DfT funding for Crewe infrastructure

Cheshire East Council has won a bid for £2.7m of government funding to build a link road on the edge of Crewe.

The Basford West spine road will be laid between the Shavington junction of the A500 and Gresty Road, as part of the All Change for Crewe programme.

The total cost of the project is £4.7m. In addition to the Department for Transport cash, the remaining £2m has been provided by Goodman as part of the Basford West development.

The half-mile stretch of road aims to improve access to Crewe railway station and the town centre.

The land has also been identified for rail-related development such as the proposal for a HS2 infrastructure maintenance depot.

Planners say the new road will provide more than 2,000 jobs and an additional £40m of value to Crewe's economy.

Cllr Michael Jones, Cheshire East Council leader, said: "This funding shows that this government is taking Crewe seriously as a place for investment, because it recognises the town's huge economic potential.

"The road itself will provide excellent local and strategic links to Crewe and Nantwich as well as the A500 and M6. It will ease traffic on the existing roads in the area and offer relief to other routes into Crewe, such as the A5020 and Weston Road."

The project is one of two bids Cheshire East Council submitted to the Department for Transport for a share of its Local Pinch Point Fund.

The authority is now waiting to hear whether it has been successful in applying for £2.8m to widen the B5078, which leads to the M6 at junction 16 at Barthomley.

Work is set to begin on the spine road in spring 2014 alongside the construction of the Crewe Green Link Road, currently planned for May 2014.

The target completion date of the spine road is September 2014.