Disappointment as government drops M5 Junction 9 and A46 transport scheme

The Department for Transport has this week said that the scheme has been removed from the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors Programme and is not currently being considered as part of a future Road Investment Strategy.

The scheme proposed a new M5 Junction 9a and a re-routed section of the A46 designed to improve journey reliability.

As well as improving the road network, the scheme would have supported future housing and employment growth around Tewkesbury. It would have helped the transport network cope with increasing demand, reduced pressure on M5 Junction 9 and the A46 through Ashchurch, improved journey reliability, and supported better walking, cycling and public transport links. 

Cllr Lisa Spivey, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "This is an extremely short-sighted and deeply disappointing decision by the government. Gloucestershire has been left waiting for months for clarity, only to be told that a scheme of enormous importance to our residents, businesses and future prosperity will not move forward.

"The government cannot continue to demand that areas such as ours deliver significant numbers of new homes while refusing to invest in the infrastructure needed to support them. Housing growth without the roads, public transport, and active travel connections to serve it is neither responsible nor sustainable.

"While Junction 9 continues to operate, we know that future growth will place increasing pressure on the junction and the wider network. This scheme represents an opportunity to plan ahead and mitigate those longer-term impacts. This decision leaves those challenges unresolved."

"It also fails to recognise the wider strategic importance of the A46. This is not merely a local road scheme. It is a key economic corridor connecting the South West and the Midlands, supporting freight, businesses and access to employment across a much wider area."

Cllr Richard Stanley, Leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: "There was a clear and compelling case for investment in this scheme. It would have supported major housing growth, opened access to employment land and helped attract investment in strategically important sectors, including advanced manufacturing and defence. 

"This decision risks undermining the Government's own objectives for growth. It constrains Gloucestershire's ability to deliver future housing and employment opportunities that are being developed with the support of the government’s own agencies and departments.

"This decision sends entirely the wrong signal to residents, businesses and investors who want to see our county prosper. 

"We will be seeking urgent discussions with government to challenge the basis of this decision, understand how ministers intend to support the growth they expect from this area and press for a credible alternative route to funding. 

“We will continue to stand up for Gloucestershire and make the strongest possible case for the infrastructure Gloucestershire needs and deserves, because the need for this investment has not gone away."