Leading Sefton councillors have disputed claims made by the Department for Transport in a letter to the Save Rimrose Valley campaign group.
The group has been fighting plans for a new road that would see the south Sefton park demolished to make way for a dual carriageway. In the letter, the DfT claims that its Port of Liverpool Access road is partially being driven by local housing developments.
Sefton councillors have responded by refuting the claims and demanding the Department for Transport public retract their statement. In a letter to the DfT Deputy Leader Cllr John Fairclough and Cabinet Member for Planning, Cllr Daren Veidman wrote: "We would wish to reaffirm in the strongest terms that to suggest that anything other than the Port and its expansion is the main driver of congestion and therefore the suggested need for a new road through the Rimrose Valley is untrue.”
They point to the Council’s own Local Plan which identified no requirement for new road infrastructure as a result of proposed housing developments. Suggesting that the port’s expansion and the pursuit of Freeport status for the Liverpool City Region are the driving force behind a new road.
They go on to say that the council is seeking “improved outcomes for all communities” and that the pursuit of “alternative modes of transport and technological solutions are vital to the future of logistics associated with the port, and that a new road is not the solution to this challenge”.
Speaking on behalf of Save Rimrose Valley, Stuart Bennett said: "This was a bizarre and cynical attempt by the Department for Transport to shift the blame for its damaging road proposal onto a council which has consistently opposed these plans. Our communities won’t be fooled by these word games.
"They are in no doubt as to what is behind this proposal, access for HGVs to an ever-expanding port. We urgently need the DfT to start taking these issues seriously and to stop trying to bulldoze through this outdated road."
The Department for Transport said that the letter in question outlines the Department’s policy and does not pre-determine the outcome of any decision surrounding road schemes. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "This scheme is a key part of our Road Investment Strategy, but will be subject to public consultation and the usual planning process prior to any decision being made."
