A public inquiry has been cancelled into plans for a £40million access road – part-funded through the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership – paving the way for work to start later this year (2019).
The planned Gedling Access Road (GAR) would be a 3.8kilometre long road linking the existing A612 Trent Valley Road/Nottingham Road and the B684 Mapperley Plains Road, with a view to reducing congestion in Gedling Village. The GAR is part of the Gedling Housing Zone and linked to redevelopment of the former Gedling Colliery site, set to create job opportunities and the chance to build almost 1,000 new homes.
With the withdrawal earlier this week of the final outstanding objection to the GAR, the Government Planning Inspector has now decided not to proceed with the anticipated public inquiry into the road.
Nottinghamshire County Council, which has welcomed the decision to cancel the inquiry, will now await the Secretary of State for Transport’s formal confirmation of Orders; which will enable construction of the Gedling Access Road to start later this year (2019).
Nottinghamshire County Council, Homes England (formerly the Homes and Communities Agency), Gedling Borough Council and Keepmoat Housing Ltd are partners in and funders of the road project; which in July 2013 was allocated £10.8million via the D2N2 LEP’s former D2N2 Local Transport Board (LTB).
D2N2 is the private sector-led Local Enterprise Partnership which promotes economic and jobs growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Its Local Transport Board, which has since been replaced, was a partnership between local authorities in the area and the D2N2 LEP, which decided how Government funding for major local transport schemes in the D2N2 area should be spent.
Councillor John Cottee, Nottinghamshire County Council Chair of the Communities and Place Committee, said of news of the inquiry’s cancellation: “This is good news for the programme for the Gedling Access Road. All of the objections have been formally resolved and withdrawn, and our hard work means we have avoided up to six months of potential delays.”
He added: “The Gedling Access Road will improve local access and unlock much needed new housing development in the Gedling area.”
Anyone with queries or concerns about the GAR project can visit its website at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/GAR for more details; or contact its County Council project team via email: gar@viaem.co.uk or telephone 0115 977 3118.
Media wanting more information about the D2N2 LEP can contact Sean Kirby, D2N2 Communications Manager, on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
