Preston M55 link road will unlock housing growth, county council says

Edith Rigby Way links the A583 with junction 2 of the M55

A new £207m link between two major roads will unlock areas of a city for housing development, a council leader has said.

Edith Rigby Way, which opened to the west of Preston on Monday, links the A583 with the M55

Lancashire County Council (LCC) said it would allow about 6,000 homes to be built over the next 20 years.

Leader Phillippa Williamson said it would lead to countywide benefits and would not only "impact" Preston.

The road, which has been named after a Preston suffragette, took four years to be completed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

LCC said the "new road capacity", which also included building William Young Way and Avice Pimblett Way, would:

• Provide direct access to new housing developments

• Reduce congestion on the road network

• Improve access to the M55

• Improve existing roads and local centres

• Promote walking and cycling

• Support delivery of a proposed railway station at Cottam

Ms Williamson said it would "unlock huge areas of Preston in terms of housing development" and would also reduce "strain" on the area's road network.

"Some people say this is only going to impact people in Preston, [but] that's just not true," she said.

"It will obviously benefit people locally... but the opportunities that it opens up for economic development and for housing across the county are considerable."

The LDRS said the project was originally costed at an estimated £104m, but in 2019, as work started, that figure was raised to £207m.

Funding for it was provided by the Department for Transport and the Lancashire Growth Deal, with further funding coming from Lancashire County Council, National Highways and Lancashire City Deal.

David Borrow, Preston City Council's cabinet member for planning, said the city had "a growth mentality... in terms of wanting the best for the future".

"Preston continues to change and grow - if we leave it as it is, it'll diminish and die," he said.

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