RESIDENTS campaigning against the Central 6 Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes at Orford and Westy are planning their next protest rally as highway planners start collating hundreds of responses to a recent survey.
The rally will take place at the Skittles in Warrington town centre on Saturday, October 29 at 1 pm, with campaigners frustrated by a lack of response from Warrington Borough Council to their concerns.
One of the campaign organisers Rachael Harper, on behalf of the Warrington Residents Opposition to the Central 6 Street Plan Campaign Group, said: ” Once more we find ourselves asking for more transparency from our council. Transparency is a factor that is so vital in terms of accountability and trust. Yet coming up to a month after the Westy survey closed, we are no closer to finding out how the experimental traffic order is being monitored or regulated. Let alone whether they are going to publish the results of said survey. How can they possibly know it’s working? Or is that it’s not working and they simply don’t want to admit it?
“Our campaign group has done nothing but try to assist our governing council while still opposing the central 6 street plan. We have passed on information where necessary and we’ve also encouraged people to comply with the survey. We have done all this in what we believe is a polite and respectful manner.
“However, for whatever reason, the council has decided not to acknowledge efforts of goodwill for the Westy area and has not released any further information about how the scheme is being regulated. Our suspicion is that they are trying to kill us off with silence. Instead of giving us adequate answers they simply want to wait and see if we will continue to oppose. We do hope we’re wrong but there is no denying apathy has become a big issue in modern-day politics.
“That being said, having delayed our last peaceful protest demonstration out of respect for our late majesty the Queen, we will not be ignored. While the scheme in Orford looks as though it is delayed indefinitely, Westy also remains part of Warrington. We are all Warringtonians; an injustice to some of us is an injustice to all of us and we will continue to fight until we have adequate answers combined with adequate fair results!!
“If the results of the survey indicate the majority of those in Westy are for the scheme then of course we will step aside. However, there has already been concerns raised about the survey itself with potential leading questions and ineffective timing of the survey (when the schools are off affecting regular traffic). We have also been made aware of a near-miss accident in that area as a possible direct result of the increase in traffic around the outer ring road since the scheme was implemented. Therefore until the council gives us adequate information, we continue to fight for the rights of some of us to be seen and heard.
“We have now arranged our next peaceful protest at the Skittles in Warrington town centre on Saturday, October 29 at 1pm. This should show us how many people are still passionate about the cause and want to do something about it. We believe that there are still a large majority who are against this. This isn’t just about the street plan; it’s about our rights to be part of democracy in our town. This is currently being threatened by a council who thus far has simply offered very little transparency on such an important issue that affects so many in Warrington, and which they pushed through with very little consultation on the street plan itself.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “We received hundreds of responses to the survey and are currently collating the feedback. We are grateful for the ongoing engagement of our communities and once the survey responses have been fully reviewed we will provide a further update.”
1 Comment
It’s about time the council did less talking and we saw some action regarding this scheme that was pushed through that very few wanted.