Bids likely for £50m homes and roads cash

Homes, job opportunities and improved roads

PLANS to secure £50 million to help fund homes, job opportunities and reduced journey times in Leicestershire have been revealed by the county council.

Cabinet members were due to be asked to clear the way for the council bids.

If approved, two bids will be submitted by the March 1 deadline set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The authority would ask for about £40 million to support the development of housing at junction two of the M69, as well as development in an area around the proposed M1 junction 20a, south of Whetstone.

The bid would also focus on providing the transport infrastructure to support housing in Lutterworth.

A second bid, to develop the southern section of Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, would be for about £10 million.

The Department for Transport awarded nearly £50 million towards a £63 million scheme to develop the northern and eastern sections of the relief road earlier this year.

Members of the county council scrutiny committee discussed the plans for the bids at a recent meeting.

Councillor David Bill said at the meeting: “I don’t see how I can vote for something without knowing exactly what I’m voting for.”

He also raised concerns about maps included in the report being too small to show details.

However, Janna Walker, principal transport planner, said: “This isn’t us saying this is what we want to do, it’s about staying in the game.

“These bids are there to show Homes England there are real people with real money with an interest in developing these schemes.

“These are ideas floating around and part of the money is to determine where the road would go.”

Councillor Nick Rushton said: “This still has to go through planning processes. If it doesn’t get approved, it doesn’t get built.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to try to get this money.

“We’ve got a good track record of securing funding to support the growth of the county and we hope that stands us in good stead.

“The bids give us the opportunity to put the funding for transport infrastructure in place before the usual planning process and that’s a better scenario for the people who live in those areas as it can allay their concerns about pressure on roads.”