Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

As part of the Sainsbury's planning application approved by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council last December, the retailer has agreed to pay for changes to the road system which are needed to keep traffic flowing smoothly following the opening of its store, scheduled for November 2012, and increases in traffic expected in the future.  Of these changes, the most important is to the roundabout at the junction of Ball Haye Street, Ashbourne Road and Derby Street where a traffic signal controlled crossing is required.

The Council is very aware that the change to the area around Derby Street and the Nicholson War Memorial is controversial. However, schemes in other parts of the country show that this can be a real opportunity to improve the public realm by creating a proper civic space and setting for the landmark buildings, such as the Memorial, and by reducing the impact of traffic.

To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute towards this, the District and County Councils have drawn up a consultation programme setting out the course of the design process over the next year.

This programme started with a stakeholder meeting on 17th October to establish the principles for the public realm improvements. The meeting included Leek residents, together with the Chamber of Trade, Royal British Legion and Town Council. As a result, the Councils drew up a design brief  which sets out the aims and objectives agreed at the meeting.

Following this, the Councils set up a Steering Group to guide the Public Realm project through 3 key stages:  

• the design brief; 
  
• the scheme options to be put to public consultation; and 
  
• the final design.

The first meeting of the Group was on December 8th and resolved to approve the design brief. The design brief was then passed to the design team to prepare three options:
 Option 1 - Garden Scheme
 Option 2 - Vista Scheme
 Option 3 - Piazza Scheme

An exhibition of these options was held in the Market Place, Leek from 11th to 14th January. An estimated 600 people attended the exhibition, and there was a clear majority in favour of Option 2. A summary of the written comments is attached. The Steering Group then met again on January 18th to discuss the feedback from the exhibition, and to recommend any amendments and further areas of work needed for the option to be carried forward. The agenda and minutes of the meeting are attached.

The preferred option is now back with the design and engineering teams to work up the technical details and drawings, which will then become the 'preferred scheme'.  The scheme will then be reviewed by an independent Quality Audit team before it is put back to the next meeting of the Steering Group.

The next meeting of the Steering Group will be on Thursday 23rd February at 4.30pm in Moorlands House, Leek.  The public are welcome to attend. At this meeting, the Quality Audit team will explain the design philosophy and safety of such schemes. The Steering Group will then receive an update from design team and make its recommendations on the preferred scheme. These will be incorporated where compatible with previously agreed elements and technically feasible before the scheme is put out to another round of public consultation the following week.

The preferred scheme will be exhibited at Trinity Church, Derby Street, Leek from Wednesday 29th February to Saturday 3rd March. A full timetable of opening times will be posted on this web-site and set out in a press release and posters.

Following this, the Steering Group will meet on 7th March to discuss feedback, and make its final recommendations. The scheme will then pass back to the design and engineering teams to work up the technical details and drawings for the final scheme which will be published towards the end of  March.

The road works are planned to be completed by 4th November, and the War Memorial area will be ready for the Armistice Day service on 11th November.

• Related Downloads
• Related News

• Print this page
• Email this to a friend