Biggest Highways Investment in 10 Years – But What Are We Actually Getting in St Barnabas?
You may have seen the headlines recently: Cheshire East Highways has announced what they’re calling the biggest investment in our roads and transport network for a decade. On the face of it, that sounds like brilliant news. After all, many of us have been fed up with potholes, cracked pavements, and general wear and tear for years.
As your local councillor, I’ve spent over two years repeatedly raising these concerns here in St Barnabas. I’ve been persistent—reporting issues, chasing updates, and pushing for real, meaningful action to improve our roads and footpaths. So naturally, I was eager to see what the 2025/26 highways improvement plan would bring for our area.
And here’s what we’re getting: new street lights for Rolls Avenue.
Yes, you read that correctly. New street lights. Now, I’m all for keeping our streets well-lit and safe, but these street lights are already some of the newest in the area, as they’re part of a fairly new housing estate. So it’s a bit baffling that this has been prioritised over some far more pressing issues.
Meanwhile, the more urgent problems remain glaringly unaddressed: the awful footpaths on Badger Avenue, the potholes and cracked pavements on Underwood Lane and West Street. These are places where people really need safer, smoother surfaces to walk and drive on—not just cosmetic upgrades.
I’ve already questioned this decision and pressed for clearer answers. It’s frustrating that, despite the much-touted ‘biggest investment in 10 years’, many of the longstanding issues in St Barnabas remain on the backburner. I’ll keep pushing and holding the council to account because you deserve better than this.
If you want to see the full details of the highways investment plans across Cheshire East, you can check out the official media release here:
Biggest investment in 10 years set to be spent on improving Cheshire East’s roads and transport network
You can also view the interactive map showing the full road repair and improvement programme here:
Road Repair and Improvement Programme Interactive Map
I’ll keep you updated as I learn more. And in the meantime, I’m off to bang my head against a wall. Because while your roads might still be a mess, at least Rolls Avenue will have shiny new street lights! 🙄