Plans to ease traffic in growing market town

A council is looking at ways to source £220,000 to progress a project to ease lorry traffic and other congestion in a market town.

Fenland District Council said Whittlesey was facing increasing issues with traffic, adding that the rate of growth in the town was "unsustainable" without improving the travel network.

A report being presented to councillors on Monday asks them to look into a proposal for a new relief road south of the A605.

It said the project was currently unfunded, but money was needed to do more research on the scheme.

"Transport interventions are needed for Whittlesey," the report said.

It pointed to a high occurrence of road closures in the area due to flooding, which added to congestion.

It said a relief road would "improve options for sustainable travel and aid in the sense of place for the town centre".

The road was suggested to run south of the A605, to ease traffic on the main road through Whittlesey that leads to Peterborough.

A relief road is slightly different to a bypass, where traffic avoids a community completely, as it can still involve traffic going into the town.

In October, the district council approved outline planning applications for 424 new homes in Whittlesey.

Councillors have been asked to look into potential options to fund the £220,000.

The council said more work was needed including an assessment of how to keep costs down, such as by considering a shorter route for the road.

The benefits versus the costs of the project were deemed "currently too low for the project to progress".

It was also recommended that more research should be done into how the scheme could unlock new development along the A605 corridor.

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