Stourport has a problem. Far too many of the people driving into the town don’t want to be there. They are trying to get somewhere else. Most other towns have by-passes (Bewdley) or ring roads (Kidderminster).
This is not a new problem. Proposals for a Stourport Relief Road have been around for decades, but have not been progressed. Since last properly discussed, we’ve probably seen around 5,000 homes built across the district. The current local plan proposes 4,200, whilst the new Labour government was us to build another 4,000 or so. Add to that the unwelcome Malvern Hills development going up adjacent to Areley Kings, and we can see the thick end of 10,000 new homes being built around our three towns.
Last week I brought county cabinet member for Highways, Cllr Marc Bayliss, and his lead road officer to come and have a look at the problems. Congestion heading east over the bridge was very high for a Friday mis morning, whilst interesting driving habits (by some) on Gilgal and Vale Road highlighted the need for road safety improvements.
Anyone can see that having a major east – west river crossing that goes through a narrow high street is a complete nonsense. But when you look at a wider map, our district is one of very few crossing points on the river Severn between Worcester and Bridgenorth.
Indeed, there is an argument that we should look more holistically at roads across Wyre Forest. Given the Bewdley bypass is a major river crossing, there is a strong case to extend the bypass between Stourport and Kidderminster, to eventually link up with the Birmingham Road in the north east of Kidderminster. Similarly, linking up the Bewdley bypass along the western side of the Severn, and then taking it across the river into the Sandy Lane industrial estate is a similar opportunity to ease ever increasing congestion.
My challenge now is to get these proposals drawn up by people who really know what they are doing, and to make sure this forms part of the Worcestershire highways plans. After that, the only hurdle is the government, who we will need to fund this.
I was impressed with Cllr Bayliss’s understanding of the problems we face here in Stourport and Wyre Forest. The solution is increasingly complex, and not cheap. But if we are to have 10,000 more homes, and economic opportunities for us all, we need to step up to the mark.
