£1.5 million awarded to Tewkesbury Borough Council to support M5 Junction 9 and the A46 options
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced an award of £1.5 million to Tewkesbury Borough Council to support Gloucestershire County Council’s proposed M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme.
The award has been given to further enable ongoing work to develop an Outline Business Case in view of the associated opportunities at the proposed Tewkesbury Garden Town near Ashchurch, Tewkesbury which was awarded Garden Town status by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2019.
Tewkesbury Borough Council is working alongside Gloucestershire County Council who are developing the business case.
The M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme is a proposal to upgrade the M5 Junction 9 near Tewkesbury and re-route the section of the A46 which currently passes through Ashchurch to the east of the M5.
The new road would remove significant volumes of traffic from the A46 through Ashchurch, improving journey times and reliability helping to reduce mainline queueing on the M5 and the approaches to M5 junction 9 at peak periods due to congestion, which is currently a safety concern.
This will result in an improved quality of life for residents along the A46 through Ashchurch, with better air quality and improved safety and connectivity which will encourage more sustainable transport use and help to support local economic growth.
Removal of through traffic from the A46 will provide opportunities to deliver a superior environment for cycling and walking, on much quieter, better designed local roads, specifically between Ashchurch for Tewkesbury train station and the town.
At a regional level, the A46 is a nationally significant trade route between the south west and the Midlands, offering an important alternative to the A42/M42 for traffic travelling between the M1 and the M5.
The proposed scheme is in the early stages of development and the exact location of the new road and details of the junction upgrade are yet to be decided.
Technical work is currently underway with the aim of presenting a number of suitable route options for public consultation in autumn 2022.
Tewkesbury Borough has received an additional £250,000 from the DLUHC towards the Tewkesbury Garden Town programme and £135,000 in partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council for the Golden Valley Garden Village Development.
The grants are part of £15 million funding provided by the DLUHC to support delivery of thousands of new homes in beautiful, green garden communities across England.
