New Gloucestershire M5 junction to solve 'gridlock' could be in peril

Summary

There are fears much-needed improvements planned for junction 9 of the M5 could be in peril as the Government slashes £700m from its roads fund to boost defence spending. Gloucestershire County Council has been working on a project to provide a new junction 9a to the south of Tewkesbury and re-reroute a section of the A46 between the M5 and the Teddington Hands roundabout.

Details

It is seen as a “traffic busting” scheme which will help solve long standing issues and provide vital infrastructure to meet existing and future needs in the area while improving journey times. The improvements, previously estimated in 2024 to cost between £740m and £930m, would also help with the creation of up to 25,000 homes at Tewkesbury Garden Communities.

The new junction would support jobs and investment by providing access to at least 100 hectares of employment land, with a focus on advanced manufacturing and defence. And the project is seen as vital in improving connectivity along the Trans-Midlands Trade Corridor, a nationally important route which links the South West, Midlands and North East.

But Shire Hall chiefs are concerned about recent Government announcements on the need to focus funding on defence. And they are calling for a funding commitment from ministers for the major road project.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Julian Tooke, who is responsible for planning and infrastructure at the county council, said: “The Government has been very clear in its expectation that councils enable the building of more homes and has set ambitious targets. Housing has to come with improved infrastructure. “The Government has spoken about the possible reallocation of funds to defence from infrastructure.

We are very concerned that Gloucestershire’s need for improvements to junction 9 of the M5 and the A46 may get sacrificed.” Vernon Smith, Reform UK’s councillor Tewkesbury West, said it would be a “betrayal” of the market town and “the whole of Gloucestershire” if the scheme does not get Government funding.

“Residents in Ashchurch have put up with gridlock, HGVs thundering past their front doors and unreliable journeys for over 30 years, and just as a solution is finally within reach, this Labour Government looks set to snatch it away,” he said. “You cannot fund the nation’s defence by leaving our county’s most important road scheme to rot.

“The business case has been sitting on ministers’ desks gathering dust while our residents sit in traffic.

---

Report source: Gloucestershire Live