Staffordshire County Council should make the A518 through Haughton and Gnosall a top priority in its five-year transport plan claimed a Councillor this week.

Speaking at last nights meeting of Haughton Parish Council Annual Village Assembly, Gnosall County Councillor Barry Stamp said he was pleased that a thorough review of the A518 through the two villages had been identified as a high priority at a recent meeting of the County Council's Area Highways Strategy Workshop.

"I was pleased to see that both other Councillors and Council Officers recognised that something needs to be done to improve the A518 to the west of Stafford, as I have been fighting for improvements on this road for some time. It is a well known fact that both villages suffer from speeding traffic, but we must not lose sight of the fact that other problems also exist. In Haughton there is a need to provide some type of pedestrian crossing near to the village shops, as this route is well used by children and the elderly, while in Gnosall the narrowness of the road near to Coton Post Office is a real danger both to drivers and pedestrians alike. I have believed for a long time that there is no one answer that will solve all these problems, and that the only way we will make any real progress is to put together a package of different measures. The acceptance that the whole of the A518 from Stafford to the Shropshire border should be considered in its entirety, and a strategy that addressed the problems of the whole route be drawn up, must be welcomed. With such a strategy in place, backed up by funding from the County Council's Local Transport Plan, I would hope to see positive improvements made to the road over the next five years to make it safer for both drivers and pedestrians alike. A route strategy for the A518 would also give us the opportunity to look at other areas, such as improving public transport and encouraging alternative modes of transport, such as cycling and walking, " said Councillor Stamp.

Councillor Stamp will now be attending next week's County Council's Leader Consultation Meeting, where he will be urging John Wakefield the Council's Leader for Development Services to endorse the Workshop's findings and confirm the A518 priority rating.