I WOULD like to thank ‘Basilcat’ for identifying that the A54 is in urgent need of improvement, as the current levels of traffic do cause considerable delays.

Unfortunately the application for the Cheshire Fresh site will add to this congestion.

People seem to have the impression that this application will contribute to the completion of the Middlewich Eastern bypass (more correctly an industrial estate access road).

There is no financial contribution from this application towards any works to help complete this road, the only link this application brings to this ‘bypass’ would be to provide one of the access roads from Pochin Way on to the site.

This application forms two separate permissions: full permission for the livestock auction site together with parking for 500 cars, 100 lorries and some coach parking together with site infrastructure and a new T-junction access on to and from the A54 between the Salt Cellar Pub and the substation, together with an access on to Pochin Way.

This would produce several thousands extra traffic movements per day including farm vehicles with trailers and large HGVs.

The second part is an outline application for the retail element of the scheme; this will be subject to a full planning application.

This outline element will, if approved, set the building heights and the use classification of the site, currently very large amounts of retail. This element of the proposal is scheduled for completion sometime into the future.

The only certainty this application will deliver is more traffic.

Some tinkering of junctions is proposed but no guarantees that this will lead to traffic flow improvement.

Andrew Ramshall Holmes Chapel Road Middlewich