Have Your Say: New active travel routes proposed for Haydock and Blackbrook to boost cycling and walking

Article date: 13 October 2023

As part of its plans to create less congested roads, combat climate change and boost healthy lifestyles, St Helens Borough Council has launched a consultation today [Friday 13 October] on initial proposals for an active route located on the A580 East Lancashire Road between its junctions with the A58 Stanley Bank Way and Kenyons Lane South, in a bid to link residential areas with key employment sites.  

This follows on from another two successful consultations held within the past 12-months to expand the local active travel network, with a route earmarked for Lea Green to Whiston Hospital for a phased delivery of construction after securing £1.390m from Active Travel England. While the council is also exploring funding options for a cycle corridor to link Jubits Lane with Widnes.  

Concept plans and options have been developed through funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Department for Transport ringfenced to create Active Travel Routes that are safe, coherent, direct, comfortable and attractive, in line with the latest national design and will eventually link to a network of more than 30 key routes across the City Region.  

The proposed A580 East Lancashire Road route forms part of the council's Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan - an ambitious policy which sets out the delivery of safe infrastructure over the next ten-years - and would complement several other successful schemes, including the installation of protected cycling lanes along Chester Lane, Jubits Lane and Clock Face Road, as well as the recently-completed CYCLOPS junction in Lea Green which has received positive feedback among cyclists, pedestrians and runners since opening in September. 

Councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron MBE, Deputy Leader of St Helens Borough Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Transport, said:   

"Data shows that two thirds of all journeys taken in the Liverpool City Region are less than three miles, with around half still taken by car. With this in mind, we're making a conscious effort to make greener travel the go-to choice for residents and visitors to our borough for shorter trips by creating safe and accessible cycling and walking routes to key locations, like employment sites.    

"Thousands of people work on Haydock Industrial Estate, and many of those live in Haydock and the surrounding areas. The A580 has always been an awkward barrier for crossing, and part of these proposals include plans to make that safer.  

"The existing industrial estate and recent expansions around Florida Farm have been successful in securing funding to allow sustainable and public transport to serve the site, and the A580 is a key cycle route to link industrial sites to residential sites, both existing and proposed. 

"This concept has been extremely successful with examples along Sankey Valley though the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) - linking employment and growth corridors along the route, the work around Lea Green, and now these new proposals. 

"Growth and employment are good - and this infrastructure will allow local residents to access it more safely. 

"Like any proposed development, it is important that the public form part of the process from the earliest opportunity, which is why we'd welcome any constructive feedback for this latest proposal around the A580 East Lancs Road to help strengthen plans and make them the best they can be for everyone concerned."     

Anyone interested in finding out about the A580 East Lancashire Road active travel route are invited to a series of drop-in consultation events where members of the design team and council representatives will be available to discuss the concepts and hear your views on the dates listed below.  

•        Haydock Library on Monday 30 October 2023 from 11:30am to 13:30pm  

•        Haydock Cricket Club on Thursday 2 November 2023 from 16:00om to 19:00pm  

•        Costco, Haydock, on Tuesday 14 November 2023 from 17:00pm to 19:00pm  

To take part in the consultation online - which will close on Monday 27 November - and view the plan, visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/activetravela580