Warrington criticises ‘self-interested’ Peel over swing bridges

WARRINGTON Council has criticised Peel Ports over the traffic congestion caused by the operation of three swing bridges over the Manchester Ship Canal.

The council wants urgent talks with Peel in a bid to reduce the number of bridge swings during peak periods and to introduce other measures such as updating the bridges so they swing faster.

The three bridges are all on roads leading into the town at Stockton Heath, Latchford and Walton.

The local authority has asked Peel to limit the number of ships passing through during peak times to 150 a year, 20% of the 750 annual vessel movements. But in a statement it said Peel, which is trying to increase the amount of freight using the canal, has refused such an agreement.

Peel Ports’ chief operating officer Gary Hodgson told TheBusinessDesk he was disappointed with the council’s position, having engaged in “active and what we thought was constructive dialogue”.

A council spokesperson said: “The Manchester Ship Canal Act of 1885 gives Peel Ports a lot of power. But things have changed a great deal since 1885 and Peel need to acknowledge this. If they don’t, they could cause avoidable traffic problems in and around Warrington. They could cause increasing annoyance to residents, businesses, visitors and through-traffic and they could risk harming our local economy.

“Peel need to understand that with power comes responsibility. If they operate their bridges in a purely self-interested way, if they don’t take into account other people’s needs, they’ll cause problems. The council can help minimise the problems, but Peel must play their part, and we need them to make a reasonable compromise as soon as possible. That’s why we’ve asked for top-level meetings to sort this issue out.

“Warrington Borough Council is confident that we can find a sensible way of working, provided Peel are prepared to give a little. The council will be bringing a set of reasonable, businesslike proposals to these talks, and we hope to come to a workable agreement.”

Gary Hodgson, chief operating officer of Peel Ports, said: “We are somewhat disappointed by Warrington Borough Council’s comments regarding the swing bridges in Warrington as we have been engaged in active – and what we thought was constructive – dialogue with the cabinet member for transportation as well as with other senior highways officials within the council.
 
“The comments issued by Warrington Borough Council today seem to suggest some disconnect within the council organisation. In a series of meetings with them over the last two years we have discussed and agreed a number of actions to mitigate the issues associated with the swing bridges; actions which are exactly in line with the proposed support measures that the council details in its comments today. Peel Ports has already implemented a number of these measures, including increasing the number of night time and off-peak sailings, to help ease traffic issues in Warrington.
 
“Further to that, Peel Ports has also carried out all the required actions to support an ‘early warning’ swing bridge alert system; we now just await implementation of the messaging by Warrington Borough Council on their signage and matrix warning infrastructure. We want to work productively with Warrington Borough Council on this issue and look forward to continuing our dialogue with them at the earliest opportunity.”