Graham attended a meeting in Middleton about resurrecting plans for a bypass.
Graham attended the meeting following discussions with Beverley Rural councillor Jeremy Wilcock (Lib Dem) about how the transformational £168 million Local Transport Fund could be spent.
Following the announcement of the fund by the Department for Transport, which includes a requirement to consult MPs on the spending plans, Graham is determined to put local priorities at the top of East Riding Council’s list.
He has launched a survey to ask residents for their views on how the money should be spent, which has seen almost 200 responses so far.
Graham has also sought the views of parish council clerks across Beverley and Holderness to get a complete picture of what communities want from this extraordinarily huge sum of transport funding for our area.
The responses received so far include fixing pot holes and improving cycle routes, but also larger projects such as York to Hull Rail and bypasses.
Graham, alongside Lib Dem councillors Jeremy Wilcock and Diana Stewart, met Middleton-on-the-Wolds Parish Council to hear about their ambition to revive a bypass for the village, to deal with the numerous articulated lorries passing through the village every day.
The plans, created with the support of East Riding Council at the turn of the century, are detailed and thorough, showing a range of possible options. Graham is encouraging Middleton to form a committee to advance and update the plans and lobby East Riding Council to look again at their ideas, which were rejected due to no money being available in 2002.
A bypass would help reduce articulated lorries coming through the village, which often cause gridlock on Front Street and bring down bollards and even cause damage to buildings.
Several options were put forward twenty years ago, which members of Middleton-on-the-Wolds Parish Council showed Graham, Jeremy and Diana. They include smaller options which bypass Middleton only, and larger ones which take Bainton and North Dalton into account.
Residents of Beverley and Holderness can put their own ideas forward below. Graham will present these ideas to Leader of the Council Anne Handley in the coming weeks.
Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: “I’m delighted to have had the chance to go to Middleton-on-the-Wolds and hear the ambition for a bypass, as well as to see the problem for myself.
“Middleton has a great parish council, highly motivated to improve the lives of residents.
“That’s why I’m grateful to the village and to Cllr Jeremy Wilcock for inviting me to come and see the issue for myself, and I’m looking forward to working with the villagers, and cross-party with the ERYC councillors, to make sure these plans receive the attention they deserve in County Hall.
“Middleton matters, and I’m keen to help the village make the case for using the transformational £168 million Local Transport Fund to reduce heavy vehicles from the village.”
Beverley Rural Councillor Jeremy Wilcock (Lib Dem) said, “I’m pleased to have brought Graham to Middleton and even more pleased that he’ll support Middleton take its bypass plans forward.
“It’s wrong that these huge lorries are coming through Middleton on a daily basis, and I’m looking forward to working with Middleton Parish Council, Graham and my council colleagues to press the case for a bypass.”
