After concerns from local residents about the impact on trees and hedges of Stagecoach’s proposed new bus lane on the A40, order the council has announced it will be looking at alternative designs.
Last year, Gloucestershire County Council and Stagecoach West had separate plans approved by the Gloucestershire Local Transport Board (GLTB) to improve bus journey times at two different areas of the A40, west of Cheltenham.
However, local residents raised concerns with the council about the loss of some trees and hedgerows at the Benhall stretch of the A40, which they felt provided important screening and improved the local environment.
In response, the county council and Stagecoach have agreed to review both schemes and to merge them. They are confident a new design can be developed that still improves public transport between Gloucester and Cheltenham, whilst keeping the majority of existing trees and hedges. Both the council and Stagecoach agreed that merging the schemes would also save money for taxpayers and help get the schemes operating more quickly.
Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member for infrastructure and planning: “We’ve listened to the concerns that local people have – and we think we can come up with a scheme that protects most of their trees and hedges, whilst still improving public transport into Cheltenham. Merging our scheme with Stagecoach’s will also save the taxpayer money – which is always a good thing. We’ll be asking local people for their views once a more detailed plan is completed.”