COUNCILLOR John Dennis reports that the idea of creating a Preston bypass is being looked at seriously by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council as part of the process to build a new crematorium near Preston.
Councillor Dennis said: “Residents of the region will be pleased to hear about the East Riding’s proposals on the various investigations being carried out as part of the process. In particular, the section that a feasibility study on my proposal to create a bypass is to be taken seriously after many years of trying to get meaningful talks started.
“Of course, we’re not getting carried away about it yet. It’s only at a preliminary stage and has to be seriously considered. But heartening all the same.
“Many of these steps are as called for by local Ward Members (Councillor Dennis and Councillor Sue Steel), by the Chairman of Preston Parish Council, Councillor Geoff Catterick, by Councillor Jacob Birch of the neighbouring Ward, and by others.”
The council will be holding a range of public engagement events on the crematorium proposal, including:
- A public exhibition in Preston community hall (restricted access due to Covid-19).
- Online consultation for all residents of the East Riding to take part in to ask for their views.
- The Council will also create a financial viability plan to look at introducing a bypass in Preston to alleviate traffic issues in South West Holderness and surrounding wards.
Any concerns raised during the feedback, including traffic matters, will be considered in the development of the project. The Council will ensure it speaks directly with all Parish Councils within the Holderness Wards for their views on this proposal. All residents and interested parties, including parish and town councils, will have the opportunity to visit the local exhibition and participate in the public Question & Answer procedure.
A statement of community involvement report will be written following the pre-planning consultation, giving a full analysis of the feedback received. This will be submitted with the full planning application and will be considered by the relevant Planning Committee. The outcome of planning and the full business case will then be considered by The Cabinet in January 2021.
How well have the aforementioned bypass/ relief road proposals taken into account the implications of outlying planning permission for 100’s of houses and supporting amenities needed should a bypass be created?
But how much of a chance do you stand getting the funding for such a major project ? Hedon already has its southern bypass and expecting yet another is pie in the sky!
No, Steve, my suggestion of finding a way to get the pinch point of Preston sorted out after years of trying, is connected directly to the Crematorium project and is , in my opinion realistic
Hedon Town Council minutes show that the Town Council passed my proposal about 2 or 3 years ago, that we should press for a HEDON and PRESTON Bypass. That would r,un from the bypass to the south of town, up the east side of Hedon, behind Holderness Academy and Preston to join up on Lelley Road for all north-south traffic.
This would relieve not only the Preston bottleneck but also all the through traffic in Hedon. The Town Clerk and I had discussions with East Riding about the route and funding required. With a price tag of around £25m, it would require ERYC to get a grant from central Govt ( like the one they got to do Beverley bypass and new roundabout improvements). So not impossible if the will is there.
The plan for a crematorium is welcome, so that we have a facility nearer than the one in Willerby. But dozens of funeral corteges heading there each day is going to put even more traffic on our roads and adds to the case for investment.
Cllr Dennis is in favour of a more limited scheme to run from Saltend roundabout up to Preston. That is not going to address the problems we have in Hedon, and as I said, is not the plan the Town Council backed.
The South Bypass was built about 35 years ago and did the job of taking the East – West traffic out of Hedon. But a Preston relief road will not do anything to reduce the fact Hedon has to take all the North -South traffic through our narrow streets.
If we settle for that, there will be little prospect of ever getting a bypass for Hedon. So I think we should continue to argue for the more ambitious plan. We may not get it, but we certainly wont if we just settle for a Preston solution.
Steve, in the present exceptional circumstances, the chances of funding a full North/South bypass, (as opposed to the pinch-point scheme linked to the Crematorium), is unlikely to attract much interest. Too ambitious.
A substantial expenditure proposal which is wholly unrelated to a pending by-election nearby, eh?