Pleas have been made to Prime Minister Andy Burnham to provide the vital funding needed for a major upgrade of an M5 junction in Gloucestershire.
Highways chiefs have been working on a project to provide a new junction 9a to the south of Tewkesbury and re-reroute a section of the A46 between the M5 and the Teddington Hands roundabout.
Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) sees the “traffic busting” scheme as vital in solving the long standing issues by providing vital infrastructure to meet existing and future needs in the area.
The project was previously estimated in 2024 to cost between £740m and £930m and will also help with the creation of up to 25,000 homes at Tewkesbury Garden Communities and provide at least 100 hectares of employment land.
Liberal Democrat councillor Julian Tooke (Pittville and St Paul’s), who is responsible for planning and infrastructure at Shire Hall, made a direct plea to the country’s new Labour prime minister during a cabinet meeting this week.
“Our new Prime Minister has been very clear that he believes local communities should say what they want and be listened to,” he said.
“GCC, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucester City Council have been very clear that they want Junction 9a and they want the Ashchurch bypass.
“So Andy Burnham, please listen, please do.
“You’ve also been very clear, Mr Burnham, that you want housing and you want infrastructure.
“Well, we believe passionately that housing and infrastructure should go together.
“We also know that words are cheap. But unfortunately, infrastructure isn’t, so we need funding for this.
“I feel so passionately about this. I really want a decision to be made as soon as possible so that we know where we are.
“Please stop keeping us hanging on. It’s not fair.”
Cllr Tooke said the investment is needed because it unlocks land for housing and new employment sites which would focus on advanced manufacturing and defence.
He also said it will strengthen a nationally important route which links the Midlands with the South West and “residents have been saying for ages ‘we want a bypass’.
“It’s about quality of life,” he said.
He went on to say now Reform councillor Vernon Smith’s previous Conservative administration spent £15m on the scheme.
“Since I got involved, I’ve said hang on a minute, we are spending a lot of money, can we be careful about how we spend money,” he said.
“And actually slow down if necessary.”
He said he asked officers to revise their recommendation to sign off another £2m. And instead they will cap spending on works for the project at £534,000 until the end of September when they should get a decision from the Government.
“We weren’t comfortable with that because this Government keeps us hanging on,” he said.
“We don’t want to spend more money unnecessarily. However, we cannot let this project grind to a halt.
“Hopefully we will get approval from the Government.
“If we haven’t got the approval from the Government, again, we will have to go back and seek approval and discuss it.”
Cllr Tooke said the funding is coming from the community infrastructure levy and thanked the councils in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester for their support.
Reform UK group leader Vernon Smith (Tewkesbury West) said officers and councillors spent years of hard work getting the Junction 9 scheme to this point.
“Since May 2025 the Liberal Democrats have given us nothing but dither and delay.
“Residents in Tewkesbury and Ashchurch need this project to relieve congestion, and they deserve an administration that can be trusted to deliver it.”
By Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for Gloucestershire. carmelo.garcia@reachplc.com
*The Raikes Journal is the only independent news outlet in Gloucestershire approved to use the copy of the BBC local government reporting service. Why? Only independent, credible journalistically-led platforms that meet the BBC’s high standards win that permission.