Cash row puts long-awaited Melton Mowbray bypass plan in danger

Melton faces a large number of cars and lorries using its roads

A row between two councils has put plans for a long-awaited bypass in doubt.

After decades of talk, a relief road around Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, was finally given the go-ahead in 2018.

Now £15m of government cash for the project could be rejected as the county and Melton borough councils argue over taking financial risk for the project.

Melton MP Alicia Kearns said losing the funding would mean letting down the people of the town.

Concerns about how to pay for the southern section of what is officially known as the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road - MMDR - have been growing for more than a year.

Resident Keith Goodacre said he was fed up with waiting for the road to be built

The initial £50m price tag for the project would mainly be borne by the county council.

But much of the cost would be recouped by payments from developers who build houses along the route, subject to approval by the planning authority - Melton Borough Council.

Now the county council's cabinet, which meets next week, looks set to reject the government cash - saying it had "not been possible" to reach agreement with the borough council about locking in guarantees the money would be recouped.

County council leader Nick Rushton said the authority needed to know it would get the money back

County council leader Nick Rushton said: "We are in favour of development but we want to develop communities.

"At the moment we haven't got the money, we are relying on a third party to collect the money for us and we have not been able to reach an agreement on the guarantees to collect that money."

Borough council leader Joe Orson said the county council should trust them to deliver the funding.

"Our track record is of paying the council 99.8% over the past years - the record is there," he said.

"We have fallen away with one application for 15 affordable homes but otherwise our track record is second to none.

"The county council are valued partners and we will do everything we can to make this work," he said.

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There is impatience in the town, with resident Keith Goodacre saying: "It's time they got it sorted out.

"It's been going on a long, long while - are we going to get this bypass or ain't we?"

Ms Kearns said the larger council was being unfair on the borough and local residents.

"I understand that Leicestershire County Council has concerns about finances, that's why I am fighting for them to get more money.

"But I think its really wrong of them to be transferring blame onto a borough council that has a budget 100 times smaller than their own.

"My message to them is please accept those funds, don't slam the door in the government's face and don't let down the people of Melton."