Delay likely over building of southern link to Melton’s partial bypass

There is likely to be a delay over building of the southern section of Melton’s planned partial bypass following a meeting at Leicestershire County Council this afternoon (Tuesday).
The route of the approved Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR), connecting north, east and south, and how it would join with the planned southern link section EMN-200324-190822001The route of the approved Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR), connecting north, east and south, and how it would join with the planned southern link section EMN-200324-190822001
The route of the approved Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR), connecting north, east and south, and how it would join with the planned southern link section EMN-200324-190822001

County Hall was due to pay £13million of the £28million cost up front and the authority would then recoup that money from developer contributions from new houses built to the south of the town.

But councillors decided today that it was too much of a risk for the council to put the money up because they felt Melton Borough Council had not done sufficient planning to ensure the developer contributions would come through.

And, as a consequence, they also voted to reject the £15million funding the government had already pledged to pay for the rest of the cost of building the southern link.

County councillor Byron Rhodes examines the route for the MMDR with County Hall colleagues Ian Vears and Andy Jackson EMN-200324-190917001County councillor Byron Rhodes examines the route for the MMDR with County Hall colleagues Ian Vears and Andy Jackson EMN-200324-190917001
County councillor Byron Rhodes examines the route for the MMDR with County Hall colleagues Ian Vears and Andy Jackson EMN-200324-190917001

After the meeting, the borough council refuted the allegations by the county council that it had not provided a ‘masterplan’, an agreement between developers, local authorities and other infrastructure providers about land use, development and timescales for construction.

The borough council said it had done extensive preliminary planning work for the southern link and it was ‘regrettable’ the county had rejected the government funding but it was hopeful that section of the road would be merely delayed by the decision.

Funding of £63.5million remains in place for the north and east sections of the Melton Mowbray Distributior Road (MMDR), which would link the A606 Nottingham Road with the A606 Burton Road.

And it was hoped that a southern section, connecting Burton Road with the A607 Leicester Road, would be built at the same time but that may now be delayed and, potentially, scrapped if future funding cannot be secured.

Melton Borough Council leader, Councillor Joe Orson EMN-200324-190937001Melton Borough Council leader, Councillor Joe Orson EMN-200324-190937001
Melton Borough Council leader, Councillor Joe Orson EMN-200324-190937001

During today’s cabinet meeting at County Hall, Councillor Byron Rhodes, member for Belvoir and a long-standing supporter of a bypass for Melton, said: “This is an enormous disappointment to me, particularly as I have been championing it for seven years since I became leader of Melton Borough Council.

“We came tantalisingly close to having the funding for the southern section but we have a problem because the borough council has failed to produce a masterplan.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I have to agree with the recommendation on this.”

County council leader Nick Rushton said after the meeting that it was still committed to building all sections of the MMDR and that it was prepared to commission and fund a masterplan to ensure the developer contributions would be forthcoming to inject the necessary money into the scheme.

Councillor Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council EMN-200324-191003001Councillor Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council EMN-200324-191003001
Councillor Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council EMN-200324-191003001

He said: “Without a masterplan, to show the detail of the planned development and timescales, no reasonable authority would invest that amount of money, especially given the current economic uncertainty.”

The borough council, which has committed £6million in funding for the entire MMDR project, said in a statement that the county council’s report to the cabinet meeting contained a number of ‘misleading and inaccurate assertions’ regarding the approach it had taken to developing a masterplan.

The borough said it had always sought to operate in partnership with the county council and had suggested a joint-management board be set up to iron out any issues.

One of the failings with the planning identified by County Hall with the southern section was the inability to make adequate provision for a new secondary school to be built but the borough council says it had provided five options for where the school could go but that each of them were rejected by the county.

Reacting to today’s funding rejection, borough leader, Councillor Joe Orson, said; “At a time when the country and our public services need to pull together it is hugely disappointing that the county council have chosen to act in this way.

“We were, even today, putting together a plan for how we could work with the county council to resolve the current issues with the masterplan and find a way we can work together to meet this difficult challenge.”

He added: “We will continue to work with all relevant parties to deliver our Local Plan and will be writing to the county council today setting out the issues which they need to help us address and a proposed timescale to progress.”

Construction work on the north and east sections of the MMDR is due to begin in the summer of next year with completion expected by the autumn of 2023.