible for traffic are resisting change. There are too many unresponsive crossings in GM and we’re nowhere near giving priority to pedestrian travel. I’d go as far as to say major sections of TfGM are not fit for purpose.
Covid-19
Bad news, I’m afraid. Trafford back as having highest rates in Greater Manchester and trends are all upwards. Hospital rates are rising. The only positive indicator is that use of ventilators are down.
Stretford Town Centre
Let’s finish on a positive note. Stretford took a another jump forward with planning permission granted to proceed to the next stage. This includes quite a substantial demolition to focus on the King Street area as well as underneath and around the multi-storey car park.
Now we’re moving beyond outline planning, I think we can lose the rather too cartoony CGI images of people dangling their feet in the canal. This is quite a radical change for Stretford but we did need to lose a lot of the Mall. The challenge is to make sure we have a Stretford that’s big enough to be the town centre we want, and that presents an attractive face to those coming through. I think we can deliver that.
With my imminent departure as councillor, I had to decide what to do with the website. It was really a choice of wipe it, or save it under a name that didn’t get in the way of the new team after the election.
As I’ve put a lot of work into the website over the past 15 years, I’m just not ready to wipe it. At a micro level, it does give something of a record of this brilliant place.
So I’m keeping it for now. I’ve named the site ‘From the Canal to Sevenways’. It pretty much describes the geometry on the map in each direction.
I wrote the blog because I felt duty-bound to report back to those who elected me. However, I’ve always enjoyed the writing of it. If anybody finds it informative now, or interesting, that’s a bonus.
Regards, Mike
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