Relief road cut to size to meet Government austerity drive

A NEW congestion-busting relief road for Beverley has literally been trimmed down to save costs.

Ministers are expected to give their verdict on the long-awaited plans which will steer traffic away from the town’s historic Minster in December.

The slimmed-down plans for the £27.3m road are in competition with 40 others from across the country for a £650m pot of cash.

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The 1.5-mile road is set to provide a route around Beverley for through traffic and relieve congestion in confined mediaeval streets.

A key part, a park-and-ride scheme for 500 cars, along with access roads and a roundabout has been dropped from the plans, which along with other amendments save a total of £11m from the original plans.

East Riding Council has also increased its financial contribution by over £2m to £6.6m.

As well as the park and ride, two relatively short sections of dual carriageway have been removed, and even the width of the carriageway has been reduced from 9.3m to 8.3m, a saving in itself of around £1m.

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The road, which will be carried on embankments as it has to be raised over the Hull to Scarborough railway line and Long Lane, will now have half a metre hard strips on either side rather than 1m strips as originally planned.

Principal engineer Richard Lewis said: “If you reduce the width of the road, it reduces the width of the embankment and the fill that’s needed.

“The fill (pulverised fuel ash from power stations) is a very expensive part of the scheme as it has to be bought in from elsewhere.”

One sticking point of the amended plans, which could go to planning next month, is the potential closure of one of the town’s two level crossings to traffic.

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Minster and Woodmansey councillor Kerri Harold, who ran a taxi firm in the town before becoming a councillor, thinks the closure of the Flemingate level crossing will cause problems.

She said: “I just think the southern relief road will address the outer ring road but you have to be mindful that you need an inner ring road that keeps the flow of traffic going; I think it will cause a blockage and force drivers to look for rat runs.

“People will potentially find rat runs that aren’t equipped to take the extra traffic. By closing this one off a certain part of Beverley will be split into two.”

However Mr Lewis said the closure was needed to steer through traffic onto the relief road. “The B1230 is naturally the shortest route for vehicles making the east to west manoeuvre. The traffic model shows that without closing the Flemingate level crossing, congestion would be reduced but we wouldn’t achieve the drastic reductions in traffic in the town centre we are aiming to achieve.

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“Exactly how we do that is still to be discussed, whether we ban cars completely or put in traffic calming measures to deter vehicles from using it will be determined by public consultation.”

Although the council says it is “cautiously optimistic” about securing the land needed for the scheme by agreement, the Cabinet earlier this month approved the making of compulsory purchase orders on more than 45 acres of land, containing 27 plots and with 20 individual owners and tenants. One objection could spark a lengthy public inquiry.

The council says the owners “agree in principle” to sell their land, but publishing the orders “as early as possible demonstrates the council’s committment to the scheme.”

Council leader Coun Steve Parnaby said: “The council is determined to do all we can to promote this much needed relief road which will have a big impact in improving traffic flows and the quality of life for local people.

“We want to be in the best possible position, in this highly competitive process, to win funding when the Government makes its expected decisions in December.”