Second Exit at Sainsbury’s in Tamworth Now Open Thanks to Conservative Councils

Cllr Michael Oates & Tamworth’s Mayor Cllr Tina Clements celebrate the opening of the the exit

The new second exit on the Jolly Sailor Retail Park in Tamworth is now open thanks to Tamworth’s Conservative Party councillors.

After months of negotiations between Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council and Tamworth Borough Council and Sainsbury’s, the owners of the retail park, to resolve traffic congestion issues at the Jolly Sailor retail the work has been completed in time for the onset of festive shoppers.

Deputy Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, Cllr Robert Pritchard, said, “It is great news that the second exit is now open.  We know that traffic at Ventura is a cause of frustration for residents and visitors, and this should help reduce the impact on roads around Ventura.

“Ventura Park is incredibly important to Tamworth as it provides jobs and has continued to attract major retailers to our town; this new exit should hopefully help reduce congestion at busy times.  I would like to thank Sainsbury’s for their hard work on this project and making it happen.”

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport Mike Maryon said: “We realise how important the continued success of Ventura Park is for the people of Tamworth as it is a leading leisure destination and centre for job creation.

“This demonstrates how improving our infrastructure benefits business, our economy and life for people who live, work and visit Staffordshire.  I’d like to thank people for their patience while the work was carried out.”

Local county councillor Michael Oates said: “It is great to see the new car park exit open; it really should make a big difference to traffic flow in this part of Ventura Park.

“It’s been a significant project for our highways team and one we wanted to get right and completed ahead of the Christmas build-up.  We’ve worked with the store and the borough council throughout to ensure completion has been on schedule.”

The highways team ensured detailed plans had been drawn up with the Sainsbury’s consultants so that any issues could be overcome in the design stages.  Tamworth Borough Council’s planning committee approved the new car park exit onto the A453 Bonehill Road in the summer, meaning traffic leaving the store does not have to head back along Elmhurst Drive.