£40m road scheme to open up key Stoke-on-Trent employment sites

A £40 million road scheme is set to open up key Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone employment sites in Stoke-on-Trent, improve access to the city centre and ease congestion.

Residents and businesses are being invited to find out more about plans to create the new Etruria Valley link road into Stoke-on-Trent’s city centre and upgrade part of the A500 at consultation events next week. Four drop-in events will take place next week to provide information on the proposals for both schemes, which are aimed at reducing congestion, creating better access, and improving safety.

The work will also help to attract investment, create new jobs, and open up employment land, including complementing the key Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone development area. The Local Enterprise Partnership is providing £26.5 million of funding towards the project

People attending the consultation exhibitions will be able to see the plans and ask questions of the project teams. The events will be on:

• Monday, 13 March, 9am to 3pm, at Bradwell Lodge Community Centre, Bradwell Lane, Porthill, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 8PS.
• Tuesday, 14 March, 1pm to 6pm, at Middleport Medical Centre, Newport Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 3NP;
• Wednesday, 15 March, 9am to 3pm, at Middleport Medical Centre, Newport Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 3NP. Highways England will attend this event;
• Thursday, 16 March, 2pm to 8pm, at Bradwell Lodge Community Centre, Bradwell Lane, Porthill, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 8PS. Highways England will attend this event.

The plans for the first phase of works are for Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s £40 million project to create a new link between the A500 and the city centre through the Etruria Valley site. This involves:

• Building a new road from the Wolstanton junction of the A500 to Festival Way in Etruria Valley, including bridges and a roundabout;
• Improving the two roundabouts at the Wolstanton junction;
• An extension to Shelton Boulevard;
• Replacing the canal bridge at Newport Lane and connecting Newport Lane to the new link road.

If a planning application is successful, main work on the Etruria Valley link road project is expected to start in April 2018 and be completed towards the end of 2019.

Highways England will also provide information about a second phase of work which will complement the Etruria Valley link road project. The Highways England scheme will widen the A500, which connects Nantwich and the M6 with the city of Stoke-on-Trent, from two to three lanes between the Porthill and Wolstanton junctions, as part of the Government’s £15.2 billion road investment strategy.

David Frost, chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “This is a key employment site in a prime position beside the A500 and this road is vital to open it up and bring thousands of new jobs to the area, a top priority for the LEP.

“What is really important is the quality of these jobs. We want to see high quality, better paid jobs and to capitalise on this fantastic location at the centre of the country.

“The road will also improve travel and bring more vigour and life to the city centre.”

Councillor Jack Brereton, the city council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: “The Etruria Valley link road will significantly reduce congestion and improve journey times by creating a new route into the city centre. It will help to ensure our transport network is able meet our future needs for new homes and jobs, by creating additional transport capacity.

“This complements one of the main development sites in the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone, helping to grow the prosperity of our city. The work will transform a key gateway into the city and help open up employment sites, attracting investment and creating new jobs.”

Jack Brereton and David Frost are pictured at the Etruria Valley site.