Highways England puts £20m into local road schemes

Highways England is supporting local authority road improvement schemes in Hampshire and Leicestershire with nearly £20m from its dedicated Growth and Housing Fund.

One of the schemes – at Junction 9 on the M27 in Hampshire – will also receive cash from the £220m Congestion Relief Fund announced in last year’s Autumn Statement as well as £6.6m from the local authority.

Hampshire CC's plans for J9 of the M27 and Parkway South Roundabout, Whiteley

Highways England chief executive Jim O’Sullivan said: ‘All of these improvements and future upcoming announcements will ultimately ensure England’s major roads continue to make a valuable contribution to the prosperity of our country.’

The three new schemes, which cost a total of £45.5m, are:

• M27 junction 9 Whiteley Way, up to 3,500 homes and up to 250 jobs - £9.9m Growth and Housing Fund / £3m Highways England Congestion Relief Fund. This scheme is being delivered by Hampshire County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership under a grant funding agreement.
• Anstey Lane (A46 / A560) up to 2,378 homes and around 260 jobs - £5m Growth and Housing Fund / £2.8m private developers. This scheme will be delivered by Leicestershire CC and local enterprise partnerships.
• M1 junction 23, up to 4,000 homes and 5,600 jobs - £5m Growth and Housing Fund / £10m private funding / £3.2m local growth fund. This scheme will be delivered by Leicestershire CC and local enterprise partnerships.

Hampshire CC said its £19.6m scheme, to which it is contributing £6.6m, aims to radically improve Junction 9 of the M27 and Parkway South Roundabout, Whiteley.

Executive member for environment and transport Rob Humby said: ‘This is really exciting news for the people who live and work in Whiteley. Congestion at peak times in this area has been notoriously heavy for years, and with a further 3,500 new homes in the planning, it’s essential that improvements are made to increase capacity on the roads.’

The £100m Growth and Housing Fund was set up as part of the £15bn Road Investment Strategy 2015-2020 and provides cash towards road improvements that are needed for new developments providing homes and jobs.

Highways England said it has so far contributed over £60m to 16 improvements to unlock over 30,000 new homes and more than 40,000 jobs.