The road network  around Crewe is  used as a bypass to  the M6. How big a  hindrance is this to  commuters and business  in your opinion?

A: Obviously commuters -  including me - want to get  from A to B as quickly as  possible, and people using  our roads as a rat run make  that more difficult. But we can’t blame them. They do it for a reason. So To help  alleviate this problem the  Department for Transport  has provided £26.4million  for the Crewe Green Link  Road and £8million for M6  Junction 16 improvements,  making that exit more attractive to motorists and taking traffic off minor roads.


The town's  infrastructure  revolves around its  railway town heritage,  but has its poor road  linkage let it down?

A: You only need to look at a  map to see that all roads  lead to Nantwich, and all  railway lines leads to Crewe.  Both towns have prospered  as a result in the past, and  continue to as a result in some ways.

The problem for Crewe is  that people travel in a different way locally to the way  they used to when the town  was built - they drive: cars are affordable to most. Indeed  the Chancellor has announced fuel duty will be  20p per litre lower by the  end of the Parliament compared to plans inherited from Labour. This  will save the average motorist £11 every time they fill  up their tank by 2015-16.

Crewe’s roads are constrained by the bridges  across the various railway  lines that feed into it.

The classic problem is the  bridge between the town  centre and the Grand Junction Retail Park. The line and the bridge separate two retail areas, and the one with the best car access wins. I would like  to see that bridge widened  and better pedestrian linkages put in to alleviate congestion and link up the two  areas  into one successful retail area.


What role did you  play in helping to  acquire finance for the £26.4m Crewe Green  Link Road South project?

A: Effectively what you’re asking here is how do local Members of Parliament lobby for goverment funding for projects in their constituencies. The Link Road was no exception to this.

Cheshire East Council  worked hard to provide the  Department for Transport  with the best case possible  in their bid for funding. But  Secretaries of State in Westminster find themselves in  receipt of a lot of strong bids.  their civil servants present them with an overview and a draft decision, and the Secretary of State then signs it off. You might win, you might  not. It’s a gamble.

But if the local MP constructively hammers the  message home over time and in person with that  minister, that this project is  going to deliver real benefit  to his constituents, and  keeps them appraised with  the latest facts and figures,  then that sticks in their  minds.

I invited the Secretary of  State for Transport up to  Crewe to see where the road  would go. He came in person, and I was able to to explain the proposed route on site, and indicate how this was going to  improve traffic flow and attract more business to the  area. After that point it was  no longer a theory on a  piece of paper to him - it was  real. and he could see the benefits the road would bring. Of course then the Secretary of State changed, and  you’re back to square one.  So I started again. And we  got there!


What will be the  payoff for Crewe in  terms of traffic  movement, inward  investment and growth  as population increases  over the next decade?

A: These factors are all  closely linked. Cheshire  East Council knows that  Crewe is the prime focus for  growth in the borough.  They are quite candid about  it, and have put their money  where there mouth is in  terms of effort to ensure  that infrastructure funding  flows to this part of South  Cheshire. That is yielding  serious results. With improved infrastructure and access to the area  comes inward investment.  Expert Logistics, for example, were attracted by the  Crewe Green Link Road.  That’s estimated to be 350  jobs. 350 jobs means 350 families benefiting from that  employment, and putting  money into the local economy. So that’s a lot of growth:  growth in infrastructure  results in growth in local  business, which in turn results in growth in population  and growth in the local economy, which brings us full  circle to more growth in  infrastructure. That’s a  pretty good payoff in terms  of what the government is  able to contribute.


Crewe has been  described as a  gateway to  Cheshire for railway  passengers. Is there  (with road  improvements) an  opportunity to convey  the same message to  motorists?

A: I prefer to think of Crewe  as the gateway to the North  West. In terms of attracting  business to the town, it's the  bigger picture that matters  most. That's why it's important that we're well  served by the region’s major  traffic artery by two junctions on the M6, one of  which we’re improving, and  also by rail. That again will improve  with High Speed 2 and the  proposed high-speed hub  station at Crewe.We have to remember though that many motorists now prefer not to bring their vehicles into town centres, as they can only be adapted to cope with high volumes of traffic up to a point.


With improved  accessibility is  there an  opportunity for day  visitors to tap into the  many tourism facilities  and attractions?

A: There’s no doubt that the tourist industry in Cheshire more broadly can be boosted, but the problem isn’t one of accessibility.

It's hugely frustrating  when in conversation  people occasionally smirk  at mention of Crewe - normally before I tell them  what I do! When I ask why  they aren't being very charitable, they talk about the  station. When I ask them if  they’ve ever got off the train  there to visit the town or the  surrounding area, rather than change trains and nip to the loo, they  invariably say, “No.”

Being a rail hub has  its advantages, but it  also means you are  judged by the passers-through purely on  one building: Crewe  Station. In my time as the  local MP I have lobbied successfully for millions of  pounds worth of funding for  the station. A lot of it got  swallowed up in mending  the roof and sorting out the  drains - not glamorous or visible, yet essential work for the building to function safely. We’re now getting  onto the more visible improvements with the new  entrance and car park.

But there’s a long way to  go before the station will  properly represent the vibrant and ever-improving  part of Cheshire that it sits  in, and I won’t rest until it  inspires an image that we  can all be proud of.


Cheshire East have  piloted free  parking in a  number of Crewe car  parks do you think as  MP ALL car parks  should be free to attract  more visitors/shoppers  into our town?

 A: I am in favour of limited  free parking to boost retail.  Enough for the weekly shop or to pop into town and buy that thing you forgot! It’s a common strategy to  encourage retail nationwide, and it works. The  more money spent in our  town centre, the more vibrant it will be, and the local  economy will be improved.


Liverpool,  Manchester and  now Chester are  assisting students to  become more mobile  (free public transport,  shuttles and discount  cards in a bid to get  them spending in their  host towns). Surely there  is an opportunity here  for Crewe?

A: There may well be, but I  would advise the Council to  proceed with caution. Many  towns have tried free buses  for all sorts of reasons, but  empty free buses cost the  council tax payer a lot of  money.

They could trial it and see  if it does result in an uplift  in retail figures specifically  due to student purchasing.  If it does then that’s great,  but if not they could find  themselves saddled with an  expensive white elephant.