Executive approves new preferred route for the A509 Isham bypass

16 June 2022

Earlier today, the Council’s Executive considered an update on the work which has been and will be undertaken on the A509 Isham Bypass.  

During the meeting, the Executive agreed a change to the Preferred Route for the scheme, as set out in the recommendations of the report and agreed to delegate authority to the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets to procure and award a contract to provide professional services to support the delivery of the A509 Isham Bypass.

Work on the A509 Isham Bypass has continued with varying degrees of progress since the early 1990s. The Executive has been forced to change the current preferred route for the A509 Isham Bypass to tie-in to the improvements to the A509 which are being constructed as part of the Symmetry Park development on a different alignment to the original approved application. 

Work is currently underway to develop a new planning application and the Outline Business Case for the scheme. These are due to be submitted in October 2022. A further public consultation and exhibition will be held before the planning application is submitted.

Further progress will then be dependent on securing the necessary statutory permissions and further Government funding. Following the granting of planning permission, it is expected it will be necessary to publish new Compulsory Purchase and Side Roads Orders. If there are objections to these orders, the Secretary of State will hold a public inquiry. Once the Orders are confirmed, a Full Business Case will be submitted to the Department for Transport to secure funding to construct the road. 

It is currently projected that construction will start in November 2024, with the bypass opening in November 2026.

The administration is committed to this scheme, which is a top priority for the council as the route would not only help boost the local economy, enabling growth of both our housing and commercial sectors, but, also alleviate traffic pressures and air quality in the village of Isham, for whom this has been a long campaign.

The change of preferred route is unfortunate, but, reflects changed circumstances in the area and does give us the opportunity to update the design to the latest standards towards carbon neutrality and active travel, so it’s important that we act accordingly.

I’m delighted that we are able to progress this, which we will do as speedily as possible.Cllr Graham Lawman the council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets

We know that villagers have been campaigning for decades for it to go ahead and we agree it’s of tremendous benefit to them and the wider area.

We’d encourage people to share their views at the public consultation and exhibition.Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council