Consultation event to be held in Luton over proposed M1-A6 link road

The event will be hosted by Central Bedfordshire Council and takes places on Tuesday, August 21, from 2pm to 7pm at St Margaret’s Parish Centre, Lucas Gardens, Luton, LU3 4BG.

Councillor Nigel Young, CBC’s executive member for regeneration, said: “We’ve been delighted with how popular our events in July were. So, we’ve decided to add another session to get additional feedback.”

The new strategic link road would run from the A6 Barton Road to junction 11a of the M1 motorway, joining up to the A5-M1 Link Road, to provide a strategically important east-west link.

The proposed new road would be 2.75 miles (4.4km) long and could create part of a northern bypass for Luton. The preferred layout would have a 50mph speed limit and be a mixture of single and dual carriageway, with junctions to a new Rail Freight Interchange at Sundon and proposed new housing development.

The existing A6 road has approximately 26,000 vehicles on it each day. A new link road would help to relieve current congestion and improve safety in Luton, as well as ease traffic on the local village roads used as rat-runs, such as Lower Sundon, Upper Sundon and Streatley. The plans also suggest a number of upgraded footpaths, cycleways and bridleways in the area.

The new road will be critical to support the proposed 4,000 new local homes on the northern edge of Luton, this development also includes 20 hectares of employment land creating local jobs. The suggested new sub-regional Rail Freight Interchange would help transfer goods from the M1 to the Midland Mainline and beyond, shifting more freight from road to rail. It is anticipated that it could generate a further 1,000 jobs on 40 hectares of employment land.

A planning application for the new road is scheduled for submission in 2019. Subject to planning approval and securing funding, construction could commence in 2020. It is estimated that construction will take two years.

More information on the scheme is available at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/M1-A6.