Roy Chadwick Way – the Poynton Relief Road Opens

Funding for the project has come from Cheshire East Council (£21m), Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership growth deal (£5.6m), and the Department for Transport (£16.4m), with the balance to be met by developer contributions.

The 3.5 km road has been named Roy Chadwick Way in honor of the celebrated wartime aircraft designer Roy Chadwick, who designed the famous Lancaster bomber.  Roy Chadwick died in a test flight at Woodford in 1947 along with three crew members.  A memorial board unveiled last November was placed beside the new road near the site of the accident.

The road was opened in a ceremony on 3rd March that included a parade of veteran cars, tractors, and motorbikes.  A large number of walkers and cyclists mingled with VIP guests for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.  The highlight was the fly-past by the twin-engine Anson plane, flown specially for the event, from Shropshire Aero Club in Sleap and organised by the Avro Heritage Museum, in Woodford.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by the Mayor of Cheshire East, Councillor David Marren, and was attended by a number of VIP guests, including relatives of those involved in the accident. Carol Wilson, the daughter of the co-pilot David Wilson, who died in the crash, was among the guests. She shared her thoughts on the occasion, saying, “My father was a very experienced wartime pilot flying Lancasters, amongst other planes, and spent some time in 617 squadron. He was awarded the DSO and the DFC and Bar. It is good to know that Roy Chadwick is commemorated in the naming of a road in his honour. Also, that those who died with him in the crash of 1947, including my father, are also remembered on the memorial plaque.”

Relatives of the Chadwick family were unable to attend the event but sent a “thank you” message. Chadwick’s granddaughter, Delphine Stevens, expressed her congratulations and best wishes, saying, “Roy Chadwick was very proud of his Chadwick family roots in north-west England and the region’s position in the world of aviation. We send our very best wishes and congratulations on this special occasion and important new road for the community.”

Councillor Craig Browne, Cheshire East Council deputy leader and chair of the council’s highways and transport committee, highlighted the relief road’s benefitsand said. ”

“For many years, the people of Poynton have tolerated a constant flow of heavy traffic through their village and this scheme, connecting with the recently completed Manchester Airport relief road is designed to remove that headache, improve air quality in the village and deliver an all-round better quality of life for the village and wider area.

“The Poynton Relief Road, or Roy Chadwick Way, as we should now refer to it, is the latest in our programme of major road schemes which have helped to improve connectivity across the borough, open-up new employment and housing development sites and move heavy traffic away from the homes of our residents, improving their quality of life.

“This road carries a 3.5-metre-wide cycling and footway along its length. This council is fully committed to a policy of active travel, and this is a further example of that commitment”.

Clare Hayward, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, commended the collaboration between various parties, saying, ”

“This is a splendid example of partnership working between Cheshire East Council, the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, Stockport Council and the contractors, Graham, with support from the government’s growth deal.

“By improving connectivity in this way, this area will become even more attractive to businesses and investors, while improving the lives of local residents. It will help us to take another step towards our unrelenting ambition to make Cheshire and Warrington the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the country.”

Alastair Lewis, contracts director for Graham, expressed his pride in the project, saying, “We’re delighted to have completed the new Poynton Relief Road and very excited to see it open to the public in March. The scheme has been a fantastic collaboration between our highways team, Cheshire East Council and many other stakeholders and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work throughout the programme.”