News on the proposed M1 to A6 road

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M1-A6 Link Road moves forward to the Secretary of State

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Development Management Committee agreed to recommend the planning application for the proposed M1 to A6 Link Road to the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Local Government and Communities needs to make a decision on the proposed new road as it is a significant infrastructure development and it is development in the green belt. Development in green belt is permitted in very special circumstances where the benefits outweigh the harm to the openness of the green belt.

The new strategic link road would run from the A6 Barton Road to junction 11a of the M1 motorway, joining up to the A5-M1 Link Road, to provide a strategically important east-west link.

Building this new road will benefit both existing communities and new communities.

The existing A6 road has approximately 26,000 vehicles on it each day. The new link road would help to relieve current congestion and improve safety on the A6 into Luton, as well as ease traffic on the local village roads used as rat-runs, such as Lower Sundon, Upper Sundon and Streatley. There are also a number of suggested upgrades to the local footpaths, cycleways and bridleways. 

The road will also be critical to supporting a significant number of proposed new local homes on the northern edge of Luton. This development also includes 20 hectares of employment land, opening up opportunities for business and creating local jobs. A new sub-regional Rail Freight Interchange at Sundon would help transfer goods from the M1 to the Midland Mainline and beyond, shifting more freight from road to rail. It is anticipated that the Rail Freight Interchange could generate a further 1,000 jobs on 40 hectares of employment land.

Subject to Secretary of State approval and securing funding, construction could commence in 2020. It is estimated that construction will take two years.

You can find out more about the road on our website. The planning documents are available online, reference CB/19/00887/FULL at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/planning


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