Telford & Wrekin Council campaign for M54 link

A campaign is being launched by a council to persuade the government to build a direct link from the M54 to the M6 northbound and the M6 Toll.

Telford & Wrekin Council in Shropshire said it knew from business leaders that the "lack of connectivity" affected decisions on investment.

Roads Minister Mike Penning said it was reviewing the link as a scheme which potentially could begin after 2015.

He said results of the review would be announced "as soon as possible".

Time right

Traffic from the M54, which goes through Telford in Shropshire, currently moves directly on to the M6 southbound in Staffordshire.

Council leader Kuldip Sahota is expected to be joined by MPs and local business leaders at the launch of the campaign near the M54 at 12:00 GMT on Friday.

The authority said it believed the time was right for the link to be set up after plans were announced to build a £350m Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) facility at the i54 business park near the motorway close to Wolverhampton.

JLR has said it was creating up to 750 jobs at the site on the Staffordshire-Wolverhampton border.

'Writing to authorities'

Mr Sahota said: "We will be writing to the secretary of state for transport asking for a meeting with her to discuss this project and its importance to our part of the West Midlands.

"I am also writing to all neighbouring authorities to join us in supporting the scheme."

Mr Penning said: "The government is committed to improving transport across the whole of the country.

"But to make sure that we can deliver as much as possible we have had to focus our efforts on those schemes which provide best value for money.

"In conducting the review we have been looking again at the scheme options and business case to ensure these remain the most appropriate and up to date."