Reminder - A595 public consultation - four weeks to go.

Regular readers of this blog will know, but I make no apology for reminding people, that there is a current public consultation about a possible A595 relief road for Whitehaven. I believe this has the potential to significantly improve the viability of West Cumberland Hospital and outcomes for patients.

This is a first stage consultation by Highways England who have not yet defined a route for the proposed new road and assure me that they are genuinely interested in suggestions from local stakeholders and the public about where the road should go.

One of the suggestions which has been discussed between local county councillors and Highways England is the possibility that the relief road could include a specific spur to the hospital. The most likely route - East of Whitehaven from approximately the present Moresby roundabout at the South end of the Distington by-pass to a point between Westlakes and Moor Row - would make this relatively easy to add.

Clearly this would be a huge benefit to ambulances and patients needing to get to WCH in a hurry - and I doubt if I need to spell out to anyone reading this the potential benefit in terms of patient outcomes from that - but it would also make it easier for staff and resources to get to the West Cumberland and thereby improve the viability of the hospital. 

The proposed new relief road is not dependent on Moorside and it is a serious proposal. At the start of this month Transport secretary Chris Grayling came in person to Copeland to kick off the consultation on the proposed Whitehaven Relief Road and announced his "Cast Iron Commitment" to improving Cumbria's Roads as you can read on the government website at


Chris Grayling said:
  • "Investing in Cumbria’s vital transport routes cuts congestion, ensures drivers enjoy faster, safer journeys, and increases the freight capacity needed to drive forward jobs and economic growth." 
  • "This shows our cast-iron commitment to Cumbria, as we deliver the investment needed to provide businesses and commuters with more reliable and resilient journeys." 
  • The Secretary of State for transport also confirmed ongoing discussions with local partners on proposals to progress development of a major programme of upgrades on the Cumbrian Coast rail line to support expected major investments in West Cumbria and the creation of new jobs.

The consultation formally began on Wednesday 7th November 2018 and lasts until 19th December 2018. Consultation survey forms were sent out to residents in the Whitehaven area and for some distance around and the consultation programme included three drop-in surgeries, one last Saturday and the others next week:

Date Time Venue Address
Wednesday 28 November 2pm – 7pm Beacon Museum The Beacon Portal, West Strand, Whitehaven, CA28 7LY
Thursday 29 November 10am – 2pm Ingwell Hall (Gunson Room) Ingwell Drive, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA24 3JZ


You can also read details of the consultation and respond online at


I believe that we need this road and that it would be particularly helpful if as many people as possible responded to the consultation and said so, and if they also included in their response that it would be a very good idea - and very probably save lives - if the relief road included a spur to West Cumberland Hospital.

If you want to respond to the consultation you can do so using any of the four following methods by 19 December 2018:

  • Online – complete the response form online using the above link
  • Complete the consultation response form in the consultation brochure and return it using the freepost address provided 
  • Email your response to: A595Whitehaven@highwaysengland.co.uk 
  • Post – write to Highways England at: 

Business Reply Plus Licence Number RTZS–CEET–CSXR WSP
Amber Court
William Armstrong Drive
Newcastle upon Tyne
Tyne and Wear NE4 7YQ

All responses should be returned by 19 December 2018.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Anyone should know that the gradient from Howgate area over the top are too steep for a main road so it will not happen. An acceptable gradient would require the road coming up from nearer Distington or even near the old Distington - Moresby line, but that's not going to happen either; permission has just been granted for a housing development at Distington goods yard. There is no point wasting money on a bypass of Whitehaven - it'll be a road to nowhere.
7:57 pm
Jim said…
why is it too steep a gradient? there are several steeper on the A66, I dont really see your point here.
4:12 pm
Anonymous said…
See Highways Agency's Standards for Highways
11:58 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
This is a first stage consultation in which everything is open to discussion and the route is not set in stone.

The possibility of taking the by-pass from Distington or Lillyhall and using the old railway line has already been put to Highways England by one of my colleagues and they said they are willing to consider it. (It'll be looked at more seriously if lots of people suggest it, so if that is what you think should be done, write to them and say so.) I would not take for granted because of a planning permission which has yet to be implemented that the railway route is off the table.

If the North end of the relief road were in the Howgate area, the gradient would have to be made shallower than then existing line of the hill by using embankments and cuttings. The people who build major roads have a vast amount of experience at doing this, as a quick glance at any section of motorway in Cumbria and many other major roads - including the Distington by-pass in that very area - will demonstrate.


It will not be either a waste of money or a road to nowhere, it would facilitate journeys to the largest employment site in Cumbria and divert some of the vast amount of traffic that site generates away from where it is currently causing substantial problems for the people I represent on the county council and many other residents of West Cumbria.
1:51 am
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