Dear Mrs Oliver,

I provide Stockport Council’s response regarding your request
below and you may also receive a similarly worded response from Cheshire East
Council.

Cheshire East and Stockport Council are currently applying for
planning permission regarding the construction of the Hazel Grove/Buxton
Railway Bridge. This is being applied for as a result of the applicant working
closely with Network Rail throughout the development of the original approved
design for the Hazel Grove/Buxton Railway Bridge (as per the planning
permission granted by Stockport Council in June 2014) and subsequently in the
development and detail of the design to arrive at the design that is the
subject of this planning application. Throughout this period of technical
design development and Network Rail liaison, a number of issues have been
identified which have influenced the design and led to changes to the original
approved design.

·
Requirement
to accommodate provision for a three-metre wide access track beneath the bridge
on the east side of the A6MARR carriageway, as requested by Network Rail.
This is for a possible future footpath (FP75) diversion, which would allow
Network Rail to close the nearby uncontrolled pedestrian crossing as part of a
national drive to eliminate this type of crossing.

·
Effects
of ground conditions which necessitated an increase in the retained height for
track support between piles in the previous design.

·
To
address Network Rail concerns regarding increased retaining wall height for
track support between supporting piles.

·
To
de-risk the Network Rail possession programme for bridge
construction/installation.

·
To
accommodate other Network Rail requests, including provision of a permanent
bearings inspection gallery at each abutment.

It was therefore concluded that the structure design would need to
be altered, hence the requirement for the recent planning permission as
referenced.

There are no documents pertaining to a potential 2 year delay
referenced within the FOI. Currently the works are still progressing as
programmed.

Yours sincerely,

Anwar Majothi

Corporate Complaints Manager (CSS)