Whitehaven Relief road proposals are not dependent on Moorside

Yesterday's statement by Toshiba is clearly a serious blog to the Moorside project though I do not accept that the possibility of a new nuclear power station near Sellafield is dead. Existing coal and nuclear power stations are closing and renewables simply cannot provide enough 24/7 base load power, although the share of renewables in the mix will undoubtedly rise.

 But one thing which will not be affected is the proposal for a Whitehaven Relief road. 

 When Transport secretary Chris Grayling came to Copeland to kick off the consultation on the proposed Relief Road at a briefing for councillors and local stakeholders, one of the councillors present specifically asked whether the proposal was dependent on the Moorside project going ahead.

 The answer from Highways England was clear and specific: they pointed to a whole string of projects, of which Moorside was only one, which are expected to generate more traffic and which the existing road network could not cope with. Even without Moorside there is a need for major enhancements to Cumbria's road. So no, the proposed new road is not dependent on Moorside. 

As I have previously written, Chris Grayling 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 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 and lasts until 19th December 2018. Consultation survey forms have been going out this week and there are three drop-in surgeries.

Details are available on the consultation website: you can about what is under consideration, find details of consultation events, and respond at

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/he/a595-whitehaven-public-consultation/ 

I would strongly urge anyone who thinks West Cumbria needs more investment in our roads to take part in the consultation and say so.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nick Herbert on his visit to flood hit areas of Cumbria

Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
Read more

Quotes of the day 19th August 2020

Image
"Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise."  ( Cato the Elder , who lived 234 BC - 149 BC, quoted in "Lives" by Plutarch.) There is a similar saying by Germany's Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck: Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have put the same saying in a more humorous form: "Wise men profit by the mistakes of others, while fools will not learn even from their own blunders." See also this thread on the "Quote Investigator" website . Let us all be wise and learn from the events of the last few days.
Read more

Quote of the day 24th July 2020

Image
I was moved to put the passage below forward as a quote today when I saw a horrible post on twitter from someone writing that it was "excellent" that someone who took a different view from her about Brexit had died. I won't write which way round it was so that all the Remain supporters can assume the post was from a Brexit fanatic welcoming the death of a remainer and all the Leavers can assume it was a Remainiac welcoming one less Brexiteer. There's been plenty of nasty stuff on both sides but if you catch anyone of your own viewpoint  posting something like that who might listen to you, please do call them out on it - and point out that they're giving everyone on your side of the argument a bad name. Anyway, here's the quote from John Donne.
Read more