Congleton link road - archived material

Information and documents from earlier in the project

Project overview

A range of potential solutions were initially identified and reviewed based on their ability to solve the congestion problems. Of the potential solutions, a link road between the A534 Sandbach Road and the A536 Macclesfield Road was identified as the preferred solution. A link road around Congleton was proposed in the Draft Congleton Town Strategy in 2012.

Agreement to investigate transport solutions to Congleton’s congestion problems was agreed by Cabinet on 17 September 2012.

A total of four new link road options were identified; namely the Red Option, the Blue Option, the Green Option and the Purple Option. All four options were located within the same route corridor to the north of Congleton. Each option tied into the existing highway network at various points and offered connections to Radnor Park Trading Estate and Congleton Business Park.

A Public Consultation was held on the four options between 13 January and 28 February 2014, following which a Preferred Route Announcement was made on 27 May 2014. The preferred route incorporates elements from both the Red and Purple Options, as well as some alignment modifications developed based on feedback from the Consultation.

The preferred route has been developed in more detail, and a design is being presented at a consultation in March 2015.

Stage one scheme assessment report

The purpose of this report is to provide an initial insight into the environmental, engineering and traffic advantages, disadvantages and constraints associated with the broadly defined improvement strategies.

The report is intended to bring together the most relevant and important environmental, engineering, economic and traffic issues associated with the scheme in a single, integrated document.

The report has been prepared in accordance with the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) TD37/93 – Scheme Assessment Reporting. Full Scheme Assessment Report (PDF, 3MB)

Route appraisal report

The purpose of this report is to further investigate and develop the preferred solution by identifying potential route options between the A534 Sandbach Road and the A536 Macclesfield Road, and providing an appraisal of the options by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Congleton Link Road - Route Appraisal Report (PDF, 12MB)

Environmental appraisal report

This is a summary report of the Route Options Environmental Assessment Report (PDF, 1.62MB). It compares the potential environmental effects of these four options against each other in order to inform the selection of a preferred route for the scheme. The options are ranked, and the route that would have the least overall environmental impact is identified. A CD of full report is available on request.

Stage two scheme assessment report

This report provides an assessment of the engineering, environmental and traffic advantages, disadvantages and constraints associated with the route options taken forward as part of the Route Appraisal process. The findings of this report, together with the outcome of the Public Consultation, were used to inform the selection of a Preferred Route.

Full Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report (PDF, 25MB)

Segmented stage 2 scheme assessment report

Consultation documents from early 2014 (now ended)

Public consultation report

This report describes the Public Consultation that was held on the four options between 13 January and 28 February 2014. The general interest of the public toward the link road is assessed, and the results from the questionnaires are compiled and analysed with a summary of findings presented. The report also lists any actions that have been taken in response to feedback from the consultation and discusses key issues. Full Public Consultation Report (PDF, 2.9MB).

The most recent public consultation took place during March 2015. This included a leaflet and a questionnaire which were delivered to homes in Congleton and exhibitions were held in Congleton town centre.

Around 400 people visited the exhibitions and over 1,500 paper and on-line questionnaires were received.

The results of consultation can be found in the Pre-Planning Public Consultation Report (PDF, 8.7MB).

Preferred route announcement report

This report brings together findings and conclusions from previous assessment and appraisal work, including the outcome of the Public Consultation, and establishes a Preferred Route for the Congleton Link Road scheme. It also provides an assessment and reasoning for any alignment modifications from the options presented at the Public Consultation. Full Preferred Route Announcement Report (PDF, 13.6MB).

Wallhill Lane consultation report

One of the issues raised during the Public Consultation for the main scheme was the impact the proposed link road would have on local traffic flows, in particular along Wallhill Lane. In response to these concerns, a ‘supplementary’ consultation was held on two proposed options to minimise the traffic impacts for the local area.

This report presents the findings of that consultation, held between 30th May and 14 June 2014, and makes recommendations on what measures should be included as part of the main scheme proposals. Full Wallhill Lane Consultation Report (PDF, 3.6MB).

Funding

The scheme is likely to be funded from the following sources:

Central Government Funding (Department for Transport) – In July 2014, the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership secured a provisional allocation of £45million towards the cost of the link road
Council funding and
Developer contributions.

The council has successfully secured funding from the local growth fund which will be allocated to the development and construction of the Congleton Link Road Scheme. Additional funding is expected to be secured from a number of developers.

The scheme is anticipated to cost in circa £90million.

Additional information

The traffic forecasting report – January 2016 (PDF, 8MB) outlines the expected traffic flow around and within Congleton and on the surrounding highway network, showing the results with and without the proposed Congleton link road scheme. The report shows the results and the treatment of uncertainty and sensitivity testing. It has been prepared in accordance with the Department for Transport’s (DfT) transport analysis guidance (TAG) this gives practical guidance for forecasting the impact of transport projects including option testing and appraisal.

The report finds that 12 month traffic flows show an accurate estimate of the traffic flows likely to occur on the Congleton link road scheme and on the surrounding network.

Potential extensions to the Congleton link road

The technical note – January 2016 (PDF, 2MB) presents the findings of the work undertaken to examine the two potential alternative end points for the proposed Congleton link road scheme.

The two potential extensions which have been investigated are the:

A534 to A34 (to the south west of Congleton)
A536 to A54 (to the north east of Congleton)

The note concludes that based on the analysis undertaken, the two potential extensions to the proposed Congleton link road scheme are not, at the current time, considered necessary and consequently would not deliver value for money.

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Page last reviewed: 01 July 2022