Mark Garnier, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Wyre Forest, today welcomed news that Worcestershire County Council has set aside nearly £500,000 to buy land that may be developed for the Stourport relief Road. Mark Garnier has been leading the campaign to provide this vital piece of local infrastructure, and has previously won spending commitments from the previous Conservative leadership under Michael Howard.
Stourport suffers from severe congestion during rush hour traffic and this stifles local businesses. But with the potential development of the Stourport Road corridor, the problem is destined to get worse.
Mark Garnier comments:
"This is one of the most important things that I can bring to Wyre Forest and that is why I am investing so much political capital in this project. This is important for three reasons. Firstly, we need to protect the existing businesses that we have in Wyre Forest that suffer from their staff getting stuck in traffic and their customers being put off visiting. Secondly, we need to get the right businesses investing in Wyre Forest and to do that we need an excellent transport infrastructure. Finally, we need to bring jobs to the deprived areas in Oldington and Foley Park and that will follow new business investment.
"However, I would stress that this does not mean we are guaranteed our relief road. The Government has said that there is money available for just one road project in Worcestershire costing more than £5 million. The costs for the full Stourport Relief Road are now potentially at £75 to £80 million so we may still not get the full project.
"But the fact that the County Council is making this investment in land shows that they are taking my campaign very seriously. I am very grateful indeed to George Lord for what he is doing to help and it may well be the case that a smaller version will help bring relief to residents and businesses in the south of Wyre Forest"