Plan to build £100m link road round Featherstone to be discussed

Plans for the road will go before the council's Cabinet next week.

Senior Wakefield councillors are set to sign off extra funding for a new link road around the south of Featherstone.

The idea, it is hoped, will cut traffic in Featherstone, Pontefract and Ackworth and help those areas cope with an influx of new homes over the coming years.

The scheme could also stimulate the jobs market, with up to 2,000 new roles possibly being created around the Five Towns and Leeds because of the road, a council report says.

The proposals are still a long way off reality, with a public consultation and the drawing up of a business case due to take place over the next couple of years.

The report said: "Delivery of the scheme will result in the removal of traffic congestion from Featherstone, Pontefract and Ackworth town centres, resulting in improved journey times and reliability.

"The scheme will deliver better connectivity for all modes, including buses, providing better opportunities for local people to access employment."

The council's Cabinet is set to sign off on an extra £590,000 of regional funding for the scheme at a meeting on Tuesday, but the report says, "The current estimated of the total project costs to completion is £103m."

Local Democracy Reporting Service