Leicestershire County Council unable to fund major road extension
A report from Leicestershire County Council has revealed that, due to an additional expense of £27m, the construction of the southern segment of a major county road is currently beyond the council’s budget.
Work started on the northern and eastern sections of the Melton Mowbray distributor road earlier this year.
The northern and eastern road, intended to alleviate traffic congestion in the town centre and open up space for new housing, spanning 4.4 miles, linking the A606 Nottingham Road with the A606 Burton Road.
The proposed expansion for the southern portion of the road was the extension from A606 Burton Road to the A607 Leicester Road, located to the southwest of the town.
But the council has now said the project will be put on hold due to increased costs.
Council leader Nick Rushton said: “We’ve bent over backwards trying to identify alternative funding methods and lobbied the government for more money to help us get the southern leg over the line.
“We’ve simply exhausted all avenues and cannot afford to build it at this point in time, given our cost pressures and inflation.”
Escalating construction expenses coupled with inflation have put the project’s cost from £43m to £70m.
Under the conditions of the government’s funding, the council would have been obliged to cover the funding shortfall of £27m, as stated by the council.
