CHESHIRE East Council has no funds available for the Middlewich Eastern Bypass according to Cllr David Topping.

The borough councillor joined campaigner Reg Spur and Cheshire East ward member for Middlewich, Mike Parsons, to view the dangerously narrow pavements and road on Lewin Street.

Cllr Topping admitted the road and pavements along Lewin Street are dangerous and said the solution is to divert traffic using the bypass. 

However the councillor claimed his solution could not happen any time soon as the council does not have funding for the bypass.

Cllr Topping said: “It’s very narrow and it’s obviously not made for the traffic it’s now taking but it’s been like this for decades.

“The answer is the bypass but the answer to the bypass is funding and we don’t have funding at the minute.

“There is no short term solution and I don’t have all the answers because I’m not an engineer. But there has to be a redirection of traffic because we can’t widen the road and we can’t widen the pavements.

“I will go back to our engineers and talk to them and there will be an assessment.”

The council said last year that the funding for the bypass would come from the Glebe Farm development site and Cllr Topping says that is still a possibility but it is yet to be done. 

The claim that the bypass has not secured funding comes after a statement from Cheshire East Council in November claimed funding was secured and the plans were ‘well advanced’.

The statement released in November last year read: “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.

Reg called for Cheshire East Council leader Cllr Mike Jones to join him on the Lewin Street pavement in December last year and offered to pay £250 to charity if he would do so, however Reg has never had a response from Cllr Jones.