New road around Kibworth villages earmarked by county council

The authority, which is responsible for managing the county’s roads, has put forward a number of proposals for relieving traffic pressure in key areas. These early plans have come forward in response to concerns from local communities, councillors and MPs.

And one of those key areas identified is the Kibworth area.

Officers said early work suggests “a new road around the (Kibworth) villages is the only solution to address the current traffic problems and suitably mitigate future growth”.

Highways capacity is “no longer appropriate” to support expected population growth in the coming years, Leicestershire County Council has said. As such, “significant investment” will be needed to ensure the roads can cope with new housing developments, with the authority saying there is “no magic bullet” for meeting the increased need.

Another project being considered is a new route from the A47 East to a new potential new junction to the south of Junction 21 of the M1. This would be aimed at relieving pressure at the junction and in south Leicestershire, with officers labelling it “essential” to enable the delivery of the amount of housing and employment developments planned in the area and particularly in Blaby district.

Finally, the council is looking at bringing forward the long-touted Eastern District Distributor Road, originally intended to be built in the 1990s. The previous plan for the route would have seen it form part of the missing stretch of the A563 Outer District Distributor Road between the A47 East and A6 South.

Officers said the scheme would look at how the route could address problems on the A6 corridor through Oadby and how it might be used to reduce traffic travelling on less suitable routes in the area.

Officers have warned, however, that the “nature and scale” of the new transport infrastructure needed in Leicestershire is “not deliverable in the short-term”, with these projects being proposed as a longer-term solution to be brought forward over the “next decades. They added: “It is difficult to see how, in the shorter term, it will be possible to avoid continued further traffic impacts on local communities.”

The county council is expecting the population of Leicestershire to increase by 23 per cent to 830,618 by 2043. A total of 5,892 new homes need to be built each year in Leicester and Leicestershire to meet Government-set targets.

Cllr Phil King, county councillor for the Gartree Division, said the decision for Kibworth was a step in the right direction, but past failures must not be repeated.

"A more strategic, joined-up approach to growth is long overdue,” he said.

However, Cllr King warned that residents in Great Glen, Kibworths, Newton Harcourt, Burton Overy, Wistow, were already living with the consequences of planning decisions that relied on infrastructure which never materialised.

“The Council’s own report admits there are no simple fixes for congestion and that a road around the Kibworth villages is the only realistic long-term solution. But it remains unfunded and years away.”

He also questioned proposals for major new schemes, including a possible A47–M1 link at Junction 20a.

“Even if technically possible, the question remains: where are the billions to pay for it?

“Communities deserve honesty and protection while long-term solutions are worked through."