Relief in sight for important new road
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
A new road connecting new homes and development and helping to ease congestion in Arlesey has moved a step closer.
A significant milestone has been reached on the Arlesey Relief Road project: we've appointed Sisk as the main contractor for the 1.4km eastern section between the A507 and the High Street.
Initial site preparation work will begin shortly with construction expected to start in the spring and take about 18 months to complete.
The road will have significant benefits for residents. It will move a large amount of traffic from the busy High Street onto the new road and this will ease congestion in a notorious bottleneck and reduce journey times for road users heading to the A507 as part of their commute or road trip.
The road will also offer access to council-owned land known as Chase Farm to enable new homes, community facilities and commercial development to be built.
Outline planning permission has been secured for the site, including 950 homes. Archaeological works are now complete on land for the first phase of 200 homes. This will enable the parcel of land to come to the market for sale in the next few months. Once these first homes are built, they will take access from Stotfold Road.
Councillor Kevin Collins, our Executive Member for Planning and Regeneration, said:
This is wonderful news for Arlesey and Central Bedfordshire. The relief road has been a long-held desire of residents so it’s great we will soon start work on the eastern section.
Importantly, it's the infrastructure for hundreds of new homes, lots of new community facilities and plenty of associated development that will help Arlesey to flourish. We have ambitious plans to create thriving communities in Central Bedfordshire, with quality homes and opportunities for rewarding jobs. This scheme shows how we turn our commitment into action.
As part of the comprehensive scheme, there will be cycleways and footways alongside the carriageway and a superb new foot, cycle and equestrian bridge over the busy A507.
The new bridge will provide a safe walking, cycling and equestrian route linking Arlesey to the popular Etonbury Woods and local schools. Its design also features a wonderful viewing platform for people to enjoy the woodland and wildlife from a tree canopy level.
The new cycleways, footways and bridge will encourage more active, sustainable travel which is an important priority for us.