ANOTHER major milestone has been passed on the long road towards the Middlewich eastern bypass being delivered.

At a meeting this morning, Cheshire East Council’s strategic planning board unanimously voted to approve plans for the much-anticipated £58 million road.

It is hoped the road will help support 1,950 new homes being built in Middlewich, as well as 6,500 new jobs being provided in the town, while reducing congestion at Town Bridge by 30 per cent and improving air quality in town.

Officers had recommended the scheme for approval ahead of the meeting, and Cllr Bernice Walmsley, Middlewich First, urged the committee to agree with their view.

“When I first came to live in Middlewich over 20 years ago one of the first things I can remember attending in the Civic Hall was consultation for the original bypass planning application,” she said.

“Having experienced peak time traffic jams through the town centre I hoped that the bypass would be built without delay.

“However, that application – although approved – came to nothing and it turned out to be our ‘road to nowhere’.

“We must not forget that Middlewich has the largest area of employment land allocated in the local plan, so Cheshire East needs this bypass as much as Middlewich does.”

The bypass will be a 2.2km single-carriageway road from the Salt Cellar Roundabout on the A54 down to Booth Lane, restricted to 50mph.

It will include a footpath and cycleway to the west of the road, as well as a new bridge over the Trent and Mersey Canal, and a roundabout at Cledford Lane – which will also be upgraded.

Highways officer Richard Hibbert, speaking as the applicant, told the committee that the road is expected to meet demand for decades to come and that it is ‘difficult to foresee’ a situation where the bypass would need upgrading to dual-carriageway after it has been built.

Cllr Bill Walmsley, representing Middlewich Town Council, called for work to begin on the scheme ‘as soon as possible’.

He also requested that construction traffic in town should be compliant to strict Euro VI emissions rules and that large vehicles should not use Town Bridge or Lewin Street – but planning officers suggested this could not be a condition.

Recommending the scheme for approval, Cllr David Brown, Conservative, said: “This is one of many jigsaw pieces we got with Crewe and Congleton to move CEC forward with development land.”

Moston Parish Council also supported the scheme, although it has concerns that Tetton Lane could be used by extra traffic once the road is built.

Neighbouring Sandbach Town Council objected to the scheme over fears it will be built ‘at the expense of a detrimental effect’ on congestion and air quality.

But Cllr Gill Merry, Conservative member for Sandbach Elworth, disagreed that the bypass would cause more congestion in the town.

She said: “I believe it won’t generate more traffic – ultimately the new developments will and we recognise that will increase traffic in Sandbach.”

The Government announced it would provide £46.8 million towards the bypass in October 2017, and the remainder of the project will be funded by up to five developer contributions, with CEC making up any shortfall.

Cheshire West and Chester Council will also need to grant permission for the scheme, with the road straddling the border of the two boroughs, and it is expected that CWAC officers will make the decision rather than a planning committee.

Balfour Beatty was appointed as the lead contractor for the scheme in January, and highways officers told the committee that they hope to begin work on the road by the end of 2020.

The council hopes the road will be complete by October 2023, subject to possible issues on compulsory purchases or funding arrangements.