Protests come too late (From Witney Gazette)
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Protests come too late
4:50pm Wednesday 16th May 2012 in Letters
Sir – The resistance to the Cogges Link Road seems to be to be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Something has to be done, and the proposed road is probably the least-bad option available.
The queue to reach the town centre often stretches along Newland as far as Church Lane. It is a certainty that Wood Green Hill, West End and Mill Street have similar queues.
A road siphoning off most of the traffic from Newland would take around a quarter of the traffic away from the Bridge Street junction, meaning that the three other incoming roads would flow more readily.
The fact of the matter is that, as is often the case with proposed new roads, the damage has already been done.
The time to forestall the building of this road is many years past. The town should have taken steps to prevent the housing and shop-building schemes which have been a feature of Witney over the past decade or so.
It should also have curtailed development of the surrounding villages.
Traffic problems always follow a rise in population as more people move into an area and discover a need to move about.
Local councils love these housing schemes, which mean increases in rate revenue as well as a pretext for greenwash charges and fines, while local people watch their tranquil towns and villages change into bustling, pressurised, congested and expensive places.
The fact is, the population of England is increasing and the South East is suffering from the consequences, while politicians avoid the subject.
England has a population density of almost 1,100 to the square mile, which, in the counties of the South East, rises to 1,800 per square mile.
People cannot live at such a density without causing environmental degradation.
If this continues, supporters of the environment will forever be fighting a losing battle against the encroachment of humanity.
If local people really care for their environment, then they have to confront the problem at its root. Opposing this road is like treating a rash while ignoring the disease.
Ralph Ingham-Johnson, Witney
Comments(2)
nickwilcock
says...
9:21pm Thu 17 May 12
Correct. Such relief to Newland was actually proposed many years ago as the 'Newland Link Road', which would have provided a second river crossing by connecting Newland directly to Welch Way. Regrettably, despite strong recommendations from the 1986 Local Plan Inquiry Inspector, Oxfordshire County Council later allowed the route to be built upon, preventing the road from ever being constructed. Later, following the de-trunking of the A40 allowing consideration of westbound slip roads at Shores Green, in his 2005 report yet another Inspector commented that it seemed to him that the District Council had 'set its face' against the Newland Link and did not fully recognise the extent to which the option of improvements at Shores Green would change the planning circumstances. Indeed, he found it 'most unfortunate' that development had now closed this option.
Now that the Newland Link cannot be built, the only remaining options to provide the traffic relief Mr Ingham-Johnson seeks are the Cogges Link Road and Shores Green Slip Road schemes. According to OCC's oft-revised figures, both schemes would provide substantial relief to Newland and Bridge Street. Although the difference between the two in traffic terms is only 5% or less, either scheme would reduce traffic levels by about 40% in Newland and 60% in Bridge Street.
However, the biggest differences between the schemes are cost and environmental destruction. OCC's pet white elephant, the Cogges Link Road, would bring immense environmental blight to the Country Park and would cost millions of pounds more than would the vastly more environmentally-frie
ndly Shores Green Slip Road scheme.
So no, Mr Ingham-Johnson, the Cogges Link Road is most assuredly not the 'least-bad option available'. It is by far and away the worse.
kinchesh says...
7:47pm Wed 16 May 12
One example is the 2004 Inquiry where the Inspector’s conclusion (http://www.westoxon
.gov.uk/files/downlo
ad/8247-4390.pdf) was “There is no doubt that the CLR, crossing the valley of the River Windrush, would have major environmental impact. My conclusion is that the alternative of west facing slip roads at Shores Green in combination with the northern section of the West End Link warrants further investigation because of the lesser environmental impact and similar highway benefit.” OCC did not investigate the Shores Green Slip Road (SGSR) option, and currently use the fact that a SGSR scheme does not exist in defence of the CLR scheme. This is also the position of many Conservative Councillors – for example see the http://witneyfirst.c
om WODC candidate poll conducted before the recent local elections. The fact that a SGSR scheme does not exist is purely down to gross negligence. Shame on OCC.
In the recent WODC elections, Witney Councillors have been reminded that they are actually elected to listen. Harvey has since been deposed as Town Council leader. It’s a blessing the resistance continues!