Fosse hopes rise
The MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer, is optimistic for the first time that the dualling of the A46 will go ahead.
He has asked two members of the government, the housing minister, Mrs Caroline Flint, and the roads minister, Mr Tom Harris, to visit the area.
Mr Mercer wants them to see the problems caused by congestion on the undualled stretch from Newark to Widmerpool.
He said plans for an eco-town at RAF Newton, added to the scheme for 5,000 new homes south of Newark, should ensure the road was dualled.
The eco-town was one of the topics discussed in a meeting between Mr Mercer, the MP for Rushcliffe, Mr Ken Clarke, and the Sherwood MP, Mr Paddy Tipping.
If it goes ahead, 6,000 environmentally-friendly homes will be built.
Since RAF Newton closed in 2001, nearby residents have successfully fought plans to build 3,000 homes there and a 750-bed asylum centre.
Fears have been raised in Newton and Bingham about how the area’s already over-used roads and services will cope with such a huge growth in population.
There are also plans for up to 5,000 new homes south of Newark as part of a growth point.
Mr Mercer said: “If the eco-town goes ahead, and I think it is likely, suddenly the A46 will not just get pressure from the Newark end but huge pressure in the Bingham area.
“I simply cannot see how any government can fail to understand the importance of the road from Newark to Nottingham when we have seen the benefits of the Lincoln to Newark dualling.”
He said: “I think as a result of the meeting between myself, Paddy Tipping and Ken Clarke, we can get the key to unlock this terrible stranglehold.
“This is a crucially important issue. We must start using every lever we possibly can to make sure we get it dualled. Speaking to Ken Clarke I found this double whammy we can use against them.”
He said the lack of a dualled road between Newark and Nottingham was making healthcare difficult in Newark.
Mr Mercer said: “If we are suddenly faced with an expansion of housing south of Newark and another in the Bingham area it will make it more difficult for healthcare professionals to get efficiently and quickly between the new centres of population. It would be impossible to get an ambulance to and from a decent hospital with large numbers of people living there.”
A report on a public inquiry was held last year into objections for the proposed £317m scheme has been passed to the Department for Transport.
The inquiry looked at the proposed route with 161 objections from 295 responses.
The report is being considered and a decision on the inquiry inspector Mr Colin Tyrell’s recommendations will be announced by the transport secretary, Ruth Kelly.
The road is still scheduled to start in 2012 and be fully open in 2016, but Mr Mercer has previously doubted that it will ever be built.
