Pork Pie Way to open on Monday - now where's the rest of it?

It was confirmed yesterday (Thursday) during a Ministerial preview of the North East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road that the new 4.4 mile route will open fully to traffic on Monday morning (18th May).

The question remains around the southern part of the route and whether we'll need to wait another 60+ years for this section to be built or if plans are underway to find some money.

The current section, now formally named 'Pork Pie Way', has cost double the initial estimate and the final bill will now come in around £131m, with some reports suggesting it could rise to £134m due to inflation and the rise in recent construction costs. The money has come from a combination of government grants, local council investment, and private developer contributions.

But some local residents argue that the new route from A606 Nottingham Road to Burton Road won't help traffic flow and the southern section from Burton Road to Leicester Road and beyond is the more important section.

During the preview event we put some questions to those who may have some answers on what is being done to secure more funding for the other part.

The final roundabout on Burton Road. Photo: Galiford Try.

Leader of Leicestershire County Council Councillor Dan Harrison said: "Well, I think we're enjoying the day, we're enjoying our success. We know this is a natural evolution, but to start saying it can be this, it can be that, we don't know. There's a lot involved. Obviously, seeking funding is critical, so we've got to get the right funding in, but, you know, they're knocking on an open door. Anything I can do or anything the council can do, we will do to support it."

With all the potential development of housing on and around the new development and the planned development South of Melton under the Melton Local Plan, would it be that these new Council Tax contributors will then fund a new road? How many houses need to be built before they can use this money to fund a new road for the south of the town?

Chairman of Leicestershire County Council Dan Harrison addressing the invited guests. Photo: NEMM

Mr Harrison said: "It's Government money separate to Council Tax. The grant is the grant from Government, which we are one of the worst funded grant authorities, upper tier authorities in the whole of the country. So we would have to look at it. We would need grant, we'd need money from government to help us with this because we had to find money to get this through and it's been a big hard struggle and obviously builders have supported it, so there's a lot of people."

He added: "So if builders want to build and they're prepared to help support it, it's going to be one of those projects. But, you know, if they knock on the door and say, look, we want to do it, what can we do? Happy to help."

We also put to the Leader what went so wrong with the initial estimate for the project to be delivered at such a cost.

Mr Harrison said: "Well, I don't know. I'm not a builder, I'm not a contractor. But it would have been contracted in the normal way through tender and the council and the officers would have come forward with what was most appropriate one, and decisions were made on that.

So it's all open and honest. I mean, to suggest there's anything wrong sounds a bit, you know, that sounds awful, because there is a proper process. It isn't one person who makes these decisions."

The project has been so long in the making there have been four MPs during its time. Michael Latham in 1983, Sir Alan Duncan from 1992 and Alicia Kearns in 2019. More recently Ed Argar the new MP for Syston and Melton following the local government boundary review.

Alicia and Ed were present at the pre-opening of the road on Thursday.

Melton & Syston MP Ed Argar and his predecessor now Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns pictured at the event. Photo: NEMM

We put similiar questions to Syston and Melton MP Edward Argar on what he is doing to secure more funding for other part of the road.

Mr Argar said: "We've seen the ministerial preview, essentially the pre opening of this completed northern eastern section which will make a big difference for Melton Mowbray. But you're absolutely right, I want to press forward with securing funding for the southern section to complete the job."

"We saw potential funding pre election that was taken away when the Government changed.

County Hall have been clear they don't have the money to be able to do another project of this scale southernly. So we've got to look at other options."

"Now part of that may well come from the development that in the local plan is scheduled for the southern part of Melton and whether we can do that with developers contributions.

But I'll also be continuing to press the Government, particularly the Minister who has seen for himself today this fantastic road and trying to persuade him to put more money our way to complete the job."

When asked about the project costing double the estimate Mr Argar said it's important that we look carefully at where the money has gone.

Pork Pie Way will open in sections with it being fully open to traffic on Monday. Photo: NEMM

He said: "Well, that I think will be a question for County Hall or indeed for the Department for Transport. My understanding is it's taken a long time but during that period we've seen a number of things change. We've seen global factors pushing up the cost of raw materials, pushing up the cost of the labour to deliver projects like this and the demand for that labour."

The MP also added that some local factors added to the cost.

Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood MP. Photo: NEMM

He said: "We've also seen, as I understand it locally around here, some very specific local factors in terms of flooding, in terms of things that have been discovered as they've been building the road which have added to that cost.

So I think it is important that where that money has gone is looked at carefully and I'm sure County Hall and the department will be looking very carefully at how it was spent and making sure that it was all spent wisely.

I suspect though that that increase in cost is down to those external factors and what we've seen going on around the world, but also some of what's been found locally as they built this."

The road will be open in sections from Sunday evening while final testing takes place and the road will fully open to traffic on Monday morning.

We have approached the Department of Transport for comment.