A RESIDENT who is angered by the state of Middlewich’s roads has challenged council leader Michael Jones to stand with him on Lewin Street for an hour in return for £250 to charity.


Reg Spur, from Middlewich, says he will pay the sum to a charity of Mr Jones’ choice, permitting that he stands with him for an hour outside the White Horse, where heavy goods vehicles often have to mount the pavement to get past.


Reg said: “Huge lorries and wagons are coming down Lewin Street all the time and when two go past each other, they have to get up onto pavement.


“The pavement is about two foot wide outside the White Horse and it’s simply dangerous to pedestrians. There are women and children that are in danger all the time. The fact there has been no pedestrians hurt there so far is down to luck.


“If Michael Jones stands with me on that pavement for an hour, he will see how dangerous it is, and I will give £250 out of my own pocket to a charity of his choice. He won’t do it because he won’t rick his life, but why should we?”


Reg says that he feels the Middlewich Eastern Bypass will make the road safer, but is outraged at how long the council says it will take to build.


“When the bypass is built then they can put a weight limit sign for Lewin Street and send all of the wagons down the bypass which would solve the problem. But they’re saying it will only be finished in 2017.


“That is not good enough, we were promised it in 2008, then again in 2011, but funding fell through.

 

Now they have the funding, which was needed through a housing company for some reason, and we have to wait three years.”


The reaction comes after Cheshire East Council told The Guardian on November 19, that plans for the Bypass are ‘well advanced’ but said that the projected completion date had been pushed back from 2016 to 2017.

 

The council once again echoed the sentiment is reaction to the complaints.

 

Clr David Topping, Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet member in charge of service commissioning, said: “Plans are well advanced to deliver the Middlewich Eastern Bypass.

 

“Funding has been agreed by the Government, through its Regional Growth Fund initiative, towards the overall projected costs.

 

“Additional sums have been secured through development in the area and negotiations are well advanced for completion.

 

“Legal documents are being finalised in relation to all the funding mechanisms, after which contractors will be procured and further ecological investigations and infrastructure matters will be dealt with before construction starts.

 

“The bypass is expected to be open to traffic in 2017, but more specific dates will be available once the necessary investigations and preliminary activities have been completed.”

 

Clr Michael Jones is yet to respond to the challenge.