Capita lands work as Carlisle road scheme takes shape

A £2.5m contract for design services on Carlisle’s £112m southern link road has been won by Capita Property & Infrastructure.

The link road is a key priority for Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Council, whxih leaders believe is vital in improving east-west connectivity. In February this year Government announced that it would grant £102m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund for the project.

The route as mapped out runs west from junction 42 of the M6, meeting the A595 at the Newby West roundabout. The intention is to start construction in spring 2021 for completion in 2023. A six-week consultation was held through June and July this year.

St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, where up to 10,000 homes could be delivered, is one of the sites that would be enabled by the link road. Draft options for the village are currently out for consultation.

Cumbria County Council, working with Carlisle City Council, has been leading the link road project, and has awarded a lot that covers professional consultancy services taking in four stages of work: stage four, covering planning period, potentially including legal orders and public inquiry; stage five, covering construction preparation including detailed design and tender documentation; stage six covering the construction period, commissioning and handover; and stage seven, covering closeout and aftercare. Only two tenders were feceived, according to Cumbria’s contract award notice.