A525 back in council spotlight tonight

There is another important meeting in Crewe tonight that could decide when the A525 is de-primed – that is, removing the road from the primary route network partcularly used by long-distance lorries. As residents and regular readers will know, there has been a campaign over many years to reduce the number of long-distance Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) driving through Audlem. The arrival of SatNav systems, with the A525 providing the SatNavs with what appears a shorter Primary Route from the South Eastern ports to North Wales and Ireland, has made the situation worse in recent years.

Tonight's meeting in Crewe of the Cheshire County Council's and Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council's Highways and Transportation Local Joint Committee is looking at the situation again. At its meeting nine months ago, this committee considered a proposal to de-prime the A51 South of Nantwich to the County boundary near Woore, and the A525 through Audlem.

To the surprise of virtually everybody, while the committee, as expected, did approve the de-priming of the A525 (through Audlem), they opposed the proposal to de-prime the A51 south of Nantwich to the Cheshire/Shropshire boundary. With other authorities – Shropshire, Staffordshire and Government Office West Midlands – wanting the A51 de-primed, the Cheshire committee's decision delayed any final agreement amongst the four authorities to proceed with the removal of the A525 from the Primary Route network, and eventually from truckers' SatNav systems.

Tonight, the committee is re-examining the current proposals regarding the de-priming of these two routes. Representatives from Audlem are planning to attend the meeting in the hope that this will happen and the de-priming process goes forward. With regular chaos on Audlem's roads, it is hoped the County and Borough councillors will take a major step in reducing Audlem's traffic issues tonight.

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