Government offer £7m for 'gateway' road schemes

The next stage of the repairs on Yeadon Way is set to go ahead after the Government confirmed £2.35m towards the scheme.
Yeadon Way is set for more refurbishment thanks to new cash released by the GovernmentYeadon Way is set for more refurbishment thanks to new cash released by the Government
Yeadon Way is set for more refurbishment thanks to new cash released by the Government

And the Government also announced that £5m is to be set aside for the long-awaited M55 link road between Peel and the Heyhouses area to connect Lytham and St Annes to the motorway.

Blackpool Council had bid earlier this year for extra funding for the major approach to the resort, to follow the repair work carried out in 2014 which lasted four months.

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Now it will have to foot £1m of the £3.35m total cost of the next stage.

The money for the two gateway schemes has come from the Department for Transport’s National Productivity Investment Fund designed to tackle pinch points across the country where traffic issues are holding up development that would boost the economy.

In the Fylde scheme, although £5m has been earmarked for the M55 link road scheme, the total cost is £21.46m so the rest would have to come from various sources. It would replace the Moss Road closed in 2014.

Blackpool North and Cleveleys Conservative MP Paul Maynard MP has welcomed the cash injection.

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He said: “I have long made the case that Yeadon Way is critical not only to the visitor economy but for local people.

"Alongside the proposed £100m investment in the A585 and the electrification of the main rail link this shows the continued commitment to back Blackpool and the Fylde coast.”

“Targeted schemes, meeting the specific needs of the town, can be a catalyst for jobs growth and investment, in sharp contrast to the Labour Government who raised regeneration hopes without delivering.”

Blackpool South Labour MP Gordon Marsden said: "“The Yeadon Way money is welcome and it will help ease congestion in the south of Blackpool area but it must be backed up with improvements on the Blackpool South rail line.”