A councillor is appealing for a pause to improvements to a number of roads as a result of the impact on a church in Altrincham.

Nathan Evans, leader of the Conservative Group on Trafford Council, made the appeal in a post on social media last weekend.

The improvements to a number of roads, already underway, include the creation of a crossing over Dunham Road and the creation of a one-way system on Gorsey Lane, stopping access to it from the south.

Cllr Evans is appealing for a pause as a result of the impact on St Margaret's Church saying the work is a threat to its "viability".

He said: "I am inundated by complaints by parishioners who are horrified with the alterations and the crossing which is going in. 

"There will be no access from the A56 to a 200-year-old church. 

"I will be speaking to the council, I will be speaking to Transport for Greater Manchester, and seeing if there is an alternative plan. 

"Apparently there is an alternative plan but for whatever reason they are sticking with one which will shut down access to the church."

The changes are inspired by Eleanor Horner, a pupil at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, who wrote to Trafford Council in 2018 and addressed the council in person the following year to ask for the changes.

She looked on as these were approved by the executive a year ago.

A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: "The Gorsey Lane scheme is being led by Transport for Greater Manchester and it is being funded by the Bee Network Crossings scheme. It was approved by our executive in 2022 following extensive consultation with the public and it has been under construction for the last two months. 

"Some concerns have been raised since construction started, and these have been discussed with councillors, but the design cannot be changed without carrying out a new round of consultation. It is proposed to implement an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to enable the impact of the Gorsey Lane scheme to be assessed."

A spokesperson for Transport for Greater Manchester said: “The Dunham Road scheme is being delivered by TfGM and it is being funded through the Bee Network Crossings scheme as approved by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

“A consultation was carried out in November 2021 and the scheme was approved by Trafford Council in September 2022.

“TfGM has been made aware of the concerns regarding access to St Margaret’s Church and a site visit to test accessibility was carried out on Monday.

“We are working with Trafford Council to deliver the scheme outlined in the public consultation but will be making some small modifications to the design to ensure vehicles can access the church.

“The new crossing will enable people to safely cross a busy road and is part of a wider ambition to deliver high-quality cycling, walking and wheeling infrastructure across Greater Manchester.”

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.