Newark Town Council objections to £500m A46 Newark Bypass plans withdrawn and stance to be reconsidered at full council meeting on July 24

A council’s decision to object to plans to widen the A46 at Newark have been withdrawn.

On Wednesday, Newark Town Council’s planning committee voted to object to £500m plans for the A46 Newark Bypass, which are currently under examination by the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

The decision has now been called in by Conservative councillor Mathew Skinner, and it will again be discussed at a meeting of full council on July 24.

On his reasons for calling in the decision, Mr Skinner said: “We need to be on the same page across the board. This is one of the most important decisions we can make as local councillors.

“It is important that members who represent the residents of Newark should also support it.

“From the top to the bottom, everyone should support this.”

He added: “I hope that the decision can be reviewed by every member at full council, and a lot more thought and consideration can go into it.

“We can submit our comments to the consultation thereafter in a way that I hope is more reflective of the views of residents.

“Otherwise, what we were going to send was a complete embarrassment in my opinion.”

Newark Town Council can only offer an opinion on planning matters and does not have the power to approve or refuse applications.

Projects on the scale of the A46 plans are also considered as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’ and must be decided by government.

A finalised statement from the council’s planning committee was due to be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport ahead of the July 14 deadline, but has now been withdrawn.

As the full council will not meet until after this deadline has passed, the Town Clerk has applied to National Highways seeking an extension and will explain the reason why, including the division in opinions.

Councillors who objected to the plans have decided to continue to submit their own objections as individuals, separate to the outcome on July 24.