Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has revealed plans to unlock the development of over 3,300 homes in South West England.

Up to £20 million of road improvement schemes will be carried out on the M4 and M5/A30 to help create new housing and over 6,000 jobs for residents in Swindon, Exeter and Weston-super-Mare.

In addition, details were also revealed for a £2.5m project on the A1 to boost economic growth in Darlington.

Details for the four schemes are:

• £5m for improvements to the intersection of the M4 Junction 15 and the A419 near Swindon. The project will unlocked one of the largest housing and commercial developments in the country, with construction to start in 2018.

• £4.5m to deliver the A30 / M5 J29 Tithebarn Link Road, which will release three housing and employment sites. Features include a new cycle bridge over the M5 and a new link road connected to the M30. The scheme is supported by £4.6m in developer contributions and will open in March 2019.


• £750,000 funding to improve the northbound M5 at Junction 21, near Weston-super-Mare. This will support the 'Weston Villages' development of 6,000 new homes and the creation of 4,000 new jobs. Developers are investing £450,000 and the scheme will be completed in 2018.

• Over £1m to improve junction 58 of the A1(M) at Darlington, unlocking two development sites which could see the construction of 1,200 homes and create 5,000 new jobs in 2017. Improvements include upgrades to the A68 Rotary Way roundabout and the West Park Garden Village Link Road. These schemes will be delivered in March 2018 and are supported by £1.46m of contributions from the developer.

Highways England is investing over £11m in these four schemes from its £100m Growth and Housing Fund, with private sector developer contributions making up the rest.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We're undertaking the biggest modernisation programme for a generation to bring our roads into the 21st century and give people the safe and reliable journeys they expect. But these improvements will do even more – allowing the construction of thousands of homes and the creation of thousands of jobs to give a huge boost to the area's economy."

Jim O'Sullivan, Highways England Chief Executive, added: "The improvements we are announcing today are necessary to accommodate the extra journeys the developments will create but without the Government investment they would not have been viable. We will continue to use our Growth and Housing Fund and work with a range of local stakeholders to unlock further development sites around the country."

(LM/CD)