David beats Goliath
It has just been made clear that the plans for the proposed new A 46 Expressway in Leicestershire have been cancelled.
Midlands Connect the entity behind the whole Plan have told the authorities in Leicester and Leicestershire that the proposed route is too long and in their view would not be used by long distance traffic which would continue to use the existing route. They intend to concentrate their efforts on enhancing the MI junctions 21 and 21a and also the existing A46 Western bypass.
This is great news for Leicestershire. David does sometimes win against Goliath! SELAG (South and East Leicestershire Action Group) had argued for some time that the proposed route was too long and these views were made clear by SELAG nine months ago. It is satisfying to see that the Midland Connect experts have agreed.
SELAG and CPRE (The Countryside Charity) have worked tirelessly to bring about this result. Thanks are due to all people involved in this fight including our supporters and the local MPs Ed Agar, Neil O’Brien, and Alberta Costa.
The SGP (Strategic Growth Plan) will now have to be rewritten and the issue of where all the extra houses are going to be built will have to be addressed anew. This may raise some additional problems for some communities. But for today we can celebrate a very important victory.
Philip Bland Chairman
The Great War: Private Tom Brutnell
