Millions of pounds for new road schemes in Fengate to unlock thousands of jobs

Peterborough and Cambridgeshire’s mayoral body is set to progress on the next stage of a project which it is hoped will lead to between 6,000 and 8,000 new jobs.

The majority of these would be at Red Brick Farm in Fengate where a mixture of general industry, distribution and office units are expected to be built in the coming years.

To open up the site, the following road schemes would be progressed:

. Creation of a roundabout at the junction of Oxney Road/Edgerley Drain Road

. Traffic signal improvements (including an initial smart junctions trial) at the junction of Edgerley Drain Road/Storey’s Bar Road/Vicarage Farm Road

. Traffic signal improvements at Junction 7 of the Frank Perkins Parkway (Frank Perkins Parkway/Oxney Road/Eastfield Road)

. Creation of a third lane southbound on the A15 Paston Parkway approach to Junction 8 (Frank Perkins Parkway/A15 Paston Parkway/A1139 Eye Road/Parnwell Way).

Works could start in June 2021 beginning with construction of the new roundabout over a 14 week period.

This would be followed the remaining three schemes between October 2021 and 2022.

The programme is set to move forward after a strategic business case funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said funding for the schemes would be financially beneficial.

Its board is expected this week to sign off on another £270,000 to develop a Full Business Case for the project and a detailed design.

The combined authority believes the entire project will cost £7.5 million.

It said there is a need for intervention due to “existing peak hour congestion and associated delay that compromise local growth aspirations” and that the project will “support Peterborough’s growth agenda and facilitate development of the Red Brick Farm site”.

It also believes there will be reduced congestion and fewer accidents as well.

It is anticipated that the package of schemes will be jointly funded by the combined authority and developer contributions.

The combined authority stated: “The discussions between Peterborough City Council and Red Brick Farm are well advanced and is considered likely that a developer contribution will be secured towards the cost of the package of schemes, but the contribution is yet to be agreed.”