Meeting over land plans (From Warrington Guardian)

Meeting over land plans

WEAVERHAM residents interested in plans for an electricity substation on the outskirts of the village are welcome to go along to the next parish council meeting.

Representatives from Network Rail and National Grid, who are working in tandem on the plans for the station on land off Station Road, will be giving a presentation at the meeting, which will be held at Wallerscote Primary School on Monday, January 19, from 7pm.

There will be a chance for members of the public to raise questions with them about the application.

A similar presentation was made at Acton Bridge Parish Council's meeting last week and saw around 100 residents turn out.

Steve Pardoe, Acton Bridge Parish Council chairman, said after last week's meeting: "We had a very interesting public debate, vigorous but good-natured, and I think we all learned something from it - particularly the developers."

The plans are available for inspection at the planning department at Vale Royal Borough Council's headquarters in Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford.

They involve the creation of an electricity substation and a trackside feeder station on green belt land on land between Acton Bridge and Weaverham.

The development forms part of the Strategic Rail Authority's upgrade plans for the West Coast Main Line.

Developers are arguing that the existing overhead electrical traction power supply will not be able to cope with the future demands, so additional power must be taken from the National Grid 400kv network.

And the plot in Weaverham has been singled out because it has a point where the power supply crosses the rail line.