The Causeway Park Access Improvement Scheme forms part of Warrington’s Town Deal. Warrington Borough Council is aiming to improve walking and cycling links between the town centre and open areas of green space for more residents to enjoy.

Scheme overview

The scheme will improve access into Causeway Park from the existing paths by Brian Bevan Island and Manx Road to provide a traffic free walking and cycling route parallel to Wilderspool Causeway. The route will provide an improved route towards the town centre and join up areas of green spaces including Causeway Park, Wilderspool Community Woodland and the Trans Pennine Trail.

The proposed improvements will be funded through the Town Deal programme, a grant provided by central Government to towns across the country to enable schemes such as this to be delivered in order to revitalise towns.

Currently, there is no access to the park from the north, and visitors to the park would need to take a longer route to Burgess Avenue to access the park. An entrance is available on River Road, however River Road is a poor-quality route with uneven, narrow footways which are often dominated by parked vehicles and refuse bins. The access improvements will form part of a traffic free route for pedestrians and cyclists from Brian Bevan Island through to the Trans Pennine Trail, and provide a crossing point on Gainsborough Road.

The scheme could also be extended to the south of Gainsborough Road providing off road walking and cycling facilities connecting to the supermarket and the TPT running parallel to the A49. This is subject to additional funding being secured.

In addition to the park improvements, we are also aware that the existing bus layby on Loushers Lane which is used by Priestly College is well used and parked buses can block general traffic from using Loushers Lane. We are also consulting on a new bus layby which would take buses off the carriageway to improve general traffic flow and highway safety for students of the college.

Causeway Park

The main features of the park access improvement scheme will:

• Provide a new pedestrian and cycle access to Causeway Park from the north
• Make use of an existing area of green space by Manx Road which is not currently well used by the public
• Provide improvements to the park by providing additional benches, street lighting  and tidying up some vegetation
• Widen and resurface the existing footpaths through the park
• Provide an improved and safer pedestrian and cycle crossing point by the entrance to Causeway Park on Gainsborough Road

If further funding is secured, the scheme could be extended to the south of Gainsborough Road by widening the existing path through Wilderspool Community Woodland and linking up with the Trans Pennine Trail.

Bus Layby

We are also consulting on relocating an existing bus stop on Loushers Lane to provide a new bus layby. By doing this we can:

• Improve traffic flow on Loushers Lane when the college buses are in operation,
• Improve highway safety for pedestrians crossing over Loushers Lane

Our draft proposals are presented below. 

Key documents

Consultation

Please fill out our survey before Friday 3 October to let us know your thoughts on the proposals.

You can also come along to one of our consultation events at St John’s United Reformed Church on Wilderspool Causeway on the following dates:

• Monday 15 September 12pm to 7pm
• Saturday 20 September 1pm to 3pm

FAQs

Why have we chosen this scheme?

Wilderspool Causeway is a major road in Warrington and currently there are limited safe walking and cycling routes away from general traffic and access to Causeway Park is limited to Gainsborough Road and Burgess Avenue.

Providing a new path to the park would link up a number of walking and cycling routes and improve access to Causeway Park from the north providing a safer and more direct route.

What improvements will we see in the park?

We will provide new street lighting through the park and we will ensure that the lighting does not impact on any homes in the area.

We will provide a new bench within the park, replacing one which was damaged and needed to be removed.

Will you impact any vegetation?

We will trim the hedges along the fence with River Road to improve visibility and the feeling of safety within the park.

We will also remove Japanese Knotweed and other invasive species which have taken root.

We will remove some trees which are diseased, have died, or are in a poor condition. Some trees may need to be removed due to the alignment of the path,  we will aim to replace those trees elsewhere within the park.

What is being done on Gainsborough Road?

As promised, we have undertaken a review of the junction of Gainsborough Road and Chester Road. We will be consulting on our plans later in the year.

How does it affect you?

Walking and wheeling

A new 3.5m shared use path will be provided from Brian Bevan Island through an area of existing open space to Causeway Park. This will be a shared path with enough space for pedestrians and cyclists and will provide a safe, smooth surface away from general traffic.

A new crossing will be introduced on Gainsborough Road to help pedestrians cross safely.

Cycling

The new route will link up existing cycling infrastructure such as the shared use path towards the town centre through to the Trans Pennine Trail, providing a predominantly traffic free route.

Driving

The proposed bus layby on Loushers Lane would remove a bottle neck at peak college times improving traffic flow on Loushers Lane.

The proposed pedestrian crossing on Gainsborough Road will be linked with the traffic lights at the junction of Wilderspool Causeway to ensure smooth traffic flows.

How is the scheme funded?

The scheme forms part of Warrington’s Town Deal which is funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Warrington was awarded £22.1 million in February 2022. The Causeway Park Improvements is one of the projects in the Sustainable Travel Programme.

The scheme is not funded by Council Tax.

How much will it cost?

The improvements are estimated to cost between £1 million - £1.2 million.

When will it be done?

The improvements to the park will start in November 2025 and will be finished in Spring 2026.

The new bus layby will be constructed over the Easter Holidays in 2026 to minimise disruption to the College and general traffic.