Spring deadline for Middlewich bypass business case

A £1.25m grant has been allocated by the Department for Transport to Cheshire East Council, to pay for the creation of an outline business case for the Middlewich bypass.

The council has been successful in a fast track bid to the DfT for large local major schemes, supported by the Cheshire & Warrington Enterprise Partnership.

The bypass has been estimated to cost £30m to deliver, and has been mooted in the area for decades. Cheshire East has been given until next spring to produce the plan, which aims to unlock land for 2,000 homes and support further commercial development at Pochin’s Midpoint 18 business park.

Cllr Rachel Bailey, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “This is fantastic news to receive.

“It enables us to complete a process for proving the business case for the delivery of a much-needed bypass in Middlewich and we intend to press ahead with this at the earliest opportunity.

“Our aim will be to meet with the approval of residents and businesses, and secure the capital finance needed to deliver the project.

“This council is working hard to deliver a solution to the traffic problems in Middlewich and, whilst we recognise a bypass is only part of the answer, the news today is a major step forward.”