Ask anyone who's lived in Ormskirk for the past twenty years or so if the town needs a by pass and the answer's a resounding 'Yes!'

Not that the Government see it that way - while there's been heated discussions over the last few years, it's clear that with the current financial restraints, plans are - like Ormskirk traffic at peak times - going nowhere...

But there are moves to try to ease congestion locally; it's now taking up to 20 minutes on a good day to drive form EHU to the busy Fiveways junction; queue, sorry cue this meeting on Friday at Chapel Gallery hosted by Atkins of Manchester accompanied by LCC and WLBC staff:

'I am writing to inform you of a new transport study which Atkins are undertaking on behalf of Lancashire County Council, with the support of West Lancashire Borough Council.

As a conclusion to the West Lancashire Route Management Strategy (completed in August 2017), it was recommended that a Town Centre Movement Strategy should be developed for Ormskirk.

Previous analysis concluded that the nature of journeys using the roads around Ormskirk means that a bypass is no longer in the County Council's plans for managing the highway network, but a Movement Strategy is important to set a local plan for how to better manage the way people travel to and move around the town centre and to support its' economic growth.

We are delighted to be supporting the County Council with the development of the Movement Strategy and would welcome an opportunity to speak with you at an early stage of this work.

We will be holding a stakeholder event in Ormskirk at the Chapel Gallery, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, on Friday the 11th May starting promptly at 10am and are inviting you to join us. I anticipate it will last until around midday.

This will be a chance for the team to provide you with some background information about the work, and then collect your perspectives about the issues, challenges and opportunities which we should be looking to incorporate into the Movement Strategy. Some of the key questions we may pose include:

• Is it easy for visitors to find their way around, however they arrive?
• Do you think that the way people move around the town is having an impact on the economic development of Ormskirk?
• Do you feel that current conditions are having an impact on the environment and the health & wellbeing of people in Ormskirk?
• Are there any changes you would like to see in the public realm and public spaces in the town centre?
• How well does the current bus network serve the town? Do buses link to the right areas and do they contribute as much as they can?
• How easy is it for people to walk around the town centre? Are pedestrians prioritised enough, and in the right places?
• Is personal safety and security an issue in the town centre?
• How well do facilities for cycling work? Is cycling something you think is commonplace in the town? Should it be promoted more?
• How well do the roads operate, if there are delays what do you think are the causes?
• How well do the car parks work for visitors and workers? Are charges at the right level?
• Are there issues with deliveries which affect local businesses?
• Is transport accessibility notably different at different times of the week?
• How do travel needs change between University term and holiday times?
• How do you want the town centre to look and feel in the future?
• What do you think would make the most difference in the short or long term?
• What do you see as the key opportunities to help Ormskirk grow and thrive?

I would appreciate if you can please confirm if you will be able to attend. If you are not able, please consider if a colleague could attend on behalf of your organisation, we do however need to restrict attendance to one representative from each organisation. We will confirm further details closer to the time.

Best regards

Matt Smith, Strategy and Business Case UK & Europe Engineering, Design and Project Management'

And pictured on Tuesday morning outside the library was yet another traffic survey for the town: every six months or so one's staged here or on County Road near the Green Lane junction - whether they make a happ'orth of difference is to be debated!