Cumbria County Council and CLEP welcome Department for Transport’s green light for A595 Grizebeck improvement scheme
Cumbria County Council and Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) have welcomed today’s funding announcement by the Department for Transport (DfT) for the A595 Grizebeck road improvement scheme.
The DfT has signalled the go ahead for the £15m transport scheme which will improve journey times, boost Cumbria’s economy and create a safer and more resilient road between Barrow and West Cumbria.
Now that DfT funding has been secured, partners will continue work to deliver the scheme. This will include further design work and public engagement, allowing the local community and road users to give their feedback on the design as it progresses.
A planning application is due to be submitted next summer, with construction work scheduled to start in 2022 and the new road open in early 2024.
Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said:
“This is great news and we welcome the Department for Transport’s investment in one of the key routes in Cumbria’s road network. Improving the highway network on the A595 has been identified as critical to support economic growth and the movement of goods and people between South and West Cumbria.
“The Grizebeck scheme will not only improve journey times and boost our economy but will also create a safer road from Barrow to West Cumbria. The county council has already carried out significant work developing this scheme and we will now start the detailed design work needed before construction can start.”
Jo Lappin, Chief Executive at Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP), said:
“CLEP is very pleased by DfT’s announcement, as a key funding partner in the A595 Grizebeck scheme. We were delighted to provide £2.25 million of Growth Deal funding to deliver much-needed improvements to a stretch of road that has suffered from serious delays and accidents. This investment will significantly improve journey times, increase safety and resilience and help unlock economic and business investments.”
The A595 Grizebeck Improvement is a 1km single carriageway road between Chapels and Grizebeck on the A595. The route runs to the east of the existing A595, past properties at Dove Bank and Dove Ford Farm, before crossing the existing A595 and then forming a new junction with the A595/A5092 to the west of the existing junction.
The improvement scheme will cost £15m. Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership is contributing £2.24m towards the scheme with the remainder £12.76m funded by the DfT through their Major Roads Network funding.