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Matthew
Ellis CC 
Joint News Release From Matthew Ellis, Member of the County for Lichfield Rural East, and Drayton Manor Theme Park, Fazeley, Staffordshire County Councillor Matthew Ellis - Office 01543 480644 Drayton Manor Theme Park - Colin Bryan, Managing Director on 01827 252400 Breakthrough Plan to Beat Fazeley Gridlock After eight months of negotiations agreement has finally been reached on a set of proposals to deal with the growing number of traffic jams in and around the town of Fazeley, near Tamworth. In a joint statement this week Matthew Ellis, the area’s County Councillor, and Drayton Manor Park Managing Director, Colin Bryan, say they are delighted with the progress made and are confident the Travel Management Plan being established will result in less congestion on roads in the area for local people. The success of Europe’s only Thomas Land at the Park and limitations on the local road network saw much of Fazeley gridlocked at peak visitor times last season. Residents were taking over an hour to drive home from nearby Ventura Park. County Councillor Matthew Ellis says it’s not been easy to reach agreement, “This has been a complicated piece of work. With several public agencies involved and national as well as Staffordshire transport policy around traffic management to deal with it’s not been as easy as I first hoped a year ago. Management at Drayton Manor Park have clearly been very concerned over the impact of their business on the local community and that has underpinned the voluntary arrangements entered into by them. From the first meeting I had over this issue they have been committed to dealing with it including making the necessary funding available to reach where we are now. The public agencies I’ve brought together have also now agreed to do what was needed for this first phase of the new Travel Management Plan. Finding realistic ways to reduce the impact on local people and motorists in the area has been quite a challenge and I want to thank everyone involved for the very significant effort which has gone into this”. The first phase of the new arrangements, which will be piloted over the Easter weekend, include 1500 hard standing car parking spaces inside the Park with a faster entry and exit system. The national Highways Agency, Staffordshire Highways, Birmingham City Council and Warwickshire Highways have also agreed new routes for holiday traffic to the Theme Park with funding of over £35,000 provided by Drayton Manor Park spent on new signage, both permanently and on a temporary basis on the busiest days. Colin Bryan says a key part of Drayton Manor Park’s day to day operation is to minimise any problems for local people but admits that the instant success of Thomas Land last year was beyond all expectations, “Our theme park has been here for 60 years and in that time I’d like to think we have worked with the local community to minimise any adverse impact which is sometimes caused. The success of the Park, despite the difficult financial climate, means we’ve employed even more local people for this season but we are very aware of our obligation to deal with issues that arise from a greater numbers of visitors. We could not have achieved the proposals for better traffic management on our own despite our best efforts. It was making sure the public authorities, who were key to this initiative, played their part in making it happen. Our County Councillor, Matthew Ellis made sure that happened and has consistently used his influence to move this piece of work forwards to where we are now.” As well as the traffic management aspects the Park have entered into new transport agreements with national rail and public transport providers to reduce the number of vehicles coming into the area which includes discounts for visitors providing proof of travelling by public transport. The next phase of the plans will be a green travel plan for many of the 600 Park employees and incentives for more local visitors to arrive on foot or by bicycle. END Member Services, County Buildings, Stafford, ST16 2LH
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