MPs call on government to fully dual A47 in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire as part of ‘infrastructure revolution’

Paul Bristow is a co-signatory of a letter being sent to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps by MPs which makes a strong economic case for government investment in the road from Wansford in Peterborough to Wisbech.

The MPs claim by making much-needed improvements by 2025 to the road across the East of England there could be a boost of 75,000 new jobs, 125,000 homes and an uplift to the economy of £300 million.

Reduced congestion and improved safety are also put forward as additional benefits.

Other signatories to the letter include North East Cambridgeshire MP Steve Barclay - whose constituency covers Fenland - and MPs from across the region.

Outlining their case, they wrote: “The A47 is the main east-west economic corridor in East Anglia. As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have publicly recognised during their recent visits to the area and in the House (of Commons), dualling the A47 is vital to support existing businesses and attract more jobs and investment, to improve connectivity, to reduce congestion, to increase journey reliability, to reduce fatalities, and to unlock much needed housing growth in transport corridors.”

The benefits of securing investment on the road would also include £40 million in regional markets by reducing delays and a £200 million boost in productivity, they claim.

The Peterborough Telegraph revealed in 2018 that the stretch of the road from Thorney to Guyhirn (which is largely a single carriageway) was seeing a collision on average nearly every five days.

This included a fatal crash involving a lorry and bus earlier that year which left two people dead.

Highways England has committed to dualling the road between Wansford and Sutton - with works scheduled to start this autumn - on top of an improvement of the roundabout at the A47/A141 junction in Guyhirn, but the MPs in their letter are calling for the road to be dualled in its entirety to Walton Highway, east of Wisbech.

They state: “We agree with the Prime Minister that this is the right moment for an infrastructure revolution in this country. It is vital that the A47 as an essential part of our national infrastructure is upgraded to promote and accelerate national growth and prosperity across East Anglia.”

The plea from the MPs, which has also been sent to the Chancellor Sajid Javid, is for the Government to include the full dualling of the A47 in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in the Road Infrastructure Strategy for 2020-25.

They add that there is a “common goal” for the road to be dualled from the A1 in Peterborough to Lowestoft in Suffolk by 2030.

A similar call for full dualling in the county was made to Mr Shapps back in December by the A47 Alliance which represents businesses, local authorities, local economic partnerships, MPs and other interested parties.