November 12, 2014 4.24 pm This story is over 112 months old

Lincoln MP meets with Chancellor to discuss Eastern Bypass “dualling”

Dualling discussion: Karl McCartney spoke with George Osbourne in order to put forward a funding case for the Eastern Bypass.
Karl McCartney with George Osbourne

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer this week to put forward the case of dualling the £96m Lincoln Eastern Bypass.

The meeting with Rt Hon George Osborne MP comes before the announcement of the Autumn Statement on December 3, where McCartney hopes to press the need for a dual carriageway on the Eastern Bypass.

The government agreed funding support of £50 million towards the project, with the County Council contributing £14 million, and acting as ‘guarantor’ to underwrite the £33 million third party funded element to help reduce delays.

The initial plans proposed a £112 million dual-carriageway relief road, but this shifted to a single-carriageway due to spending cuts in 2011.

Work on the project is set to start in 2015.

Karl McCartney MP said: “I was delighted with the Chancellor’s response to the arguments I put to him in favour of the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, and indeed the additional argument that investing more in dualling the new road now would be an infrastructure investment well worth making as our city expands and goes from strength to strength economically.

“I told the Chancellor Mr Osborne that virtually everyone in our city and county believes that the Eastern Bypass should be dualled now, rather than in stages potentially over the next 50 years, with the cost differential being well worth the investment now rather than later.

“No one wants the LEP or others having to scrabble around for local funding to dual bits of Bypass as Lincolnshire County Council have been doing (to their credit) with regard to our Western Bypass since it was built 20 years ago.

“The Chancellor listened very carefully and was left in no doubt that, particularly given the delay we are now experiencing, the Eastern Bypass needs to be built in any form.

“I also let him and his colleagues know that any approval for dualling the Lincoln Eastern Bypass will be hugely welcomed. I shall, of course, continue to press our case in this regard to my colleagues in our Conservative-led Government from the Chancellor of the Exchequer down.”