Northamptonshire County Council: £4m Highways England cash for A45

Northamptonshire County Council has received £4m for improvement work on the A45 near Hardingstone

A cash-strapped council will receive £4m to improve road infrastructure ahead of plans to build new homes.

Northamptonshire County Council will be axed in 2020 after it ran out of money amid a financial crisis last year.

The money - from Highways England's growth and housing fund - will be spent by the council on the Queen Eleanor, Brackmills and Great Billing junctions of the A45 in Northampton.

Work will commence in June, with completion slated for March 2021.

The improvements are near to the Hardingstone Homes England development where 750 homes are due to be built.

It is thought the work could ultimately enable the construction of up to 14,500 homes in the area - creating 3,000 jobs.

• Crisis council's former leader resigns

• The story behind the cash-crisis council

• Crisis council votes to scrap itself

Ian Morris, the county council's cabinet member for transport, highways and environment, said: "These are very important works for Northampton and the county as a whole as the infrastructure improvements to these busy parts of the road network will help accommodate housing development.

"This goes to show how good partnership working can be instrumental in bringing the improvements required that benefit the local economy."

The sections of the A45 around Northampton are among the busiest routes in Northamptonshire, carrying about 63,000 vehicles on weekdays.

When the county council closes next year - along with seven other Northamptonshire councils - two new unitary authorities will be formed in their place.