A47 EARL SHILTON BYPASS

The aim of the Bypass is to improve conditions along the A47 in Earl Shilton by removing through traffic and congestion. This will enable complementary improvements to be made to the town centre, including HGV weight restrictions in order to provide a safe, accessible and environmentally more attractive place for the local community.The planning application drawings, cross section and elevations set out the scheme proposals in detail and the environmental statement assesses the impact of the scheme over a wide range of issues from air quality to landscape. A public exhibition of the planning application drawings will be held on 14 and 15 February 2003 at the St Johns Methodist Church Hall, Wood Street, Earl Shilton where representatives of the County Council will be available to answer questions. This supporting statement seeks to explain the important issues that have been investigated leading up to the planning application. These can be summarised under the headings of:-

An exhibition and public consultation exercise was held in October 2001. Over 8,000 leaflets were distributed within the area of Earl Shilton and a total of 1164 visitors attended the exhibition. The large number of questionnaires returned showed an overwhelming support for the Bypass. The analysis showed that 81% of respondents support the need for the Bypass as the first step towards improving the Earl Shilton town centre for the local community.

As part of the consultation process and in response to two petitions received, the local residents action group requested that an alternative layout be considered that restricts access to the Bypass to its terminal points only. The detailed evaluation of this alternative demonstrated that it would be inferior to the Preferred Scheme in terms of traffic relief to the town, it would be environmentally more damaging and would also cost significantly more to construct. As a result, the Preferred Scheme (forming the basis of the planning application) was approved by Cabinet at its meeting on 3 December 2002.

Elmesthorpe Lane will provide a connection to the Bypass for the villages to the south of Earl Shilton and the section of this road between Wilkinson Lane and the Bypass is predicted to carry an increase in traffic flow. Because of the poor alignment, it is proposed to widen and improve both the carriageway and footway and provide additional signing to warn drivers approaching the Wilkinson Lane/ Elmesthorpe Lane junction. To lessen the impact of traffic noise quiet surfacing materials will be use in the construction of the improved road.

The southern stretch of Station Road approaching the Bypass is also predicted to carry additional traffic. To mitigate any adverse effects, traffic management measures are being developed and these will be displayed at a separate public exhibition. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, these measures will be implemented as part of the overall scheme proposals.

The background to these issues is fully explained in the Report submitted to Cabinet on 3 December 2002.

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The Report is also available from the County Council offices (telephone 0116 305 7210).