Hopstone road improvement work

Subject to obtaining a necessary road stopping-up order, Shropshire Council is proposing to carry out essential work later this year to improve the safety of the Wyken to Claverley road in front of 11 Hopstone. 

The proposed work is necessary because the high sandstone rock face, which currently supports the southern edge of the road, is heavily weathered and beginning to crumble. 

The proposed work will involve locally moving the road away from the rockface, ie northwards, by a distance of approximately one metre. 

Unfortunately, because of the limited width available at the site, the proposed work can only be carried out if a nearby slip road is downgraded to a footway, a process which can only be done if the council is successful in obtaining a formal vehicular traffic stopping-up order from the Magistrates Court. 

The slip road in question is the higher of the two roads which currently connect the Wyken to Claverley road to the Hopstone to Rudge Heath road alongside Hopstone Cottage. 

The process of applying for the stopping-up order will include a statutory 28-day consultation period, which will shortly be advertised by means of a notice erected at the site. 

Subject to obtaining the necessary order, the proposed work is scheduled to start on Monday 2 September 2013, and it is provisionally estimated that it will last for a period of approximately five weeks. 

In addition to the local realignment of the Wyken to Claverley road, the proposed work will also include improving the Hopstone end of the Rudge Heath road between the properties known as Hillcrest and Four Gates. 

Unfortunately, to carry out the proposed work safely, it will be necessary to close the Wyken to Claverley road and the upper slip road to traffic for the duration of the work.  In addition, it will also be necessary to close the Hillcrest to Four Gates length of the Hopstone to Rudge Heath road to traffic for a period of about a fortnight in late September or early October. 

When the work is underway, it is proposed to divert traffic to and from both Hopstone and Claverley along the A454 and B4176 roads via Rudge Heath. 

Access through the work for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will remain available at all times. 

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: 

“It is appreciated that the proposed work will cause some inconvenience; however, I hope that people can understand that the work is necessary to ensure that the Wyken to Claverley road can continue to remain safely open to traffic in the long term. In the meantime, everyone involved will do all that they reasonably can to complete the work as soon as possible.”