£1m for M-way junction that goes nowhere
AFINISHED but unusable £50 million junction on the M49 has received a cash boost. Work on the Severn Beach junction itself was complete in 2019 but it still cannot be used because it is not yet connected to the local road network.
Following months of arguments over where responsibility lies, the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) has allocated £1 million to build the link roads.
A completion date is yet to be confirmed, but Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council chairman Peter Tyzack says his understanding is the work will take a year.
He said: “I understand that the designs have been done and signed off by Highways England and South Gloucestershire Council, so there’s nothing to hold them up once a contractor can be appointed.
“The building of the ramp will take time as it has to be ‘surcharged’ and allowed to settle.”
Mr Tyzack welcomed the news that Weca had provided funding but believes the problem should have been resolved sooner.
“South Gloucestershire Council and Highways should have been working together on this from the outset, and the contractors for the junction work should have been appointed to do the whole job,” he said.
“That would have saved a serious amount of money and time. Let’s hope they learn from that mistake.”
The unbuilt link roads will connect the motorway to Western Approach Distribution Park, used by Amazon, Lidl, Royal Mail, Tesco and others.
Locals have complained of increased congestion due to the recent influx of businesses to the area, without the M49 junction to reduce pressure on other routes.
Highways England and South
Gloucestershire Council have already started putting changes in place to support the £50 million junction, including the controversial conversion of a road to a cycle path in Easter Compton.
The council had said the junction landowner, Delta Properties, was responsible for building the link roads but the company denied this last month, saying it had “no legal obligation”.
Delta did say it had spent months finalising designs and working out costs “in the spirit of moving things forward”.
Announcing the new funding, a Weca spokesman said: “Weca and South Gloucestershire Council will discuss with the developer to agree the delivery of the link road between the M49 Junction and Goldcrest Way.
“Weca has allocated £1 million to support these works. At this stage we cannot give a definitive date for the completion of the link road until legal agreements have been concluded and a delivery programme agreed between the parties involved.”
Cllr Robert Griffin, for Pilning and Severn Beach, said completion “cannot come soon enough” at a meeting on the issue last week.
He said: “This junction not only means a lot to our area in terms of the attractiveness of the Severnside area to businesses with simpler connectivity between the industrial and business parks and the motorway network.
“It also means so much to the communities of Easter Compton, Hallen, Pilning and Severn Beach as the constant train of HGVs rolling through the villages will be diverted to a much more efficient, shorter and safer route.
“The residents I represent are keen to see an end to the safety risk and disruption to their communities that they have had to endure for so long.”
Filton and Bradley Stoke MP Jack Lopresti, who raised the delays in Parliament in December, called the cash injection “excellent news”.
He said: “We can finally get this vital piece of infrastructure connected to support jobs and investment for our region.”
Delta declined to comment on the announcement.