Latest news with #NeilClarke
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Long-awaited £35 million scheme to slash traffic on key Nottinghamshire route 'under review'
The Department for Transport has confirmed that it is reviewing a major £35 million scheme to ease congestion along a key Nottinghamshire route. Funding uncertainties have blighted a project to upgrade roundabouts and junctions along the A614/A6097 corridor between Ollerton and East Bridgford, which was first proposed back in 2019. The Government has now confirmed that it has received Nottinghamshire County Council's full business case for the scheme and that this is "currently being reviewed". The major project was originally due to get underway in August 2024, but the general election last year threw promised government funding into doubt. Nottinghamshire County Council previously said the overall scheme would cost £34.4 million, with the previous government pledging £24 million and the Conservative-run council investing £10 million. Former county council leader Ben Bradley has said every six months of delay on the project was costing £1 million and stretching the project's viability. READ MORE: All of Nottinghamshire's secondary schools ranked in our Real Schools Guide READ MORE: 'Unforeseen delays' in bringing national retailer to empty Broad Marsh units Councillor Neil Clarke, the cabinet member for transport and environment at the county council, therefore says the overall project could now cost between £45 million and £50 million. The Department for Transport says it does not recognise this figure. "We continue to work closely with Nottinghamshire County Council and will make any announcements in due course", the Department for Transport said. Councillor Clarke now hopes new investment by the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), led by East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, will act as a "catalyst". The EMCCA says its investment "will address a cost shortfall and thus enable the Department for Transport to consider the full business case and potentially allow the scheme to progress." Nottinghamshire Live previously revealed the county council had spent over £3,000 on banners to promote the project before government funding for it had arrived. The county council then took all 17 of the banners down in late 2024 after they had been damaged by weather conditions. The authority said it was hoping to reinstall the banners in February, but they are yet to reappear and the council has still not confirmed whether it will still put them back up.
BBC News
13-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Work to start on new Nottingham bridge
Work on a new pedestrian and cycle bridge in Nottingham will begin within weeks, it has been 85m-long bridge, linking the Trent Basin area in Nottingham with Lady Bay in Rushcliffe, is set to become the first new river crossing built in the city since the project has faced repeated delays and increased costs, and the city council said in October that funding had not yet been an update issued on Wednesday, the authority said it had now received confirmation from central government and signed contracts with developers Balfour Beatty. The first stage, scheduled to start in the coming weeks, will involve the demolition of a warehouse formerly used by Flo skate bridge will then be built at the site throughout the summer and autumn before being lifted into place by a "huge" crane in work on ramps, steps, paving and lighting will then take place over the winter before the bridge opens to the public in spring 2026.A council report published in October said the project could cost up to £18m - nearly double the original £9.275m price latest update says the contract with Balfour Beatty is worth £ is being paid for by the government's Transforming Cities Fund, which awarded £161m for various projects in 2019 as part of a joint bid from Nottingham and elements of the wider scheme were scrapped and the money reallocated to others which have seen costs increase, such as the new bridge. Nottingham City Council leader Neghat Khan said she was "delighted" the work could now start."Once completed, the bridge will enhance Nottingham's cycling and pedestrian network, providing a safe, traffic-free route over the river and empowering more people to travel sustainably and healthily," she Borough Council leader Neil Clarke said it was "another milestone" for the project."Creating this new link for cyclists and pedestrians will create easier access to nearby open spaces in Lady Bay and West Bridgford and our local sports grounds and leisure facilities, encouraging more people to make lower carbon journeys," he city council said it expects more than 100 people will be employed during the project, including four apprentices.
