“We do not believe there will be a loss of spaces,” said Jamie Cowen, head of Sainsbury’s property development division. We cannot give an accurate picture as there is no marking of bays on some of the land.”
Sue Bailey, also representing Sainsbury’s, said they were sure that the car parking would work efficiently.
Yesterday’s gathering heard that work on the relief road by contractors Birse is now at the halfway stage and is due to finish on November 24, with the aim of taking traffic away from Whitburn Street and out on to Northgate. The first phase of the work is complete, creating a new access to the town’s hospital.
Once current work on the land by the road is complete it will return to car park use. And then phases two and three will see the construction of both the northern and southern halves of the car park respectively, whilst the final phase will be the relief road’s tie-in with Northgate.
“It is already clear to see that the relief road will bring many positive benefits to Bridgnorth,” said Mr Cowen. “We have consent for an extension to the Sainsbury’s supermarket and for a DIY store but there is no time scale for those developments. When we have finished the road we will see how it works and take stock of our position.”
District council chairman Ed Shirley, who was among Westgate representatives at the site, said the road would be a tremendous asset to Bridgnorth for many years to come.
“I am pleased we are nearly there and I am now looking forward to the refurbishment of Whitburn Street and Northgate,” he added.
Bridgnorth town ward county councillor Christian Lea said he believed completion of the relief road would lead to a large reduction in traffic travelling along Whitburn Street towards High Street and would also help ease congestion at Northgate.
“As a result of a reduction in traffic levels in Whitburn Street, there should also be a marked improvement in the air quality in this street, which was recently identified as having high levels of air pollution from traffic fumes.
“The completion of the relief road should also assist the emergency services when responding to 999 calls, by no longer having to negotiate traffic bottlenecks at Northgate,” he added.
Plans for the programme of work on the relief road can be seen in Sainsbury’s store. Any questions about the roadworks programme can be put to Sue Bailey through Sainsbury’s freephone number of 0800 975 5299.
