Westmorland and Furness Council to buy land for A595 project

Leaders said the planned new stretch of road would improve business and reduce journey times

A council will force purchase land to build a new road bypassing a notorious bottleneck.

Westmorland and Furness Council is set to build an almost one mile (1.4km) stretch to bypass part of the existing A595 near Kirkby-in-Furness.

The road, between Chapels and Grizebeck, would replace the current route through Dove Ford Farm which suffers from serious delays.

The purchase has been agreed after planning permission was granted.

The A595 currently passes through a farm

The council requested permission for compulsory purchase orders to buy land to allow the construction, operation and maintenance of the project.

The council's cabinet met on Tuesday and unanimously agreed to approve the request, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). said.

Peter Thornton, who represents the Kendal Strickland and Fell ward, said the scheme would improve connections and be made to withstand extreme weather.

The proposed routed in yellow would bypass Dove Ford Farm

The Liberal Democrat councillor said, although the council now had permission to acquire the land when needed, it does not mean the scheme would go ahead.

The LDRS reported that the scheme is still dependent on central government funding, while no date for the work has yet been set.

Alyson Armett, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership board member, previously said the road would be a "key component of the county's transport infrastructure" and a "welcome boost to efforts to help grow Cumbria's economy and secure new investment opportunities".