Footpaths widened to boost shopping in Staffordshire town centre

Plans for a Tesco superstore in Rugeley were approved last year after it was agreed that a nearby canal towpath would be cleaned up and the cycleway between the store and the Eastern Bypass improved.

The 40,000 sq ft store on the former Celcon Blockworks site opened in September last year and now plans for work around the supermarket have been revealed in the hope of boosting links between the town and the branch.

The newly pedestrianised Leathermill Lane canal bridge will be linked to Brook Square, with footpaths along Forge Road being widened and a new crossing being built in Mill Lane.

The Forge Road crossing will also be upgraded with new markings and paving, while access to the car park will be improved.

The improvements will cost in the region £256,000, although a further £103,000 has been set aside for pedestrian and cycle links to be built between the store, the nearby canal and the Towers Business Park.

Rugeley Town Council vice chairman Mick Grocott said: "It could improve the footfall for people going from Tesco into the town centre.

"At the moment if people go to the supermarket there aren't really the facilities for them to get easily into the town so hopefully this will help that. If they do some nice routes with plants and flowers then it should be great."

Around £10,000 from the recently completed McDonald's restaurant development at Towers and £12,490 from the Westbury Homes housing scheme at the Mossley, adjoining the canal, will also be used.

A report to an upcoming council cabinet meeting states: "A key element of the decision to grant planning permission for the Tesco store and associated food and drink units at Leathermill Lane/Power Station Road, Rugeley was the requirement for the development to fund an improved pedestrian/cycle link between the store and the town centre.

"The aim of this project is to maximise the opportunity for linked trips between the store and the town centre in order for the store to contribute to the overall vitality and viability of the town centre as envisaged in the policies of the Rugeley Town Centre Area Action Plan."

A ramp from Love Lane to the canalside, improvements to Love Lane, including the section between the railway bridge and the Towers Business Park, and improvements to the canal towpath are also included in the work. And a new link between the towpath and Love Lane between the railway bridges is to be created under the plans.