Centre Park Link

Latest news

We've recently been carrying out some diversion work on Slutchers Lane prior to the main scheme starting in June. Please accept our apologies for not sending out the details of the Traffic Management currently on site.

• From 28 May – 5th June - Scottish Power will be on site completing carriageway road crossings under two way traffic signals towards the northern end of Slutchers Lane (near to the Zebra Crossing).

THE WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL (WARRINGTON WATERFRONT – CENTRE PARK LINK) COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 2018

On 11 July 2018, Warrington Borough Council formally made The Warrington Borough Council (Warrington Waterfront - Centre Park Link) Compulsory Purchase Order 2018 under Sections 239, 240, 246 and 260 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) and Schedule 3 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. On 19 July, the Order was submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport for confirmation and was confirmed with modifications on 30 November 2018.  The Order authorises the Council to compulsorily purchase land and new rights for the purpose of: 

• constructing and improving the highway that will link Chester Road (A5060) and Slutchers Lane, which is to be a highway maintainable at the public expense; 
• the construction of a new road bridge over the River Mersey from Chester Road to Slutchers Lane; 
• the re-routing of town centre traffic;
• the carrying out of drainage works;
• the improvement or development of highway frontages; and 
• the mitigation of any adverse effects

The land included within the Order can be seen on the Order Map, and the Schedule to the compulsory purchase order includes details of all parties with a land interest.   All parties who will be impacted directly by the acquisition of land and/or new interests over land have been served with notices of confirmation, and notices have also been erected on site and were placed in the Warrington Guardian on 17 January 2019.  Any person aggrieved by the confirmation of the order may, by application to the High Court within 6 weeks from 17 January 2019, challenge its validity under section 23 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. The grounds for challenge can be that the authorisation granted by the order is not empowered to be granted, or that there has been a failure to comply with any relevant statutory requirement relating to the order.
The Council will be seeking to implement powers of compulsory purchase within the near future and all parties impacted by this will be served with relevant documents in due course.

Illustrations

• The initial scheme illustration, prior to consultation feedback.
• The current scheme illustration.

Contact us

Please contact us via cpl@warrington.gov.uk with any scheme specific enquiries.

If you'd like to join the Centre Park Link mailing list to be kept up to date with scheme progress, please email the project team stating ‘I would like to receive Centre Park Link email updates’.  You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing ‘unsubscribe’ to the same address. 

The project

The project proposes a bridge crossing across the River Mersey from Chester Road, just north of Gainsborough Road. This proposed crossing would join onto an extended Slutchers Lane leading from Wilson Patten Street. A new signal controlled junction is to be constructed at each end of the new link on Chester Road and Wilson Patten Street.

Funding

The cost for the project is currently £19.89 million. Contributors include:

• Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise partnership - £5.3 million via the Local Growth Fund. View the business case submitted to the Local Enterprise Partnership and associated documents.
• Ministry of Housing Community and Local Government - £3.7 million via the Housing Infrastructure Fund. 
• The remainder will be funded via council borrowing.

Consultation

The original scheme has changed over time in response to public consultation. Here's a summary of your feedback on the scheme and subsequent progress: 

• There's been strong support for the new link
• Some concerns about the potential one-way system in the town centre
  • An alternative solution has now been agreed which does not require a one way system
• The bus gate should be opened to general traffic in the future 
  • The option to allow general traffic to use the bus gate in the future is still under consideration but is not planned for delivery
  • At present a number of legal issues which prevent us from opening the route are being investigated and traffic surveys/analysis is ongoing underway to fully understand the wider network implications
•  Proposals for traffic calming on Gainsborough Road should be introduced as a trial to ensure residents are happy with the solution before being introduced permanently
  • A separate consultation will be undertaken for proposed trial traffic calming on Gainsborough Road.