Latest news with #reliefroad
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Spalding's £50m 'bridge to nowhere' not a waste of cash
A £50m "bridge to nowhere" is not a waste of taxpayers' money, insists the council group that backed the original bridge, outside Spalding in Lincolnshire, was completed in 2024 and was meant to be a relief road easing congestion on the western side of the town, but its other sections have not been built and are still awaiting government Conservative group, which lost control of the county council to Reform UK in May, insisted the bridge was part of plans to build and access new houses in the Rob Gibson, recently appointed deputy leader of the authority, said leaving a road half-built was "not acceptable". Work started on what has been dubbed by media and politicians as the "bridge to nowhere" in 2022 and, along with the northern section of the £110m relief road, was completed two years funding for the middle and southern sections of the road has not been June 2023, it was announced work on the relief road had been delayed until 2030 due to a "turbulent three years marked by increased costs due to Covid, rising inflation rates and the current economic climate".The Conservatives claim they have been unfairly criticised for originally managing the project, and still believe the bridge will eventually be linked Richard Davies, who was the council's transport portfolio holder before Reform UK won last month's local election, said: "Our plan was always to do it in sections and take advantage of funding when it became available."The local councils were all involved (in the decision), some of whom are now senior in the Reform leadership."There is money to complete this and I think it will come." Having criticised the previous Conservative administration's failure to complete the relief road, the new Reform UK-led county council is promising to move the scheme added: "One of the first things we're doing is looking at all of the county's road projects with a fresh set of eyes."Leaving a road half-built isn't acceptable and waiting years and years to finish a project as important as the Spalding Western Relief Road is frustrating and unfair to local people."Spalding is also at the heart of the UK's food and flower industry, and there has been pressure from businesses to improve road infrastructure around the south of the county in order to connect it to the there are no firm commitments to do that but the newly elected county council is promising to work with new mayor Andrea Jenkyns to see "what the future could be".Dame Andrea said: "Lincolnshire has been ignored by government for too long when it comes to funding the infrastructure our residents and businesses want and need."Routes around the south of the county are strategically important, particularly for our food and farming sector. "I'll be using my role as mayor to make sure the roads and other projects we need get the national recognition and funding they deserve." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Tesco sells land vital for town bypass
Tesco has sold a piece of land which is vital to the delivery of a multi-million pound relief road for a town in Devon District Council said the news marked "the overcoming of another major hurdle to finally deliver the road" in council got £34m from central government in August to press ahead with the long-awaited bosses said this was "a crucial time" for Cullompton as it also tried to push forward with plans for a new railway station and major improvements to the nearby M5 junction, as well as the creation of a 5,000-home development. The council has always said the first stages of the 5,000-home Culm Garden Village - first proposed in 2017 - would not be built until the relief road was Keable, cabinet member for planning and economic regeneration at Mid Devon District Council, said he wanted the government to "build on this excellent progress" and make funding available to upgrade junction 28 of the said this would "unlock Culm Garden Village in earnest and address historic transport issues within the town".A new railway station is also a possibility for the town, which lost its station to the Beeching cuts in 1964, which saw more than 2,000 stations July 2024, the Labour government said it was scrapping the national Restore Your Railway plans but said it would "attempt to consider the Wellington and Cullompton stations' project".Stuart Hodges, property asset manager at Tesco, said the firm was "committed to supporting the communities we serve" and recognised "the significant benefits this relief road will bring to the town".The bypass, which secured planning permission in January 2021, will run from Station Road in the north to Duke Street in the work on the relief road is due to begin in 2026 with the road due to be completed in 2028.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fenland District Council looks to ease Whittlesey traffic
A council is looking at ways to source £220,000 to progress a project to ease lorry traffic and other congestion in a market District Council said Whittlesey was facing increasing issues with traffic, adding that the rate of growth in the town was "unsustainable" without improving the travel network.A report being presented to councillors on Monday asks them to look into a proposal for a new relief road south of the said the project was currently unfunded, but money was needed to do more research on the scheme. "Transport interventions are needed for Whittlesey," the report pointed to a high occurrence of road closures in the area due to flooding, which added to said a relief road would "improve options for sustainable travel and aid in the sense of place for the town centre".The road was suggested to run south of the A605, to ease traffic on the main road through Whittlesey that leads to Peterborough.A relief road is slightly different to a bypass, where traffic avoids a community completely, as it can still involve traffic going into the October, the district council approved outline planning applications for 424 new homes in Whittlesey. Benefits versus cost Councillors have been asked to look into potential options to fund the £220, council said more work was needed including an assessment of how to keep costs down, such as by considering a shorter route for the benefits versus the costs of the project were deemed "currently too low for the project to progress".It was also recommended that more research should be done into how the scheme could unlock new development along the A605 corridor. Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
