A vicar has complained his 170-year-old church is under threat because of a new 65ft cycle lane…that goes nowhere.
St Margaret’s Church has stood beside the A56, on Dunham Road, in Altrincham, Cheshire, since 1854.
But after highways chiefs installed a new £500,000 one-way ‘wheel walk and ride scheme’ outside the entrance to the church car park on Gorsey Lane, the congregation can no longer access it from the main Dunham Road.
Instead parishioners and motorists, including those driving funeral hearses and wedding cars, are being forced into a circulatory detour down a narrow one-way system to get to the church entrance and car park.
Vicar Reverend David Hughes said many of his congregation had already been put off attending services since the cycle lane was installed and he now fears his historic church could close unless the local council reconsiders the plans.
Highways chiefs installed a new £500,000 one-way ‘wheel walk and ride scheme’ outside the entrance to the church car park on Gorsey Lane (pictured)
Vicar Reverend David Hughes (pictured) said many of his congregation had already been put off attending services since the cycle lane was installed
Traffic can no longer access the church from the main Dunham Road
‘The church is under threat for a 20m stretch of cycle lane,’ he said. ‘We had a carol concert last week and were down by about half the usual numbers.
‘Our bells have been ringing out since the mid-1800s and we’ve served this community through two world wars. Now we face extinction simply because of a crazy traffic system that closes access from the A56.’
He added: ‘This plan pushes church traffic to a dangerous turn on a bend further up the A56 one way or indeed past a school the other way – that area is already very busy at school drop off and pick up times.
‘It’s madness. All for the sake of a 20m cycle lane that goes nowhere and actually takes cyclists straight into the headlights of oncoming traffic.’
Rev Hughes said an alternative plan which would have kept Gorsey Lane open both ways and controlled by traffic lights was passed by Transport for Greater Manchester and the local council, but then blocked by the Green Party.
He said he has repeatedly asked for an explanation as to why they have ‘persisted with this awful plan’ but has heard nothing.
‘I can’t get an answer,’ he added. ‘We have elderly and disabled parishioners who can’t walk or cycle and many of them are now choosing not to come. It’s discriminating against them.’
Ironically, Rev Hughes and his congregation were among scores of locals who signed a petition calling for changes to the A56 – after a young schoolgirl Eleanor Horner campaigned for a pedestrian crossing.
Rev Hughes now fears his historic church could close unless the local council reconsiders the plans
Rev Murray said the cycle lane was also impacting local youth groups and food banks that the church supports
Drivers cannot access the Church’s car park due to the cycle path
Parishioners and motorists are being forced into a circulatory detour down a narrow one-way system to get to the church entrance and car park
Rev Hughes said said the 20m cycle lane ‘goes nowhere’ and takes cyclists ‘straight into the headlights of oncoming traffic’
Now a sixth former, Eleanor was just 13 years old when she stood up in front of a Trafford Council meeting to ask for her journey to Altrincham Grammar School for Girls to be made safer.
But the scheme being implemented is not just damaging to church services, but also impacting local youth groups and food banks that the church supports, Rev Murray said.
A spokesman for Trafford Council said work began on the scheme two months ago following an extensive public consultation, which was approved in September last year (2022).
‘Some concerns have been raised since construction started,’ the spokesman admitted.
‘These have been discussed with councillors, and TfGM has carried out some small modifications to ensure vehicles can access the church.
‘The design cannot be changed without carrying out a new round of consultation. We are in the process of implementing an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to enable the impact of the Gorsey Lane scheme to be assessed.’
Richard Nickson, programme director for active travel at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: ‘TfGM has been speaking regularly to representatives from Trafford Council and St Margaret’s Church to address the concerns raised and following a site visit we have agreed to make some modifications to the scheme design to ensure that the church is accessible.
The cycle lane has caused motorists to go on a detour to access the church car park. Pictured: The blue bin marks where the car park entrace is
Rev Hughes said the church had a carol concert last week and they down by about half the usual numbers. Pictured: The car park entrance
‘Once complete, the new crossing on Dunham Road will enable people to safely cross a busy road, while the new signalised junction with Gorsey Lane will make it easier for vehicles to leave the vicinity of the church.
‘The crossing scheme is part of a wider ambition to build the Bee Network, a fully integrated London-style transport system that will make travel safer for all road users.’
Rev Hughes said a few inches had been cut off a traffic island which separated the cycle lane from the road following his complaints but that the work hadn’t solved the problem.