A new start date for delayed £5 million road improvement works on a main road through Hinckley and Burbage has been announced.

The project to reduce congestion on Rugby Road and at its junctions with Hawley Road in Hinckley and with Brookside in Burbage was originally set to begin in May 2019 and to finish this summer.

The works are now scheduled for spring 2020, while talks are ongoing to buy land needed for the scheme.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said: “Preliminary design work on the Rugby Road junctions have been completed, alongside walking and cycling improvements.

“We are currently in the process of acquiring land required for the works at the Hawley Road / Rugby Road Junction.”

The proposal includes adding a left turn lane onto Rugby Road from Hawley Road, meaning additional land is needed from the corner of the junction.

The spokesperson said: “We’re continuing negotiations with the landowner around acquiring the land.

“We’re also having to look at the possibility of a compulsory purchase order, but as yet no details around these arrangements have been finalised.”

A new lane is also planned at the Brookside junction, with a second land to be built southbound immediately after the Brookside junction in Burbage.

Leicestershire County Council was previously asked by LeicestershireLive to clarify how widening the road would affect traffic levels, after a resident raised concerns that it could worsen traffic in the area.

The authority said at the time: “Following a study we found that congestion issues at the Rugby Road/Brookside/Dudley Rise junction was caused by vehicles trying to pass through the junction at the same time and not having the width of the road to do so.

“Making improvements will allow vehicles to pass through the junction more efficiently and reduce congestion for both peak and off-peak times.

“Overall, it was found that the draft proposal, which includes improvements to the existing signal junction, offered the greatest benefits in terms of reducing delay and journey times.”

A four-week consultation on the plans is also set to take place in October, and the authority said residents and stakeholders will be informed “well in advance”.

The council spokesperson said: “We are looking to consult on the full set of schemes within Hinckley.

“The proposed start date of works at the Rugby Road junctions is Spring 2020, dependent on land acquisition, and the outcome of the consultation.”

Funding for the package will include £3.5 million from the Government’s National Productivity Investment Fund and £1.5 million provided by Leicestershire County Council.

That section of Rugby Road could soon become a lot busier as a new retail park with seven units is being built there, with the entrance on a roundabout between the two junctions.

Major chains including Greggs and the Co-op are set to take up an outlet each in the complex, which will have 53 car parking spaces, with construction works set to finish in November.