Melton Council pledges to fight threat to town bypass

Melton Borough Council leader Joe Orson pictured at County Hall in June last year delivering a petition supporting funding for a southern link to the approved MMDR

The authority was reacting after news broke this morning (Tuesday) that ‘dire’ financial issues at Leicestershire County Council mean it may not now be able to inject the vital funding it had pledged for the project.

We reported earlier today that County Hall needs to make huge savings in its budget to avoid becoming effectively bankrupt next year.

The government agreed to pay £49.5million towards the original £63.5million cost of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR), which would link the A606 Nottingham Road to the north with the A606 Burton Road to the south after passing east of the town – the cost of the road has since risen to £85.3million.

The county council was due to fund much of the shortfall plus infrastructure costs including new schools but says it faces a financial black hole in its finances next year of nearly £30million so it has to make cuts.

County leader Nick Rushton confirmed today that the MMDR project – which was due to start in the spring with a projected finish date of 2025 – was one of the contenders for being axed from the capital programme.

Councillor Joe Orson, leader of Melton Borough Council, said, upon hearing the news: “The relief road is undeniably important to the people of Melton Borough, it is a project that has been discussed for decades in the local area.

"Given all the hard work that has been done recently to get this project underway, to know that it is now under threat is unthinkable, it would be catastrophic to the local community who were relying on this vital work to go ahead, not to mention the thousands of jobs that would be lost and millions of pounds already spent, wasted.

“We will continue to work with our partners at county council to do all we can to prevent this from happening.”

The county council say the impact of spiralling inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and the lingering impact of Covid has created a ‘perfect storm’ of financial pressures on the council.

The authority has consistently complained it is chronically underfunded by government and needs more money.

Councillor Orson added: "We understand the financial pressures that are currently affecting the whole country, however, it should be carefully considered how this can be balanced.

"Outside funding has been obtained to support the development of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR) and by ending the project £50 million for the north and east part of the road would need to be handed back to the government and around £5 million back to developers, which would cause more financial strain on an already tight budget.

“We will not give up on the MMDR and will continue to work with Leicestershire County Council and our local MP to ensure the relief road is delivered to our community.”