Congleton’s £90m link road secures Government backing

Construction on Congleton’s 5.5km link road is set to begin in October after the Department for Transport agreed to provide £45m towards the project.

The 5.5km road will run from the A534 Sandbach Road to the west through to A536 Macclesfield Road, north of the town centre, to alleviate congestion across the area.

Contractor Graham was chosen last month to deliver the project, and the Department for Transport has now signed off the full business case to allow the project to begin in October this year. The road is set to open to traffic in late 2020.

The DfT has provided £45m towards the scheme through Growth Fund money, while Cheshire East Council is providing £22m. A further £20.8m of funding will come from private developers.

The proposals have been through a public enquiry since May last year, and the council received a number of fixed-price tenders since the project was first advertised in February this year.

Two road bridge crossings and two underpasses will be built as part of the scheme, which will feature the council said would feature “comprehensive mitigation and conservation measures to protect great crested newts, bats, other wildlife and ancient woodland.” Jacobs is engineer and designer for the scheme.

The DfT said the link road would help to support the construction of more than 1,000 homes and would open up 23 acres of employment land by 2035.

Transport minister Liz Sugg said: “We are investing record amounts in improving our roads up and down the country to get drivers to shops, friends or work quicker than before.

“This new bypass will not only lead to fewer accidents and cut congestion in Congleton, it will take lorries out of the town centre and improve air quality for its residents.

“The link road will also help create new homes and jobs around Congleton, boosting the local economy.”

Leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Rachel Bailey, added: “Confirmation of this funding for a much-needed road scheme in Congleton is excellent news for this council and, I am sure, for the people of the town.

“This will significantly improve the quality of life for local people. It will remove congestion from the town centre, unlock key employment and housing sites, boosting the local economy, as well as creating vastly improved connectivity from the Macclesfield area of the borough through to the M6 corridor to Sandbach and Crewe.”