Members of campaign group Save Rimrose Valley will this weekend march six miles into Liverpool city centre in their fight to stop a £250m dual carriageway being built. Tony McDonough reports
Save Rimrose Valley campaign group will march six miles into Liverpool city centre on Saturday in the next stage of their battle to stop a £250m dual carriageway being built.
They will stop off at the headquarters of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority on Mann Island. Here they will meet with Cllr Steve Foulkes, chair of the authority’s Transport Committee.
National Highways first unveiled plans for the Port of Liverpool Access Road in 2017. It is designed to alleviate congestion on Dunningsbridge Road. Work was sipped to begin on the scheme in 2020.
It would see Rimrose Valley Country Park cut in half by the proposed A5036 Princess Way. A pressure group. Save Rimrose Valley – was formed in 2017 to fight the proposals.
In April 2022 National Highways told LBN it was still “fully committed” to the three-and-a-half mile dual carriageway. However, by September Labour MPs Peter Dowd and Bill Esterson, and Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, urged the Government to rethink the plan.
And in March this year Transport Secretary, Mark Harper further delayed the project. He has moved it into the next period of Road Investment Strategy projects, collectively known as RIS3, to be developed between 2025 and 2030.
However, despite being pleased the project has been pushed back six years the campaigners are determined to keep going until the scheme is scrapped altogether.
They will tell Cllr Foulkes the road scheme would undermine the objectives of the Metro Mayor to reduce traffic, improve air quality, decarbonise transport, and to improve public transport and provision for cycling and walking.
Speaking on behalf of the campaigners, Stuart Bennett said: “We’re really excited to be bringing people together again to unite in opposing National Highways’ insane plans.
“Our previous events have been fun and positive and showed the huge strength of feeling against this road. This is set to be another memorable occasion.
“It’s outrageous that National Highways wants to build on the only remaining green space of its kind in our already heavily polluted borough. The road would just make things worse and benefit no one but Peel Ports (operator of the Port of Liverpool).
Their walk will end at LUSH cosmetics’ Liverpool store in Church Street. LUSH has supported the Save Rimrose Valley campaign since it began six years ago, with grants and the hosting in-store events.
Save Rimrose Valley has previously held demonstrations outside the Port of Liverpool and at National Highways’ regional headquarters.
Stuart added: “Rather than building more destructive roads, we need to be investing in public transport, active travel provision and – in this instance – alternative means of servicing a port in a residential setting.
“Until this happens, people in South Sefton will continue to die, or have their lives shortened by air pollution.”