Bypass idea to solve 'absurd' traffic in villages

Proposals are to be drawn up for a bypass aimed at cutting traffic congestion affecting villages on the A6 in Leicestershire.

Leicestershire County Council has said a new road around Kibworth Harcourt and Kibworth Beauchamp is the "only" solution to deal with existing problems and further pressure expected to be caused by future large-scale housing developments.

The council's Reform UK-led cabinet this week gave the green light for transport officials to start work on proposals for the new road.

However, councillors said it was unclear at this stage how such a major project would be funded.

Harrison Fowler, the authority's cabinet member for resources, said the problem was clear but the funding implications "were not simple".

"It's a very difficult situation especially in south Leicestershire," he said.

"I know how congested it can be around the A6. It's awful, frankly.

"The only long-term solution that is viable is [a] bypass - that's where the bottleneck is."

Officials have said government funding and financial contributions from housebuilders would be necessary to fund the road.

Fowler, however, said he believed a long-term idea to have an elected mayor for Leicestershire, Leicestershire and Rutland, might offer the best chance of finding necessary funding.

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are served by an elected mayor, Claire Ward, who has devolved powers and can bid for major government funding.

Conservative county councillor Phil King, who represents the Kibworth villages, said: "I applaud the county council for taking proactive steps in this but it will be a long time before we get a mayoral authority, if we ever do.

"We need to be clear with people that there are no guarantees of funding for major projects like a Kibworth bypass.

"All the time we are getting more speculative housing developments along the A6 corridor in south Leicestershire.

"The houses get built but the transport infrastructure doesn't follow.

"In Kibworth, the situation is absurd. All it takes is a lorry to stop to mend a pothole, or a van breaks down, and it's carnage.

"The traffic comes to a standstill and people end up late for work or doctor's appointments and kids can't get to school.

"And even if you approved a road today, it would take so long to do. The Melton Mowbray Distributor Road has taken the council 10 years.

"Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions."

The A6 traffic proposals are part of the council's spatial development strategy intended to ease pressure on the county's transport network as the population grows and more houses and businesses are developed.

Some £500,000 has been committed to work on designs for transport schemes, which also includes a possible new route to provide traffic relief south of Leicester from the A47 East to a new junction on the M1.

The strategy also includes proposals to ease traffic on the A6 through Oadby and Wigston.

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