Sefton-based charity, Rimrose Valley Friends [1], has secured funding [2] to commission a study into access to and from the Port of Liverpool.
It follows its 7-year campaign [3] to save Rimrose Valley Country Park from destruction by National Highways’ Port of Liverpool Access Road [4] – a road which would have seen the park severed in two.
The road was cancelled in October 2024’s budget [5], but the charity recognises that access to the port still needs to be improved.
The report will bring together the latest transport data and offer technical advice on existing travel patterns and possible future options. It is intended to stimulate the consideration of various options to alleviate the traffic impacts of road access to the Port, including the A5036, one of the main port access routes.
Work on the study began in April and will be published later this year.
Speaking on behalf of Rimrose Valley Friends, Stuart Bennett said:
“The world has changed significantly since the port access road was first proposed. Major events such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the City Region’s Freeport status have completely changed the landscape; both for port activity and our working lives. The importance of safeguarding our green spaces along with the urgent need to tackle the climate and nature crises, make a road proposal through a vital urban park look even more archaic than it did in 2017.
“Throughout our years of campaigning, we always said that, if successful, we wouldn’t walk away from tackling the impacts of the Port of Liverpool’s operations on local people, and we meant it. It’s therefore fantastic to have secured funding to commission a fresh study on this topic, which will reflect the situation as it is today. The research will explore a multi-modal approach to tackling port access. It will specifically look at ways to address the impacts of HGV traffic.
“The two consultancies we’ve hired have decades’ of experience in transport planning. We’re excited to see what they produce to enable growth in a less impactful way. The challenge will then be to our local, regional and national politicians to translate the findings into action to make things better for both the Port and local residents.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
[1] Charity’s website: https://www.rimrosevalleyfriends.org/
[2] RVF secured funding for the report from Foundation for Integrated Transport: https://integratedtransport.org.uk/
[3] Link to the campaign’s website: https://www.saverimrosevalley.org/
[4] National Highways Project Page for former scheme: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/north-west/a5036-port-of-liverpool-access/
[5] Budget announcement of the road’s cancellation (Search “A5036”): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-2024/autumn-budget-2024-html