Driver advice as dance music fans head for Creamfields

National Highways is advising drivers traffic is likely to be busy around the M56 and M6 over the forthcoming late summer bank holiday weekend with up to 70,000 dance music lovers heading to the annual Creamfields festival in Cheshire.

Creamfields 2024 features four days of events running between 2pm on Thursday 22 August through to 11pm on Sunday 25 August.

Anyone thinking of driving to the annual bank holiday festival is advised to plan their journey and leave plenty of time to get to the festival site on Daresbury Estate near Runcorn, just off junction 11 of the M56. Drivers are also being urged to follow dedicated signs to the site and not rely on sat nav information which could put vehicles on unsuitable, narrow roads.

Extra police and National Highways traffic officers will be deployed around junction 11 of the M56 at Daresbury to deter festival goers from walking on the motorway – an issue in previous festivals particularly at the end of the event.

Drivers are being reminded that anyone stopping on the motorway hard shoulder or live lanes to drop off or pick up concert-goers risks an on-the-spot fine. Anyone caught walking anywhere along the motorway carriageway also risks being fined.

Gary Farrell, National Highways’ senior network planner (resilience) said:

“We will be doing all we can to manage traffic around the event and keep drivers on the move - festival goers and other drivers can help themselves by planning their journeys and keeping themselves up to date with traffic information.

“We would like to remind everyone that the motorway is no place for pedestrians - it is dangerous and illegal and having pedestrians on the network can cause delays for legitimate motorway users. Drivers wanting to pick people up should use the dedicated collection points off the motorway network which will be clearly signed.”

Car parks to the site will open at noon on the Thursday and close at 2pm on bank holiday Monday 26 August.

Event-goers travelling from the north, south and east of the venue will be directed to use junction 11 of the M56. Traffic from the west will be directed to use junction 12.

National Highways traffic officers at the North West regional operations centre at Newton-le-Willows will use their electronic motorway signs across the local network to guide festival goers to the site and give information on any incidents or congestion.

Meanwhile, other road users are being advised that the M56 around junctions 10, 11 and 12 around Runcorn is likely to be busy at key times of the weekend. The M56 interchange with the M6 is also likely to experience higher volumes of traffic. Electronic signs along the M6, M56 and M62 are being used to give advance warning about the event.

National Highways is advising motorway users to check the latest travel information before setting out as well as listening for radio traffic alerts and heeding electronic signs once they are on the move.

Drivers can get up-to-the-minute traffic information by calling National Highways’ customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000 or by checking:

http://www.trafficengland.com

Live information on incidents or congestion will also be available from dedicated feeds on X with the M56 and M6 routes covered by:

@HighwaysNWEST

Dedicated travel information for those attending the event is available at the Creamfields website.