Issue details

In order to determine its future transport planning and investment priorities, and provide a sound and defensible basis for decisions affecting development across Lancashire, the County Council has embarked on an ambitious programme to put in place highways and transport Masterplans to cover the county.

The first of the Masterplans to be produced covers Central Lancashire.  As the principal focus for the county's economic aspirations, and with work well underway in the three district council areas to review the development plan for the area, the masterplanning exercise has been prioritised for this area.

A public consultation exercise for the Consultation Draft Central Lancashire Highways and Transport Masterplan ran for six weeks from 7 January to 25 February 2013.  The response to the consultation exercise has, on the whole, endorsed the County Council's preferred option to 'Improve and extend' the transport network which accepts that major additional highway infrastructure will be needed to support new development, achieve the area's economic aspirations, and allow significant improvements to be made to support bus priority measures and enhance the public realm.

Responding to the concerns and suggestions raised through the consultation, a number of changes have been made to the draft Masterplan.  The more significant of these relate to earlier planned delivery of several schemes, namely:

·  Improvements at the M55 Junction 1 roundabout to be carried out during 2013.

·  The early delivery of the northern section of the Broughton Bypass by 2016, combined with the closure of Whittingham Lane at the existing Broughton crossroads, to provide an interim solution to relieving the effects of congestion in the village.

·  Upgrades to the A582 South Ribble Western Distributor Road and B5253 Flensburg Way to be delivered in stages along the route which will allow improvements to start as soon as 2014/15 and mean that design work and costings for new road space, junctions and bridges along the route will begin immediately.

·  Work on completion of the Penwortham Bypass brought forward which will see the road open in 2019/20.

·  Identification of a scheme and protection of a route for a new crossing of the River Ribble to start immediately followed by early work to develop the business case for the new crossing.

·  A revised programme to deliver public transport priority and public realm enhancements along main corridors will see improvements delivered sooner, and coordinated with provision of new development and road infrastructure.

According to the Masterplan's delivery programme, major scheme business cases will be developed for the Preston Western Distributor and completion of the Penwortham Bypass and funding sought from the Lancashire Local Transport Body (LTB) for Devolved Local Major Scheme funding post 2015/16.  This will entail an initial business case to be prepared and presented to the LTB for its consideration before the end of July 2013.