Funding has been secured regionally for a £50 million rapid transport scheme in Pennine Lancashire.The North West Region has reviewed its priorities and knocked back plans for a major scheme in Manchester to make way for PennineReach.
It decided to delay the A57/A628 Mottram, Hollingworth and Tintwistle bypass until after 2015, allocating the funding to a range of schemes including the proposed new bus service which is designed to improve public transport between Accrington, Blackburn and Darwen.
It means that work will begin in 2011, subject to final approval by the Department of Transport.
Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council have both approved the final draft plans and the business case will now be submitted to the Government at the end of this month.
North West transport guidance allows £4.5m within 2010/11 and £13.5m for the following three years, with the remaining £5m funded by Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council.
Local people will continue to be involved and consulted on the finer details of the scheme in their areas.
PennineReach – the facts
* Bus lane is not continual and only in MOST CONGESTED AREAS. There is only 2.1 miles of bus lane in Blackburn with Darwen and 0.5 miles in Hyndburn along the whole 21 mile PennineReach route.
* Residents and customer car parking has been retained and extended in Darwen, Furthergate and Accrington Road. The bus lane has either been moved over or brought forward to prevent the loss of parking spaces.
* The bus interchange in Ewood has been relocated from outside residents’ homes to minimise the impact.
* Bus lane has been removed at Ewood to retain as many car parking spaces as possible.
* New bus station for Blackburn and Accrington
New car parks have been provided in Darwen to support local shops and one in Furthergate has been removed because residents did not want it.
Blackburn with Darwen Council, in conjunction with Lancashire County Council,
carried out one of its biggest consultations exercises last summer.
More than 60,000 leaflets were sent to homes and businesses along the proposed route and a telephone survey of 1,500 people was carried out by IPSOS MORI.
The results of the telephone survey showed that 53 per cent of respondents supported the proposals and only 14 per cent were opposed to the scheme. Thirty two per cent had no view either way.
A series of public meetings were also held across the borough in July and comments made by residents and businesses were reviewed and improvements to the proposals were made were possible.
Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and environment, said: “The Council and County Council have worked closely with the Department of Transport in the run up to submission of the Major Scheme Business Case to government, which will be submitted by the end of March.
“We have also been working hard to ensure that Pennine Reach remained a regional priority, given the exercise to refresh regional transport priorities.
“The plans will not only improve public transport in the borough, it will also address the issue of lack of parking spaces which many businesses have complained about for years.”
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