Labour’s endless dither and delay have cost £millions
Cheshire East Conservatives have today welcomed the news that the Middlewich bypass has finally been approved by the Government. The news means that work on the bypass should start soon, and once completed the bypass will have a massive positive impact on Middlewich residents.
But the news raises significant questions about the costs of the endless delays to the project. Thanks to the work of the previous Conservative administration at Cheshire East, and the previous Conservative Member of Parliament, Fiona Bruce, plans were approved and funding was in place for the bypass to go ahead five years ago. The plans were then shelved by Labour and the Independents when they took control of Cheshire East Council in May 2019, and years of dither and delay by the cash-strapped Council resulted in a massive increase in the costs of the by pass.
In October 2023, Cheshire East Council submitted a revised business case for Government funding for the bypass, but more incompetence from Labour and the Independents meant that they failed to meet the basic requirements of such funding. The result was further delay and further cost increases. The Council then submitted a further revised business case a year later, in September 2024. It has taken the Labour Government nine months to make a final decision to approve funding. The by pass is now likely to cost twice as much as originally planned.
Cllr Mike Sewart, the Conservative Opposition spokesperson on the Council’s Highways and Transport Committee, said:
“This was shovel-ready before Labour and the Independents took control of the Council. It should have been built and open by now. It is excellent news that the by pass is finally going ahead, but Labour’s delays have come at a multi-million pound cost of Cheshire East residents.”
Cllr Stewart Gardiner, Leader of the Conservative Opposition Group on Cheshire East Council, said:
“We have repeatedly raised significant concerns about how the Council manages its capital programme, which includes major road projects like the Middlewich bypass. The Council needs to learn from its systemic failures on this project, failures that have doubled the cost and delayed by six years, the completion of this desperately needed bypass.”
“We now need assurances that all of the requirements, permissions and contracts are in place so that there are no further delays or additional costs for this project.”
Press contacts:
Cllr Stewart Gardiner, (CEC Conservative Group Leader: Opposition)
Cllr Chris O’Leary, (Sutton Ward)
