LEWIN Street residents are calling for permanent action along the busy road according to a survey carried out by a campaigner.

The road has caused much controversy in the past due to the large amount of HGV’s that use the narrow route. And with the section of the road by the White Horse pub currently operating a one lane give-way system due to maintenance, a survey has shown that residents think the system would be the answer to their problems.

A survey of Lewin Street residents, conducted by Middlewich Labour Party, has shown that 75 per cent of residents who responded want the current single carriageway operation to be made permanent, although everyone agrees that the only real solution is the building of the eastern by-pass.

The survey was conducted by post, door-to-door and at a residents meeting in the White Horse.

Rachel Pendleton, who is leading the campaign, said: “I initially called for single carriageway operation after the closure of the pavement, following the White Horse cellar doors collapsing under the weight of a HGV.

"It was clear that it wasn’t safe to just close the pavement without an alternative provision for pedestrians, particularly with the children going back to school after the Easter holidays.

“A few residents then told me that the narrowing of the road had made it safer, so we did a survey to find out whether that was the general view. It turned out that three-quarters are in favour of traffic calming that includes a single carriageway operation.”

Rachel has now submitted a question to be posed to the Middlewich Town Council at the next council meeting. The question is, ‘With the imminent removal of the temporary single lane on Lewin Street and in light of public safety concerns will Middlewich Town Council call on Cheshire East Council to immediately explore the options for traffic calming along the road?’

Middlewich Town councillor David Williams, who is also part of the Middlewich Labour Party, has given his backing to the campaign.

Cllr David Williams said: “I welcome Rachel’s campaigning on this issue and raising the question at the next full council.

“The current temporary single carriageway has shown that we don’t need to compromise pedestrian safety to keep the traffic flowing. So I’m looking forward to the debate at full council and hope that we can make progress to address the residents’ concerns.”