Our local area is a great place to live, combining the benefits of an urban area with close access to the countryside. However, this does mean a great number of people must travel between where they live, work, study, and relax.
As a result, the A6 between Manchester, Stockport, and Hazel Grove is one of the busiest and most congested road networks in the country, with over 30,000 daily vehicle movements and peak hour traffic averaging as low as 10mph, worse than central London.
Local conservatives have long called for improvements to our local roads infrastructure, and especially the urgent need for a link road between the M60 at Bredbury and the A6 at Hazel Grove, about which our MP William Wragg introduced a debate in Parliament shortly before the election.
Proposals for the A6-M60 link road are currently part of the South East Manchester Multi-Modal Strategy (SEMMMS) refresh, along with other elements of Stockport's current and future transport priorities. The Council is running a consultation on SEMMMS asking residents what they think the current transport issues are across the borough and how we should address them.
William Wragg MP for the Hazel Grove constituency, and local councillors will be making the case to ensure that there is no deviation from the need for the A6-M60 Hazel Grove to Bredbury bypass, which has been talked about for decades, but has never been delivered. In addition, in order to reduce congestion and protect the environment, we must do more than just build new roads. We need to get people out of cars and onto good alternative public transport. Therefore the SEMMM Strategy refresh will also provide an opportunity to push for a Metrolink extension to Marple, connecting Marple, Romiley and Bredbury to Stockport and then further afield along the existing Metrolink network. It is also important to push for Stockport to be the hub of a Tram/Train Metrolink network to the Airport and Tameside as well.
The Council is holding a series of public meetings across our local area over the next few weeks. We would encourage interested residents to go along and make their opinions heard too.
The public events in our local areas are as follows:
- Central Area, Monday 4th September from 6pm to 8.30pm at St Mary's Parish Church, Churchgate, Stockport, SK1 1YG;
- Marple Area, Monday 4th September from 6pm to 8.30pm at Marple Hall School, Hilltop Drive, Stockport, SK6 6LB;
- Cheadle Area, Thursday 28th September From 6pm to 8.30pm at Kingsway School, Foxland Road, Stockport, SK8 4QX;
- Stepping Hill Area, Monday 25th September From 6pm to 8.30pm at Hazel Grove Civic Hall, London Road, Stockport, SK7 4DF;
- Heatons & Reddish Area, Wednesday 13th September from 6pm to 8.30pm at Life Leisure Houldsworth Village, Broadstone Road, Stockport, SK5 7AT;
- Werneth Area, Wednesday 13th September from 6pm to 8.30pm at Werneth School, Harrytown, Stockport, SK6 3BX;
- Bramhall & Cheadle Hulme South Area, Saturday 16th September from 10am to 12.30pm at St Michaels Church Hall, St Michaels Avenue, Stockport, SK7 2PG.
Full details of the public events can be found on the Council’s website (https://www.stockport.gov.uk/news/help-shape-stockport-s-transport-strategy).
And for those unable to attend the meetings in person, an online consultation is also available at www.stockport.gov.uk/localplan.
