Gloucestershire County Council has launched a statutory public consultation for its proposed M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme.

It is hoped the project will provide significant improvements to M5 Junction 10, a new road linking Junction 10 to West Cheltenham and widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road.

The statutory public consultation runs from today, December 8, until February 15, 2022. The council said feedback will be used to help refine its final scheme design, before developing its planning application for a Development Consent Order (DCO).

Feedback on the detailed proposals can be shared by completing the online survey at the bottom of this article. 

There will also be a series of consultation events, where the project team will present the scheme designs and answer questions:

Face-to-face events at Cheltenham West Community Fire and Rescue Station between 10am - 7pm on 14th December 2021 and at Hesters Way Community Resource Centre between 10am - 5pm on 15th January 2022.

Online events between 7pm - 8.30pm on 15th December 2021, between 2pm - 3.30pm on 13th January 2022, between 2pm - 3.30pm on 29th January 2022 and between 7pm - 8.30pm on 2nd February 2022.

Paper copies of the survey are also available from Cheltenham Library and Tewkesbury Library or can be requested by emailing M5Junction10@atkinsglobal.com. For assistance in completing the survey, call 01452 426256 (Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm, excluding weekends & bank holidays).

The statutory public consultation follows on from an options consultation on the scheme which was held in autumn 2020. 84 per cent of the options consultation respondents agreed there is a clear need for the scheme. 37 per cent of respondents favoured option 2, an all-movement junction in the location of the existing Junction 10. This was subsequently announced by the council as the preferred route on 16 June 2021.

Since then, design changes have been made as a result of public feedback and further technical work has been progressed.

Councillor David Gray, cabinet member for Environment and Planning, said: "We believe the design we are consulting on gives us the best opportunity to deliver a scheme which meets the current and future needs of its users and our local community. Your views during the statutory public consultation period are really important in helping us shape our final design, prior to submitting our planning application.

"Once complete, the scheme will deliver a number of benefits. These include: facilitating planned housing and employment developments; improving transport links within the local area and for motorway users; delivering measures which support the local environment; and providing dedicated cycle tracks and footways for non-motorised traffic."

The scheme will be funded through the council's successful bid to the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), for £249m for the M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme. Work has been ongoing since the funding announcement to produce a preferred layout, which is the subject of this statutory public consultation.

In addition, National Highways has also identified in their Birmingham to Exeter Route Strategy that improvements to M5 Junction 10 are a critical requirement to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the M5 corridor, whilst enabling planned development and economic growth around Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Tewkesbury.

Hannah Sanderson, programme manager for National Highways, said: "We are delighted to see the proposed M5 Junction 10 improvements progressing and are encouraging everyone to have their say on the design. The scheme will help ease congestion and improve the gateway into the South West, while also unlocking wider economic benefits to both local communities and the region as a whole.

"As well as supporting the scheme, we are especially proud of the work undertaken by the wider team to make sure there is minimum disruption to the environment, landscape and wildlife, as well promoting sustainable travel."

For more information about the statutory public consultation and to view the scheme proposals in more detail, visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/J10.