Isham A509 bypass scheme needs £6.518m before work on £116m road can begin

Before there are even spades in the ground, North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has had to seek funding of £4.346 million – to be boosted by £2.172 million from its own funds.

The £6.518 million would be used to create a detailed scheme design, progress land purchase negotiations and compulsory purchase procedures as well as seeking tenders to build the road.

Submitting an OBC to the Department for Transport is a routine stage for a major highways scheme and is done so the Government can check the project is still financially viable.

Cllr Matt Binley, NNC’s executive member for highways, travel and assets, said: “Submitting an Outline Business Case is an important milestone to reach for this project and I’m delighted to announce that we’ve made our submission to government.

“This scheme has been wanted by local residents for a very long time and we’re determined to make this a reality for them.

“The project has so many benefits not just for the local residents but more widely in unlocking the potential for growth and the associated economic spin offs from that.”

A new route for the bypass has been mapped out but it does not yet have planning permission and if NNC has to publish a compulsory purchase order to acquire land, objections could trigger a public inquiry.

Once the OBC has been submitted, the next stage would be to submit a Full Business Case to Government for the £116 million required to build the road.

Subject to planning permission - expected to go to committee early in 2025 - construction is currently programmed to start in April 2027 with the scheme opening in March 2029.

The current timeline is for construction of the road, which would be built from the Symmetry Park roundabout, running in a southerly direction and rejoining the A509 near Great Harrowden with a new roundabout at Hill Top Road, to start in spring 2027.

In August 2023, NNC estimated the new road would be ready by September 2028, but that date has slipped back another six months to March 2029.

Previously, the scheme once had £25 million earmarked – only to lose it because the remaining £15 million for the scheme couldn't be found.

In 2023, the then Conservative Government pledged to fully fund the bypass using cash from a scrapped leg of the HS2 rail network.

Cllr Jason Smithers, leader of NNC, added: “In my previous role as lead member for highways at the former county council, this was a key project for me and one I was determined to move forward. I’m thrilled to see it reach this stage - this project is one of our major priorities as a council and I’m determined that we see it through to completion.”

Stuart Andrew MP for Daventry, who represents Isham, said: “This has been long awaited by so many and I’m delighted it’s now reached this important milestone.

"I pay tribute to those who have worked so hard on this, and I will certainly be lobbying for the next phase to be implemented.

"Isham residents have had to put up with such heavy traffic for far too long, and this bypass is long overdue.”