How the Whitehaven Relief Road could help West Cumberland Hospital

There is a current public consultation about a possible A595 relief road for Whitehaven which I believe has the potential to significantly improve the viability of West Cumberland Hospital and outcomes for patients.

This is a first stage consultation by Highways England who have not yet defined a route for the proposed new road and assure me that they are genuinely interested in suggestions from local stakeholders and the public about where the road should go.

One of the suggestions which has been discussed between local county councillors and Highways England is the possibility that the relief road could include a specific spur to the hospital. The most likely route - East of Whitehaven from approximately the present Moresby roundabout at the South end of the Distington by-pass to a point between Westlakes and Moor Row - would make this relatively easy to add.

Clearly this would be a huge benefit to ambulances and patients needing to get to WCH in a hurry - and I doubt if I need to spell out to anyone reading this the potential benefit in terms of patient outcomes from that - but it would also make it easier for staff and resources to get to the West Cumberland and thereby improve the viability of the hospital. 

The proposed new relief road is not dependent on Moorside and it is a serious proposal. At the start of this month Transport secretary Chris Grayling came in person to Copeland to kick off the consultation on the proposed Whitehaven Relief Road and announced his "Cast Iron Commitment" to improving Cumbria's Roads as you can read on the government website at

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/governments-cast-iron-commitment-to-cumbrias-roads

Chris Grayling said:

• "Investing in Cumbria’s vital transport routes cuts congestion, ensures drivers enjoy faster, safer journeys, and increases the freight capacity needed to drive forward jobs and economic growth." 
• "This shows our cast-iron commitment to Cumbria, as we deliver the investment needed to provide businesses and commuters with more reliable and resilient journeys." 

The consultation formally began on Wednesday 7th November 2018 and lasts until 19th December 2018. Consultation survey forms were sent out to residents in the Whitehaven area and for some distance around and the consultation programme includes another two drop-in meetings next week:

Date	Time	Venue	Address
Wednesday 28 November	2pm – 7pm	Beacon Museum	The Beacon Portal, West Strand, Whitehaven, CA28 7LY
Thursday 29 November	10am – 2pm	Ingwell Hall (Gunson Room)	Ingwell Drive, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA24 3JZ

You can also read details of the proposals and respond online at

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/he/a595-whitehaven-public-consultation/

I believe that we need this road and that it would be particularly helpful if as many people as possible responded to the consultation and said so, and if they also included in their response that it would be a very good idea - and very probably save lives - if the relief road included a spur to West Cumberland Hospital.

If you want to respond to the consultation you can do so using any of the four following methods by 19 December 2018: 

• Online – complete the response form online using the above link
• Complete the consultation response form in the consultation brochure and return it using the freepost address provided 
• Email your response to: A595Whitehaven@highwaysengland.co.uk 
• Post – write to Highways England at: 

Business Reply Plus Licence Number RTZS–CEET–CSXR WSP 

Amber Court 

William Armstrong Drive 

Newcastle upon Tyne 

Tyne and Wear NE4 7YQ 

All responses should be returned by 19 December 2018.