Preliminary work on a £6 million highway improvement scheme to serve a major new business park in Meaford is now under way.
The scheme, which is the county’s second Government Growth Deal funded project to get off the ground, will see the construction of new roundabouts on Meaford Road at its junctions with the A34, near the George and Dragon pub, and Rookery Lane to allow easy access to the Meaford Business Park site.
Although the major work on the scheme starts in April, the county council has begun environmental work on the site ahead of the bird nesting season. These include removal of some trees and vegetation along the A34 Meaford Road and Rookery Lane to allow the main works to start in April. Replacement landscaping and tree planting will be carried out once the main works are complete.
As part of the improvements, the northern entry to Meaford View will be closed to only allow access off Meaford Road, increasing safety in the village. New pavements and a cycleway will also be installed on Meaford Road between the two new islands. Work is scheduled to take 12 months to complete.
Since the summer the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has secured almost £100m Growth Deal investment in the area.
David Frost, LEP Chair, said: “We have set an ambitious job creation target to create not just more jobs, but better, higher paid jobs for the people of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. We saw the first Staffordshire Growth Deal project get under way on Christmas Day in Lichfield and it is fantastic that a second major scheme will be fully underway in a matter of weeks.”
Staffordshire County Council’s economy leader Mark Winnington said: “The development at Meaford will bring a derelict brownfield site back into productive use, regenerate the area and see the creation of up to 2,500 jobs. This project is included in our Growth Deal which will result in major business development across the county. We have demonstrated that we can deliver such projects which will have a lasting positive impact on our economy and the local jobs market.”
You can find out more at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/meaford and twitter @Meaford_Dev.
2 comments
Ian CK
Sorry Stone Bloke, if you’re being blue lighted from Stafford to Stoke Royal they use the motorway.
(for which, guys, thank you very much!)
Stone Bloke
Yet another traffic pinchpoint and accident blackspot being created, now it will take even longer for the ambulances on blue lights from Stafford to Stoke University Hospital to arrive.