Letter to the Prime Minister on the A46 Newark Bypass and the proposed cancellation and the need for immediate reconsideration

A46 Newark Bypass – Proposed cancellation and the need for immediate reconsideration

Dear Prime Minister

On behalf of Newark and Sherwood District Council, may I congratulate you on your new role and sincerely wish you a fair wind.

Although you have only been Prime Minister for a few days, I must bring to your attention a matter that has profoundly disappointed all Councillors across all parties at Newark and Sherwood District Council. We are asking you to intervene directly and use your influence to ensure the proposed cancellation of the A46 Newark Bypass is urgently reconsidered before any final decision is made. 

While this was not a decision taken under your leadership, cancelling this development has shocked us all.  

Firstly, I need to inform you of the unacceptable manner in which local and regional leaders learned of the proposed cancellation of the A46 Newark Bypass. Virtually no notice was given and no meaningful consultation was taken and the Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, was informed only moments before the news became public, leaving no opportunity for engagement, discussion or consideration of the wider implications for our communities, businesses and regional economy.

This approach falls far short of the partnership that Government should be demonstrating towards local and regional leaders. I hope, with your new leadership, this relationship and communication between national and local government can improve and we can build a stronger economy for the whole of the country.

The A46 Newark Bypass is not simply another road scheme. It is a nationally significant infrastructure project that has been many years in the making. It has secured an approved Development Consent Order late last year and was announced as funded and committed as part of the Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) as recently as March this year.   

The project has unparalleled support from local authorities, highway authorities, businesses and political leaders across party lines. From the Humber Ports to Tewkesbury, organisations have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in recognising the critical importance of addressing one of the most significant bottlenecks on the country's strategic road network. The scheme is widely regarded as the number one transport priority for the East Midlands affecting towns and cities such as Nottingham, Lincoln, Sheffield, Derby and many more directly affecting more than five million people.  

A key theme of your new leadership has been the need to move focus, investment and opportunity beyond the capital and into communities that have too often been overlooked. The East Midlands is exactly the kind of area where that promise must now be felt.

The A46 Newark Bypass is not a desirable extra; it is essential infrastructure investment that will unlock growth, improve connectivity, support housing delivery and demonstrate that government is serious about backing places like ours. Economic growth in every postcode, hope in our hearts.

I acknowledge and welcome the statement from Government that no final decision has yet been taken and that a consultation process will follow but we cannot delay on this. Every second we waste pushes this further down the line and only increases cost. 

I must stress that the case for this scheme has never been stronger. The East Midlands has suffered chronic underinvestment in transport infrastructure for decades. Regional evidence demonstrates that transport spending in the East Midlands remains substantially below the national average, despite the region's significant contribution to the UK economy.   

Anyone who regularly uses the A46 experiences the reality every day: severe congestion, lengthy delays, unreliable journey times, pressure on local roads and growing constraints on economic activity. Without the bypass, these issues will continue to worsen. Residents will face ongoing disruption, businesses will continue to experience lost productivity, and opportunities for investment and growth across Newark, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands will be unnecessarily constrained. The argument that the East Midlands should lose one of its most important infrastructure investments at precisely the moment when Government is pursuing growth, productivity and housing delivery is deeply concerning.   

Prime Minister let me be candid, Newark and Sherwood District Council and many other councils will not quietly accept the loss of this scheme. We will continue to work closely with the Mayor of the East Midlands, East Midlands Councils, the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor, Nottinghamshire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, our Members of Parliament and partners across industry to make the strongest possible case for its retention and delivery. We are committed to speaking with one voice and ensuring Government fully understands the local, regional and national consequences of abandoning this project. 

We are therefore asking for three clear outcomes:

• that the proposed cancellation is paused pending meaningful engagement with local and regional leaders;
• that the A46 Newark Bypass remains within RIS3 as a committed scheme; and
• that Government provides a clear timetable for its delivery at the earliest possible opportunity during the RIS3 period without delay. 

Anything less risks condemning another generation of residents and businesses to suffer avoidable congestion, reduced productivity and constrained growth. 

Finally, the Mayor of the East Midlands is seeking a meeting with Ministers, which we fully support and would be willing to host in conjunction with the Mayor. We ask that you support this meeting, ensure it takes place as a matter of urgency, and provide written assurance that no final decision will be made until local and regional leaders have had a meaningful opportunity to present the full economic, transport and housing case for retaining the scheme. We look forward to engaging constructively through the consultation process, but we are clear that consultation must be genuine, informed and capable of influencing the final outcome. 

We look forward to receiving your response.

Yours faithfully,

Councillor Paul Peacock

on behalf of Newark and Sherwood District Council