SOME months ago I attended a Middlewich Town Council meeting where a Cheshire East Council highways official suggested narrowing the A530 Nantwich Road in Middlewich down to 8ft to aid pedestrians crossing at Newtonia, adjacent to Amen Corner, and to save building a proper crossing on Nantwich Road.

In the Guardian, May 3, a public notice states that the council will be shutting Nantwich Road to carry out resurfacing and kerbing works at this point.

This area is one of the few roads in good repair having a snooker table top finish, it would appear that the council intends to narrow the roadway as stated at the meeting.

Presently if the traffic is stopped at the junction of Nantwich Road to Newton Bank, ambulances and other emergency vehicles can pass standing traffic – not in future if the road is narrowed.

I doubt that anyone from highways has consulted with any of the emergency services over this proposal as this is a fast track route for ambulances going both from and to Leighton Hospital and could seriously affect life-saving response times. A fire engine is nearly the width proposed.

I understand that the narrowing of the road is to aid crossing the road – but with no pedestrian crossing actually put in place.

This could make a bad situation worse, increasing vehicle accidents and putting pedestrians at risk as they will be standing on the edge of the kerb at a give-way nearer to fast moving traffic, these same pedestrians causing blind spots to traffic emerging into Newton Bank.

I trust that the council has taken into account the turning requirements of LGVs emerging from St Anne’s Road and they will be held responsible for any increase in accidents at this point due to cutting costs?

AJ Langley Middlewich