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Show traffic will 'gridlock' city
Plans for a huge country showground could leave Preston gridlocked, say city councillors.
Wyre Council is considering a plan to use Head Nook Quarry in Garstang Road, Myerscough, as a showground to host the Royal Lancashire Show.
The 312 acres of land are part of the Duchy of Lancaster's Myerscough estate and Wyre Council is considering converting it to a showground during summers 2008-10.
However, Preston City Council has opposed the plans, saying the influx of visitors would bring extra chaos to an already overburdened traffic blackspot.
The leader of Preston Council has also said that the proposed plan to manage the traffic by sending it along the M55 to Kirkham before bringing it back to the Myerscough area was "a joke".
Coun Ken Hudson said: "Currently, if there is some problem on the M6, what happens? The whole of the North side of Preston becomes gridlocked. The traffic management plan it is an absolute joke.
"Who is going to go all the way to Kirkham to get back into Preston?
"What hapens if someone in Inglewhite has a tractor breakdown? It could stop all the traffic all the way to Blackburn!"
Coun Alan Hackett added: "There is a lot of optimistic whistling in the dark with this in the hope that it will be alright on the night.
"I don't think it will – it is just not an ideal site. We can't have a kind of NEC built on the A6."
Coun Anthony Gornall highlighted housing developments in the area which will further add to traffic and said the traffic management plan will attempt to force more traffic through already busy roads or route traffic through "convoluted detours".
Coun David Hammond added: "Traditionally, most agricultural shows are held in the summer so for about two thirds of the summer Preston is going to be absolutely chocca with traffic, not just for the two weeks the show is on."
Coun Geoff Driver, chairman of the meeting, concluded: "It seems to me that the committee would want to object because of the impact on traffic."
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -4 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
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