New road which to improve links from Macclesfield to Poynton named after war hero
By Alex Greensmith
22nd Oct 2022 | Local News
A new road which will streamline links from Poynton to Macclesfield has been named.
The new £53m Poynton Relief Road is to be named after the legendary aircraft engineer who designed the Lancaster bomber – of 'Dam Busters' fame.
The 1.8 mile route, which is nearing completion, will be named Roy Chadwick Way in honour of the pioneering Woodford-based Avro design engineer.
Roy Chadwick is most famous for designing the Avro Lancaster, the most heavily used bomber for night raids during the Second World War.
Born in Farnworth, Widnes, Chadwick was the fifth generation of engineers in his family.
As a teenager, under the direction of Roe, Chadwick drafted the Avro D, a two-seater tractor biplane, the Avro E, which was converted to a floatplane and, in 1912, the Avro F, the world's first monoplane and enclosed-cabin plane.
He then worked on the draughtsmanship for the Avro 500, 501 and 503, which led to Avro's First World War light bomber and trainer, the Avro 504.
In 1925 he designed an all-metal plane, and in 1926, the Avro Avian in which Bert Hinkler flew the first solo flight from England to Australia in 1928.
In 1928, he moved back to the Avro factory in Woodford (used by BAE Systems until its closure in 2012). In 1929, he designed the RAF trainer, the Avro Tutor, a smaller version, the Avro Cadet and an enclosed version, the Avro Commodore. This was followed by the Avro Anson, used in the Second World War for training crews and as transport aircraft.
In the late 1930s, work began on a long-range bomber, the Avro Manchester, followed by the Avro Lancaster (Avro 683) of which 7,300 were built, and would design larger variants during the Second World War to be used in battle.
In 1943, Chadwick was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to the design of the Lancaster and the adaptations he made to it in preparation for the low-level attacks on the German dams, during the famous 'Dam Busters' raid Operation Chastise.
A modified version of the Lancaster was used in a daring May 1943 raid using 'bouncing bombs' to destroy key Ruhr dams and flood huge areas of the German war economy. The raid was immortalised in the 1955 film The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd.
After the war, he designed Britain's first pressurised airliner, the Avro Tudor.
Chadwick died on 23 August 1947, in a crash during the take-off of the prototype Avro Tudor 2 G-AGSU from Woodford Aerodrome. The accident was due to an error in an overnight servicing on the steering control cabling.
The accident was due to an error in overnight servicing of the steering controls. He passed away with three other crew members.
Last week marked the 75th anniversary year of his death. And now his legacy will be immortalised with the new Poynton Link Road.
Author and leading test pilot Harald Penrose (1904-1996) described Chadwick as 'Artistic, with unbounded enthusiasm and unsparing energy, Roy Chadwick was a great designer of intuitive diagnostic ability rather than a scientist. Yet, like all great masters, was in step with the tide of knowledge and contemporary outlook'.
Cheshire East Council claim Roy Chadwick Way, when opened, will relieve neighbouring areas of high traffic volumes and congestion as well as improve air quality for residents.
It is being developed by Cheshire East Council, working in partnership with Stockport Council and delivered by civil engineering contractors Graham.
Councillor Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of the authority's highways and transport committee, said: "Roy Chadwick is rightly remembered as a true visionary, whose aeronautical creations spanned the eras of flight from early biplanes to jet aircraft.
"In the 75th anniversary year of his death, it is only fitting that this road should be named in his memory – a road so near to the site of his nationally-important creative work and to where, tragically, he died.
"The relief road scheme continues to progress, despite some technical challenges around existing utilities, and shows the council's real commitment to delivering major infrastructure improvements for Cheshire East and will improve links to Macclesfield, the surrounding area, south Manchester and the airport."
At the southern end of the scheme, the route will pass to the west of Adlington Business Park before connecting to a new roundabout junction to the west of the Adlington Travelodge. Links from this roundabout will allow the relief road to connect into the A523 London Road and Adlington Golf Centre.
The new link road is also set to create hundreds of jobs at Macclesfield's Avro Business Park.
Nick Hodder, project manager for Graham, said "Although this project has encountered some initial challenges, everyone involved has worked tirelessly to make up vital ground with the project over the last few months.
"On a personal note, I am particularly proud of our team, who understand what a difference the relief road will bring to Poynton and the surrounding community. They have all consistently gone above and beyond to make this progress happen."
The road will include two overbridge crossings for use by walkers, cyclists and farm vehicles and a 3.5m-wide combined cycle and footway, which will run beside the length of the route in the western verge.
Cheshire East Council contributed £21m towards the cost of the road scheme with Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership providing £5.6m from the government's Growth Deal and the Department for Transport providing £16.4m. A total of £7.7m is planned to come from developer contributions.
The new single carriageway does not yet have a confirmed opening date. Due to issues with underground utilities, the relief road is now expected to open in the vague window of early spring 2023.
For construction updates, please visit the Poynton Relief Road webpage and also graham.co.uk/poynton-relief-road.
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