Brinnington, Shaw Heath, Hillgate & Central Stockport Archives - Page 4 of 7

Update on A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road

A second phase of consultation for the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road will be open from This week to allow residents, businesses and road users to give their views on the emerging preferred scheme.

From Monday a four page leaflet will be delivered to 85,000 homes throughout areas of Stockport, Cheshire East and Manchester, to give an overview of the scheme and explain how residents, businesses and road users can find out more and comment on the proposals.

Further information on the consultation will also be made available on the SEMMMS website www.semmms.info. The website will also include an online version of the questionnaire.

The second phase of consultation will run until 19 July.

The first phase of the consultation looked at various options for junctions and asked people whether they were in favour of the road.

This second phase consults on the proposed route, drawn up from the earlier responses. It also gives people a chance to feed back their views fully, now the environmental studies and other information has been published on the Semmms website.

The proposed road will join up the A6 at the southern end of Hazel Grove to Manchester Airport, and will include a separated cycle path along the whole route.

Stockport’s Bus Blueprint

Stockport’s A6 bus service is set to be used as a blueprint for success in other towns in the North West.

The A6 Manchester-Stockport bus route is one of the busiest in the country, with more than 10 million passengers using the 192 service every year.

But as a result of Stockport Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Stagecoach working together the A6 bus service has high scores for regularity, reliability and punctuality. It also scored well for high levels of customer service and passenger information.

The improvement in the service on the A6 means that Stockport’s partnership scheme is set to be copied in Salford, Rochdale and Wigan.

Our local 192 bus service calls along the A6 route every 5 minutes in the peak. Operator Stagecoach is investing £11.3m in 40 new hybrid-electric vehicles on the 192 route, buses that will be equipped with free Wi-Fi for passenger use.

The operator has also introduced more inspectors on the route to help improve the regularity of bus services. Buses are now cleaned mid-service at Manchester Piccadilly while they wait for their scheduled departure.

Councillor Iain Roberts, Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development at Stockport Council, said: “It’s great news that the Quality Bus Partnership in Stockport is being held up as a shining example for other routes. We’ve worked hard, alongside our partners, to maintain and improve the route along the A6 for the benefit of passengers.”

A new bus turnaround will be built south of Stockport town centre by the end of April, and Stagecoach plans to build a new passenger ‘Park and Ride’ at Hazel Grove with space for just over 400 vehicles.

Relief Road Update

A Stockport Council survey has shown that 70% of local residents are in favour of building the new A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road.

Working with Cheshire East and Manchester, Stockport Council sent out over 85,000 consultation surveys on the various options for the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road. In addition, the consultation was widely advertised and available online through the website and social media.

The three local authorities will vote on the preferred route being drawn up following the consultation, with a further consultation being held on the preferred route.

The current target is to complete the road in 2017.

The A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road will take traffic off our local roads and generate up to 5,000 new jobs, making an important contribution to Stockport’s economic growth.

The survey responses show approximately 70% in favour of the road, 10% against and 20% having no view.

£6.9m extra secured by Lib Dems for Stockport kids

Stockport Academy Liberal Democrats support — Stockport Academy will get than £261,000 extra money for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds after Lib Dem work in Government

Work by Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government has meant schools in Stockport borough have an extra £6.9 million next year, as part of the Lib Dem Pupil Premium policy.

The pupil premium was one of four policy priorities that the Liberal Democrats put on the front page of their 2010 General Election manifesto.

It is designed to give a cash boost of £900 per pupil straight to children from disadvantaged backgrounds through their schools.

Lib Dems believe that for too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for the future. The pupil premium is designed to help prevent children being held back by poverty and disadvantage.

The extra money will mean schools all around Stockport receiving extra money, including Adswood Primary School which will receive an extra £107,100, Westmorland Primary in Brinnington which will get £234,900 extra, Banks Lane schools which get an extra £83,700 and Stockport Academy, which gets an extra £261,000 for the next year.

Liberal Democrat Schools Minister, David Laws said:

“We are already seeing across the country how the Pupil Premium is making a difference to children’s lives. Extra tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents are all examples of how the Pupil Premium is being used to support the most disadvantaged pupils and benefit all their classmates too.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that, next year, we’ll be extending the Pupil Premium to another half a million children, and increasing the money that schools get to £900 per pupil.

“This means that, as a result of Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government, more children will get a better start in life.”

See which schools are set to benefit and by how much here: Continue reading £6.9m extra secured by Lib Dems for Stockport kids

Unemployment falls again in Stockport

Lib Dem policies Stockport — Lib Dem policies at local and national level have led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships

Unemployment figures out this week show another fall in unemployment in Stockport.

Stockport’s unemployment rate is now down to 3.3%. This compares favourably with the overall 4.8% figure for Greater Manchester, the 4.3% figure for the North West and the 3.8% figure for the whole of the UK.

Significantly, youth unemployment is also down. The JSA claimant rate for 16-24 years olds was down 3.9% and the 18-24 age group down 4.2%. The results are good news for Stockport’s apprenticeship work, in conjunction with the Lib Dem policy pushed in government to boost apprentice numbers.

The results of this work mean that 6,290 new apprenticeships have been created in Stockport since 2010, a 60% rise on the apprenticeships created in Stockport under the last government.

Grand Central Update

Grand Central Stockport development — Cllr Iain Roberts at the sight of the development

A development agreement has been reached for Stockport’s new ‘Office Quarter’.

Stockport Council and Muse Developments have signed and sealed a Development Agreement, marking an important milestone in the development of a high-specification office quarter, next to the train station in the town centre.

The Council bought the Grand Central site last year to bring forward the office-led development, including hotel and improved car parking, as well as an attractive new gateway to the town centre.

National development and regeneration specialist Muse Developments were appointed by the Council as development partner to deliver the project.

Phase One consists of a new 1,000 space multi-story car park and a range of highway improvements, due to be completed at the beginning of 2014.

The new car park will meet increasing demand for parking next to the railway station and encourage more people to take the train. A temporary parking solution for commuters will be provided during its construction.

Phase Two has been masterplanned for the first commercial office building, new public space, a hotel and highway improvements by 2015.

Phase Three will include further office buildings, extension of the open space and further improved accessibility for pedestrians on a phased basis up to 2020.

Councillor Iain Roberts, Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration at Stockport Council, said: “The signing of the Development Agreement confirms both parties’ commitment to delivering a cutting-edge new office quarter and commuter destination for Stockport. It is a crucial part of our overall vision for the town centre – attracting jobs, investment and footfall. We’ve worked hard to make sure that it’s self-financing and at no extra cost to the Council-tax payer.”