DfT announces funding for Congleton bypass

A new bypass is to be built at Congleton, Cheshire, which will consist of a 3.5km relief road connecting the A534 west of Congleton with the A536 to the north of the town.

The Department for Transport approved the new route, and will provide £45m towards the £75m project, which will save drivers on average of seven minutes per journey, the DfT estimates. Cheshire East Council is providing £9.63m while £20.8m will come from private developers.

The link road will directly support more than 1,000 new homes, and will open up 9.3 hectares of business land by 2035 — as well as indirectly supporting an extra 1,475 homes and 10 hectares of employment land to the north of Congleton, says the DfT.

Transport minister Liz Sugg said: “We are investing record amounts in improving our roads up and down the country to get drivers to shops, friends or work quicker than before.

“This new bypass will not only lead to fewer accidents and cut congestion in Congleton, it will take lorries out of the town centre and improve air quality for its residents. 

“The link road will also help create new homes and jobs around Congleton, boosting the local economy. Cyclists will also get a better link around Congleton as a cycleway and path will be built alongside the road.”

The Leader of Cheshire East Council, Rachel Bailey, said the bypass will “remove congestion from the town centre, unlock key employment and housing sites, boosting the local economy, as well as creating vastly improved connectivity from the Macclesfield area of the borough through to the M6 corridor to Sandbach and Crewe”. 

The works will start in October and are due to be completed by 2020.