Dear Editor
It’s ridiculous that no-one seems to be able to up-date residents as to when the new Reaseheath/Kingsbourne Estate A51 by-pass will open.
The by-pass is a key part of the Kingsbourne applications and is critical to avoid congestion on the highway network through Nantwich town, prevent ‘rat-runs’ through residential streets and enable Kingsbourne residents to access routes to Chester and the A500.
The by-pass is part of the S106 legal agreement (Developer Contributions) that states it must be open before the 750th dwelling is complete.
It was supposed to open in February 2022 including safe crossing engineering for the Equine, cycle and footpath underpass.
In addition, it was requested that the current Toucan crossing be relocated to the by-pass in May
Sadly these critical dates have come and gone with no sign of progress – despite requests by myself and Worleston Parish Council to Cllr Pochin and CEC,
In January, Cllr Pochin confirmed that the crossing was not in the original planning application.
It’s now being processed by CE planning officers and construction may be approaching the 750 dwellings target.
Under the new local Governance Review arrangements starting in May, Kingsbourne and parts of the Reaseheath site will move into the Nantwich Town Council parish area in May 2023 and so I have asked them to request an update on revised timings
It is disappointing that the developers are dragging their heels to open the road, possibly because this could be detrimental to sales.
But Nantwich residents have a right to be informed of progress, and to know when this essential infrastructure will be completed.
Reference: https://moderngov.cheshireeast.gov.uk/documents/s28569/13%202471N.pdf
Kind Regards
Vicky
Nantwich
It really should have been opened first before they started building along wioth the central spine road from the football club and all of the construction traffic and early buyers would never have come through the town. It’s been shockingly managed by CEC all the way through – they seem hell bent on doing everything to support developers not residents.
years ago the developers were cagey when asked this question, thats why I pulled out of buying there, its nothing short of a main artery road to relieve pressure on the town centre, and quite rightly as there are too many bottlenecks at present
Is it the developers delaying the opening? The road is 99% built so just needs the connection at both ends completing. Nobody seems to know why this has not been done. It would be good if someone could tell us why.
Suggest you and the Parish Council(s) and Town Council contact Cheshire East Planning, Section 106 Officer to remind the officer of the developer’s legal obligation re 750 dwelling trigger.
Developers frequently ignore CE 106 obligations and are not chased by them re defaulting on completion percentages/numbers of dwellings and the incentive to complete a 106 task is lost. A block/hold on house sales until the 106 obligation is completed should focus the developer to complete the roadworks before house sales can recommence.