The Government has given the green light for Warrington Borough Council to acquire all remaining land needed to deliver the Centre Park Link scheme.
The Highways Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process has been confirmed by the Secretary of State for Transport, meaning the Council is now serving notice to draw down land not yet acquired from landowners. It is expected that this land will be in the ownership of the Council by June.
This decision paves the way for the Council’s contractor, Balfour Beatty, to mobilise to site, with works starting in earnest in late Spring.
Warrington Borough Council’s executive board member for highways, transportation and public realm, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “The confirmation of the CPO is an important milestone in the delivery of Centre Park Link, meaning we can now move ahead with the next phase of this hugely important scheme.
“We know the significant benefits it will bring to our town – helping to alleviate traffic congestion around Bridge Foot and Chester Road, providing a vital link to land south of Centre Park, and supporting the future growth of our waterfront area. I’m delighted that the project continues to make such good progress and is on track to start on-site in late Spring.”
It is currently anticipated that the Centre Park Link construction works will be completed in late 2020. The main project will see the building of a new bridge across the River Mersey to connect Chester Road to the town centre via Slutchers Lane.
It will also see the introduction of a new signal controlled junction on Chester Road and traffic calming proposals for the Gainsborough Road area.
To minimise disruption, the vast majority of the works to construct the new bridge and highway link will be undertaken accessed via the ex-golf driving range and Slutchers Lane.
There will, however, be a requirement to facilitate access to the construction site and those businesses located off Slutchers Lane via Centre Park itself for several months whilst the existing Slutchers Lane / Wilson Patten Street junction is re-modelled and signals installed.
The works to construct the new signalised junction on Chester Road are expected to take place in Spring 2020, for a period of between four and five months. This will require certain works to be undertaken within temporary traffic management, with a large majority of this being undertaken off peak (9.30am-3.30pm) to keep disruption to a minimum. Certain activities, however, will require full closures of Chester Road and will, therefore, be undertaken over weekends or evenings, as required.
For the latest information about the project, please visit www.warrington.gov.uk/centreparklink, or contact the project team by email at cpl@warrington.gov.uk
