Deeside Industrial Park is to have a purpose-built bus-based park and ride site to better connect the surrounding communities with the 9,000 jobs it provides, thanks to a grant of more than £2 million from the Welsh Government.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Delivering key elements of the Metro vision and aligning with the council’s Deeside Plan, it will improve access to and within Deeside Industrial Park, allowing further employment growth.
Flintshire County Council will provide a 227 parking space bus-based park and ride site at Deeside Industrial Park, served by the existing Deeside Shuttle bus service. The scheme will also include the construction of a bus-only link from the park and ride into Zone 2 of the estate.
Once the park and ride site is operational Flintshire Council plans to introduce waiting restrictions to address the problems caused by indiscriminate parking while encouraging use of the new facility.
Welsh Government funding of £988,500 was awarded to Flintshire Council for the scheme in 2017-18. Further funding of £1,300,000 has now been awarded for 2019-2020 to enable the completion of construction.
Economy and Transport Minister Ken Skates said:
“Poor accessibility has long been the dominating factor for business retention and employee recruitment within the Deeside Industrial Park whilst also acting as a major constraint when attracting prospective business and facilitating business expansion.
“Businesses have also raised concerns regarding the lack of sufficient parking within the park, leading to indiscriminate parking and traffic congestion.
“This development will address many of the on-site issues, while opening up opportunities for many in the surrounding areas to take advantage of the employment prospects right on their doorsteps.”
Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transportation, Councillor Carolyn Thomas, said:
“I am delighted that funding has been secured to construct the Park and Ride facility in Deeside. This is one of many exciting schemes in the pipeline which will integrate all modes of transport. This key stage in the plan demonstrates the commitment in moving forward with the transport vision for Flintshire.
“Deeside Industrial Park has 400 businesses and employs 9000 people but accessibility has long been raised as an issue and, often, barrier by businesses and potential employees. Flintshire County Council in partnership with Welsh Government has been working to address the issue by developing the North East Wales Metro integrating the rail, bus and cycling network improving accessibility to this important employment hub.”