Newark Town Council planning committee discuss A46 Newark bypass statutory consultation

An alliance of town councillors have objected to the dualling of the A46 at Newark ­— as Conservatives proclaimed ‘not in my name’.

Newark Town Council’s planning committee was asked to give its opinion on the dualling between Farndon and Winthorpe, a £360m investment to fix the missing link along a crucial trade corridor through the East Midlands, acting as a key link between the M5 and Humberside ports.

Labour’s committee chairman Lisa Geary claimed there were no benefits to the dualling, other than lorry drivers shaving ten minutes from their journeys, which was outweighed by the environmental impact and visual pollution.

She had the backing of other Labour councillors and independents in order to out vote the Conservatives.

And, with the vote tied on whether to object or not, she used her casting vote as chairman to decide on the objection.

In October, interested parties were invited to have their say on designs on the congestion-busting plans that are currently being drawn up by National Highways.

The scheme, chosen following a period of public consultation, was for an elevated flyover with roundabout improvements.

Another consultation ends on December 12.

Lisa Geary said: “I am very concerned as a resident of Newark and a member of this town council about the effect of the grade separation [flyover] at the cattle market roundabout.

“I am in favour of having the Southern Link Road, which I think will be beneficial to Newark because it will take traffic off of the A46, across to the A1 and vice versa without it having to go through or passed Newark, which will be beneficial to residents. But I am against this grade separation because of the impact of building that in terms of dust, the impact in terms of noise and having it ongoing for the three years it will take to build.

“When we had the work done on the sewers in Newark, the effect on local businesses was significant because people were prevented from getting into the town and so they stopped shopping in Newark and went to other places instead.

“So, to have a further three years on top of all the current economic problems that we are facing nationally, the effect on the town and businesses could be catastrophic.

“Newark Castle is only a stone’s throw away from the roundabout, so when you go to the top of the gatehouse all you will be able to see is a massive road extension.

“We might all magically think that this new road will be provided and solve the traffic problems in the town, it won’t.

“This road is not being provided to bring people to Newark, it’s not being provided to solve the traffic problems of Newark, it’s being provided for lorries to be able to go ten minutes faster from Hull to the M5 than they do at the moment.

“We have been talking about a national and global climate emergency. We should be looking at getting rid of road traffic, particularly lorries, and moving them on to the railways and other methods.”

Adopting a ‘not in my name’ approach, Conservative Group leader David Lloyd pushed back in support of the A46 dualling and unsuccessfully asked for a recorded vote while colleague Johno Lee commended the consultations carried out.