Gedling village relief road plans approved

The relief road will be built through the Gedling old colliery site and the grounds of a school

Plans have been approved for a £32.4m relief road for a Nottinghamshire village.

The scheme to take traffic away from Gedling was unanimously given the go-ahead at a meeting on Thursday.

The two-and-a-half mile road will be built through the old colliery site and the grounds of Carlton Le Willows Academy.

Campaigners, including the school, said the road would mean a loss of green space and could put children at risk.

Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke said: "The road is key to relieving traffic congestion and unlocking a really important regeneration opportunity of this important coalfield site."

The planned route, from Mapperley Plains to Burton Joyce, has a junction close to the Carlton Le Willows school and would cut through its playing fields.

'Appropriate solution'

In total, the application received 106 objections from residents and businesses, including concerns over a crossing close to the academy.

Carlton Le Willows' head teacher Craig Weaver said: "We were hoping the decision would be deferred until such time a more detailed arrangement had been agreed for the crossing."

He said a condition of the approval was that officials would work with the school to find an "appropriate solution".

The school, which has 1,400 pupils, said the loss of a playing field to make way for the road would also have a negative impact.

Residents raised concerns about the visual impact of the road.

Officials said this would be mitigated over time by landscaping.

Work could start next spring.