New photo and news on missing teenager

Chelsea Bowden, missing since 19 April

Staffordshire Poice have issued a new photo of missing teenage, Chelsea Bowden (15) from Fazeley, who has been missing since last weekend (19 April).

Chelsea was last seen waiting for a bus in Upper Bull Street in Birmingham at 10.30pm on Sunday 19 April.

It is believed that she is staying in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, although Police are becoming increasingly concerned for Chelsea’s safety and welfare because of her age and that she hasn’t made any contact with family or friends since going missing.

Chelsea is 5 foot 4 inches tall, slim, with shoulder length blonde hair.  She has blue eyes and a pale complexion.  When she left home she was wearing a grey, long sleeved top and black waistcoat, blue jeans and was carrying a black and pink handbag.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact Tamworth CID as a matter of urgency, on 0300 123 4455 or, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Road improvements around Drayton Manor

Thomas the Tank Engine at Thomas Land, Drayton Manor

The bank holiday weekend is now over and for many Fazeley based residents the traffic chaos is also over.

With the immediate success of Thomas Land, that opened at the park last year, residents have been subject to regular gridlock at peak times in the season.  With reports in the Birmingham Mail saying that journeys from nearby Ventura Park taking over an hour.  Although some could argue this isn’t caused by Drayton Manor, but more the bad design of Ventura Park.

After 8 months of negotiations though, a plan is finally in place to hopefully ensure a more pleasant trip for tourists and residents alike.  During this 8 months, Staffordshire County Council and Drayton Manor have worked on addressing these issues and trying to ensure the best solution is used going forward.

County Councillor Ellis said: “This has been a complicated piece of work. With several public agencies involved and national as well as Staffordshire transport policy around traffic management to deal with it’s not been as easy as I first hoped a year ago.”

The first stage of improvements were piloted over the Easter weekend including a faster entry system and 1,500 hard placed parking spaces within the park itself.  It has also been agreed by all local road authorities around the park to improve and change the routes used by tourists to alleviate the pressure on the infrastructure around the Ventura Park area.   Although not confirmed I would anticipate this improving sign age on the M42 and A5 to avoid the shoppers and associated traffic.

Colin Bryan, Managing Director at Drayton Manor said: “The instant success of Thomas Land last year was beyond all expectations. We’re very aware of our obligation to deal with issues that arise from a greater numbers of visitors.  We could not have achieved the proposals for better traffic management on our own. County councillor Ellis worked hard to make sure the public authorities played their part in making it happen.”

Only time will tell if these improvements are successful, with a recession hit Britain and many looking to holiday at home, it seems it will be another busy season for Thomas, his friends and staff at Drayton Manor Park.