A BYPASS could be back on the agenda for Studley.
It comes after a public meeting at Studley High School on Friday which examined the findings of a transport survey by consultants Atkins.
The event, chaired by Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi, raised the prospect of accessing money from the Government to improve the infrastructure proposed by a high level report into the nation’s roads by transport thinktank Rees Jeffries Road Fund.
This report identified ‘3,800 miles of roads that are missing out: the ‘strategic’ local authority-controlled ‘A’ roads – also heavily trafficked, especially with commercial transport, providing essential connectivity by filling the gaps in the strategic road network.’
The A435 through Studley, which was de-trunked in 2008, is one of those ‘heavily trafficked’ roads, with the Atkins figures, although much derided at the meeting, indicating it carried some 16,000 in just 24 hours through the village.
This, said the company’s Lindsay Stack: “was a very high amount of traffic indeed.”
Mr Zahawi told the meeting: ” It’s no secret that the Government is looking into our infrastructure and there is the possibility of fastracking this work because the pots of money are there.”
And he pledged to do all he could to ease the situation in the village: “I promise you I will champion Studley.
“It’s important that we focus on getting the work done, the stuff we can do now and also the work which requires much more effort, but I promise you we really will make this work.”
Rachel Maclean, MP for Redditch, nodded her approval at his words.
Adrian Taylor, practice manager for Atkins, while enduring a hard time from residents angry at the nature of the survey, said he had never seen such support – from MPs and parish, district and county councillors for such a scheme.
“I have never seen a show of support for a scheme like this before and I think there is a firm commitment to do something here,” he said.
Speaking after the meeting Councillor Paul Beaman, chairman of Studley Parish Council, said: “From the meeting I would say that some form of bypass is back on the agenda,” he said.
“That’s as long as the willingness is there to commit to it, but as far as I can see it is the only option I can see.”
What it means:
Funds for any improvements/bypass as a result of the Rees Jeffries Road Fund are not expected to be released until 2020.
Until then, a series of mitigating proposals have been put forward by Atkins with support from Warwickshire County Council’ These include a village ‘gateway’ to encourage drivers to slow down, ‘public realm improvements’ to help give Studley a more ‘village’ feel, road profiling to reduce noise, to lowering speed limits. To comment on the proposals visit [email protected].
Friday’s meeting was the first of many planned to keep the public up to date with progress on the A435 works.
