A New Traffic-Free Route Is Coming Between Culcheth and Birchwood
If you currently drive between Culcheth and Birchwood for work, or you've ever thought about cycling that route but ruled it out because of the A574, there's a development worth knowing about.
Warrington Borough Council is progressing plans for a new 3-metre-wide, traffic-free, all-weather shared path connecting Culcheth to Birchwood Technology Park. It won't be open tomorrow, but the project is funded, consulted on, and scheduled for completion by 2028.
What is being built
The route runs from New Hall Lane in Culcheth across existing fields, passing M62 Junction 11, and connecting to Silver Lane in Birchwood. The finished path will be 3 metres wide, built to a tarmacadam shared surface with edging, and designed to be usable year-round by pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users. The scheme also includes vegetation management, improved surfacing along the route, and potential lighting to make it safe at all times of day.
A key part of the scheme is signal-controlled crossings at M62 Junction 11 to allow safe crossing from the Culcheth side onto Silver Lane. This junction crossing is one of the critical pieces of infrastructure that makes the route viable in practice rather than just on paper.
The design has also been future-proofed. Plans confirm that the path can connect to the former rail line corridor, which would allow a future extension linking through to Culcheth Linear Park. That is not part of the current scheme, but it's been deliberately built into the design so the option exists down the line.
Why it is being built
The A574 Warrington Road between Culcheth and Birchwood is not a comfortable route for cyclists or pedestrians. It carries fast-moving traffic and has limited dedicated provision for anyone not in a car. For residents of Culcheth who work at Birchwood Park, which employs around 5,000 people, driving is currently the only practical option. This route is designed to change that.
The project is part of the Reconnecting the Settlements initiative, a wider programme funded primarily by the government's Local Regeneration Fund with a £9.4 million allocation for north Warrington improvements. Culcheth is one of three focus areas alongside Burtonwood and Winwick. The stated aim is to provide safer, healthier transport alternatives and improve access to employment hubs including Birchwood Technology Park, for residents who currently have no viable alternative to the car.
Where it stands now
The project was confirmed in November 2024. A full public consultation took place during November 2025, with drop-in sessions held at Culcheth Community Centre on Jackson Avenue and The Village Club on Wigshaw Lane. Croft Parish Council and Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council both engaged with the process and published information for residents.
As of early 2026, the consultation feedback is being reviewed and design refinements are underway. The project is on track for delivery by 2028, alongside the wider suite of north Warrington improvements.
What this means practically
For residents who commute to Birchwood, this opens up a genuinely viable alternative to driving. The route length from New Hall Lane in Culcheth to Silver Lane is short enough to be cycleable in around ten to fifteen minutes in reasonable conditions. For the many Culcheth residents who already use the Linear Park and Silver Lane Lakes for recreation, there is also the possibility of a continuous off-road route that connects the village's existing green infrastructure to Birchwood in a way that doesn't currently exist.
From a property perspective, improved active travel infrastructure consistently features in what buyers consider when weighing up locations. A confirmed, funded, traffic-free route between Culcheth and one of the North West's largest employment parks is a meaningful local improvement, and it's one that will become increasingly tangible as 2028 approaches.
If you want to follow the project's progress, Warrington Borough Council publishes updates at warrington.gov.uk/reconnecting-the-settlements-warrington-north.
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