The idea of a relief road has been on the cards for more than 20 years and pressure has recently been growing for a long-term solution to heavy congestion on Sudbury’s overcrowded one-way system caused by HGVs using the A131 through the town from Essex.
A 2011 transport study carried out on behalf of the county and district councils stated that the western bypass was “necessary to relieve the air quality management area and congestion issues around Market Square”.
The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which is now the delivery platform for major projects, also listed carrying out preparatory work on the bypass as part of its draft economic plan for Suffolk and Norfolk.
Last night, the LEP and local authority partners confirmed that they have just agreed the first piece of funding to develop the case for the bypass scheme, which will include traffic modelling and environmental assessment. The initial work will begin in January.
The news has been welcomed by South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, who last year launched the ‘Keep Sudbury Moving’ campaign, which included a commitment to get the Sudbury bypass back on the political agenda.
He told the EADT: “It’s fantastic news to have confirmation that the LEP will be putting £100,000 into building the business case for a bypass, with all the technical work that entails. This is the first substantive step forward for the bypass since the election.
“It is real money that will make a difference, enabling all the stakeholders who support better transport in Sudbury to be engaged in setting out how a relief road would benefit the town. I am keenly aware how dear this cause is to the hearts of many people in Sudbury and I will continue to do all I can to move the case forward.”
Mr Cartlidge said although the funding did not “guarantee” that a bypass would be built, it would result in a “professional business case” that he could share with Government ministers and on the wider Parliamentary stage.
According to the LEP’s chairman Mark Pendlington, who also chairs the New Anglia Local Transport Body, the proposed road would also help deliver hundreds of new homes and unlock future economic growth and prosperity in the wider area around Sudbury.
He said: “Sudbury is at the heart of our Suffolk economy and deserves to have the best possible transport links into and around the town.
“Carrying out preparatory work into a bypass is one of the ambitions of our strategic economic plan and now it is a reality.”
Extra funding will be needed and work will now start to find the rest of the money required.
Published in the EADT.