Pushing for town to be more connected

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.

I 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 I 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), 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.

As the MP for the Hazel Grove constituency, I shall 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 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.

The council is holding a series of public meetings across our local area over the next few weeks.

I shall be attending one of the meetings and I would encourage interested residents to go along and make their opinions heard too.

Details of the public events can be found on the council’s website and are also on my own website at www.williamwragg.org.uk.

For those unable to attend the meetings in person, an online consultation is also available at www.stockport. gov.uk/localplan.