Council votes for northern housing and bypass
route
PRESS
RELEASE
19 November 2009
At last night’s Extraordinary Council meeting,
Councillors agreed to support the building of 1,000 new homes as an
urban extension to north of the town. They also looked at the best
route for the long-awaited Melton bypass and agreed to the
development of 30ha of employment land to the west of Melton
Mowbray.
Councillors received the results of transport
modelling and other evidence about the various housing, employment
and bypass options. Development to the north of the town will
provide for a partial bypass solution between Nottingham Road and
Melton Spinney Road. This new road would be provided as part of the
development and would not only deal with the new housing but would
also provide significant relief to traffic congestion in the town
centre. This road could then be incorporated into a three-quarter
bypass between the A607 (Thorpe Road) and the A606 (Burton
Road).
Colin Wilkinson, Assistant Chief Executive,
said: ‘This is an important decision that will shape the long-term
development of Melton Mowbray. We need to find land for new homes
and jobs for local people, but we need to do it in a way which
doesn’t add to traffic congestion. This is no easy task when faced
with uncertainty about public funding for a town bypass.’
Although a bypass will help relieve town
centre traffic congestion, Councillors noted that traffic studies
showed that a bypass would encourage through-traffic particularly
on the A606, A607 and A6006 and that a number of communities
straddled these routes.
A final round of public consultation on the
proposals is anticipated early next year, a public inquiry would
follow before the plan is finalised.
~ends~
For more information please contact:
Colin Wilkinson
Assistant Chief Executive
Melton Borough Council
Telephone: 01664 502 380
Email: cwilkinson@melton.gov.uk
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