“Dear XXXX
Thank you for getting in touch – I appreciate that whilst the vast majority of residents support the scheme and the many benefits it will bring, not everyone does, and we are following the correct democratic processes to ensure everyone can have their say.
However, I must correct you on your last statement. PAULA are wrongly claiming that alternative plans were drawn up and not consulted on. They know that this is entirely untrue as it was them who came to the Council with the alternative route after the last consultation. The Council did some work to look at it, and in doing so found it had numerous issues that made it entirely unsuitable. That PAULA are now misleading people about this concerns me.
Best wishes,
Iain
“Well, the plans were drawn up, signed off by a Chartered Engineer but not put forward to the residents for their views.
PAULA did suggest a route to the South of Carr Wood which would have protected the wood according to the advice from the Woodland Trust, as well as being much cheaper (one junction replaces three) and much more resident friendly. But the Council never took the advice of the Woodland Trust presumably relying on the advice of their consultants who had previously managed to omit the protected status of Carr Wood from their environmental maps and scoping report. They may say Natural England were also consulted but they sent them these same incorrect documents.
Let’s face it, why would the Council expend time and effort producing controlled drawings for PAULA? Most of their published drawings have no sign off or revision history and are often marked draft. Far more likely is that very late in the day, they now appreciate they will have to make a case for destroying ancient woodland. They will have to argue on the basis that the alternative route is not an ideal alignment for extending up to Bredbury. However this presumes there is a good case for the extension.
On the grounds of air quality alone an extension to Bredbury looks dead in the water. Air quality considerations have already scotched plans for using the hard shoulder between junction 8 and 18 on the M60. When the A6/Airport opens the traffic rises from 25,000 to 60,000 vehicles per day. The Council estimates that as a result, NO2 pollution will exceed the Directive limits. The corridor will have to be declared an air quality management area with an obligation to lower the pollution levels well below the limits. If the road is extended to Bredbury there would be a further huge influx of traffic so it is very unlikely to gain planning permission. In fact the A555 might have been declared an AQMA in 2009 following measurements that year but the results were not widely published and kept separate from other results in the borough contrary to the principles of open disclosure championed in the Directive.”
