‘Crucial’ motorway plan ‘could aid jobs growth’ in county

Chancellor George Osborne, as part of his Autumn Statement last Wednesday, announced that the Government will be spending £10 million on improving juntion 12 of the M40 at Gaydon,

Sir Peter Rigby, chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership, which is hoping its plans for an enterprise hub around the Coventry Airport site will be approved next week, said an upgrade at the junction was “much-needed”.

He said: “This is very good news for Coventry and Warwickshire.

“While Gaydon is a centre of international renown with Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin having significant operations there, it is not adequately served by transport. The junction struggles to cope with the current levels of traffic and as well as being a potential danger, it is also a barrier to possible investment by the two companies and others firms in the supply chain.”

He said the partnership had held meetings with the Highways Agency to push for the investment, adding: “We are pleased those requests have been taken on board and we could play a part in making the junction fit for purpose.

“It’s another example of how the local enterprise partnership can help industry expand and fulfil its potential.”

Warwickshire county councillor Peter Butlin, who is responsible for policy on highways and transport across the county, said the improvements are seen as “crucial” to future job creation at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Gaydon as junction 12 already has high volumes of traffic, which would require work to be able to handle more employees travelling to the site each day.

He said: “We are pleased that we now have the majority of the funding and the green light to proceed with the major upgrade of this busy junction.

“The significant Government funding package is a result of the work done by Warwickshire County Council to plan and highlight this scheme and ensure it was put to the top of the transport agenda.

“Across the county we are prioritising transport infrastructure projects to give people access to jobs - and this scheme is an important strategic site in terms of creating future employment opportunities.”

Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth and Southam, has also welcomed the news, as was reported in the Courier and Weekly News last week.

The Highways Agency is due to start working on the scheme by the end of next year and it is set to be complete during 2015. Details will be published when they are made available.