Shropshire roads on HS2 construction route won’t get lower speed limit

A village facing seven years of traffic chaos during the construction of HS2 will not get a lower speed limit, Shropshire Council has said.

The request to extend Woore’s 30mph limit was made by Councillor Roy Aldcroft, who said the addition of hundreds of large vehicles a day to the road network could pose a danger to residents.

But while the authority said there were no plans to extend the lower limit, other safety measures would be looked into before work starts in the area.

The village sits on a designated route for construction traffic for phase 2a of the major rail project, covering the line between the West Midlands and Crewe.

In a question to the council, Councillor Aldcroft said: “Since 2016 Woore Parish has been preparing to become a major transport route for vehicles building the HS2 rail-route at Onnely.

“Work starts next year on the road network between Stone and Onnely, affecting the A51, A53 and A525.

“This is to prepare the roads and junctions for some 700 HGV journeys per day for seven years as the project progresses.

“This will, of course, seriously affect the parish of Woore, its school, village centre, local traffic and local residents, businesses and facilities.

“Can the portfolio holder for highways assure the parish of Woore that Shropshire Council will continue to support Woore Parish Council and its residents over the seven or more years that project will take, ensuring compliance with agreed mitigations and seeking a speed limit along the route through the parish of 30mph?”

A written response from Councillor Richard Marshall, portfolio holder for highways, said: “I would like to thank Councillor Aldcroft for his question as I am aware of the concerns residents of Woore Parish Council have regarding the impact of HS2.

“Officers and members will continue to support Woore PC to ensure that this impact is reduced and necessary mitigation is put in place. Officers have regular meetings with the parish council and HS2.

“However, the mitigation has to provide a safe highway network. Whilst there has been a continued campaign to reduce the speed of traffic through the parish to 30mph, all the internal and external professional advice from highway engineers has been clear that reducing the speed will actually result in the potential for accidents.

“Moreover, for the police to enforce the reduced speed, it will require additional measures such as speed humps, which I understand are not supported.

“We will continue to work with the parish council and community to find other measures.”

Councillor Aldcroft will get the chance to ask a follow-up question at a meeting of the full council next Thursday.

The HS2 project website says the village and surrounding area “will experience an increased volume of traffic” during the construction period.

It adds: “Temporary highway modifications are being undertaken across Phase 2a to enhance the local road network and ensure it can support HS2 construction traffic. This includes modifications, such as passing bays and road widening along the A525 in Woore.

“In addition to these modifications a number of supplementary traffic calming and road safety measures have been agreed with Woore Parish Council, subject to them passing a road safety audit and the necessary approvals from the local highways authority.”