A417 Missing Link Supplementary Consultation - October 2020

Overview

Investing in your roads

At Highways England we believe in a connected country and our network makes these connections happen. We strive to improve our major roads and motorways – engineering the future to keep people moving today and moving better tomorrow.

We want to make sure all our major roads are more dependable, durable and, most importantly, safe. That’s why we’re investing in our network as part of the government’s 2015-2020 Road Investment Strategy  to ensure it can deliver the performance needed to support road users in the 21st century.

The A417 is a critical part of this investment that aims  to to improve journeys between Brockworth and Cowley, which will in turn benefit the local and regional economy. We are committed to delivering the A417 Missing Link scheme, with the support of central government, who confirmed funding as part of their 2020 - 2025 Road Investment Strategy. 

Our proposals

The A417/A419 provides an important route between Gloucester, Cheltenham and Swindon that helps connect the West Midlands and the north to the south of England via the M5 and M4 motorways. While most of the A417 route is dual carriageway, there is one section that isn’t. Known as the Missing Link, this three-mile stretch of single carriageway between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout severely restricts the flow of traffic.

We plan to build 3.4 miles (5.5km) of new dual carriageway, which will considerably improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion and improve connectivity for road users and local communities, while unlocking economic growth in Gloucestershire and beyond.

Since our last consultation in 2019, we’ve made some changes to the scheme’s design which will further enhance local connectivity and accessibility and reduce the scheme’s impact on communities, the environment and the local landscape. You can view our response to our 2019 public consultation here. 

Now it’s your chance to have a further say on our updated proposals. Over the next four weeks between 13 October and 12 November 2020 we are consulting further on our proposals to improve the A417 Missing Link, a single lane stretch of carriageway between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout in Gloucestershire. While we welcome feedback on the entire scheme, the changes we’re seeking feedback on are:

• New crossings: Cotswold Way and Gloucestershire Way crossings
• The change in gradient of the A417 as it climbs the escarpment near Crickley Hill
• The design of Cowley junction
• The rerouting of the B4070 to Birdlip via Barrow Wake
• Improvements for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, including disabled users
• The replacement of common land, which is a type of green space. We’re also consulting on the change in environmental effects as a result of the new design. For further information see pages 17-21 of our supplementary consultation brochure.

All of our consultation materials related to this supplementary public consultation can be found at the bottom of this page. 

Share your views

You can have your say on our proposals by completing our consultation questionnaire by clicking the link below.   

Alternatively, you can send us your views using the following methods:

• Freepost: download a copy of the supplementary consultation questionnaire, print it out and return it to us for free by sending it to: FREEPOST A417 MISSING LINK.  You do not need to use a stamp however please make sure that the address is written in capital letters              
• Email – download a copy of the supplementary consultation questionnaire, complete it and email it  to: a417missinglink@highwaysengland.co.uk    

How to get involved

These are unprecedented times in terms of public health and Covid-19. In order to keep our staff and members of the public safe, we’ve taken our supplementary public consultation online. We’ve tried to ensure that information is accessible to all, and that people can easily respond and give feedback. For the most up-to-date information about what we’re doing and how you can get involved, visit our scheme webpage or call us on 0300 183 5000.

As well as reading our Supplementary Consultation Brochure, we’d encourage you to visit our online exhibition room and use its web chat function to speak to members of our Project Team.

Online exhibition and web chat

To keep everyone safe, we’re currently unable to hold local events. One of the best ways to find out about our proposals is to visit our online exhibition room and join our web chat. Here, you can learn more about the changes, study detailed plans and put your questions to our team via our webchat function. Click here to access our online consultation exhibition. 

There are dedicated times when you can chat with members of the Project Team who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Online Q&A events

We’re also hosting five live question and answer events on Microsoft Teams with our Project Team, focusing on different topics and specialist areas. At these events, our Project Team will give a short presentation and then take questions from attendees. You can submit your questions using the chat function, which can be used anonymously. To register for one of these events email: a417missinglink@highwaysengland.co.uk.

If you would like access to a British Sign Language interpreter during any of our online Q&A events you can through SignLive, the online video interpreting service that allows Deaf people to communicate with anyone, anywhere and at any time by connecting them with a qualified interpreter. For more information, visit SignLive online at https://signlive.co.uk/. 

Consultation materials

Supporting materials related to this supplementary consultation can be accessed at the bottom of this page, however paper copies are also available upon request. Contact our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or email a417missinglink@highwaysengland.co.uk and we will send these to you free of charge.

You can view our Preliminary Environmental Information (PEI) Report on this page. If you would like to order copies of these documents you can request them from our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 to arrange payment. These can incur a cost of up to £200 per document (including printing, postage and VAT); we will provide more details should you require a copy of any of these documents.

Suggested reading

Below is a list of suggested reading materials to help support your understanding of our proposals.

Why your views matter

Supplementary preliminary design consultation

We’ve listened to your feedback from our 2019 consultation and have made some changes to the scheme. These changes will further enhance local connectivity, accessibility and reduce the scheme’s impact on communities, the environment and the local landscape. Now is your chance to have a further say on our updated proposals. We’re now seeking your views on the following:

• Key new crossings: Cotswold Way and Gloucestershire Way crossings  
• The change in gradient of the A417 as it climbs Crickley Hill
• The design of Cowley junction
• The rerouting of the B4070 to Birdlip via Barrow Wake
• The improvements we’ve made for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, including disabled users
• The replacement of Common Land

We also want feedback on our Preliminary Environmental Information Report, which sets out how we’re assessing and mitigating the potential environmental effects of the scheme, including the design changes.

Background to public consultation

Options consultation

The proposals that we put forward as part of our options consultation, held in February and March 2018, followed extensive investigation of possible route options. This involved assessing route options against the scheme’s vision and objectives, as well as a range of engineering, economic and financial criteria. As a result of this assessment two route options were proposed at consultation, Option 12 and Option 30. 

Overall, the majority of respondents agreed that the A417 Missing Link is in need of improvement to address the problems experienced by all road users. Almost three quarters of respondents also agreed that Option 30 presented the best opportunity for meeting the scheme’s objectives.

Preferred Route Announcement

We published our Preferred Route Announcement for the proposed A417 Missing Link, known as Option 30 in March 2019, and then began developing the design as part of our work towards submitting an application for consent from the Secretary of State for Transport. To learn more about our preferred route, please see the documents below. For more information on the development of the project and to subscribe to regular updates, please visit the A417 Missing Link scheme webpage.

Preliminary design consultation

Between September and November 2019 we undertook a preliminiary design public consultation where we sought your views on our detailed proposals for improving the A417 Missing Link. This was an opportunity to give your views and where appropriate, help us develop our proposals further. Your feedback was important to us in shaping our proposals. Our response to feedback from our 2019 consultation can be accessed here.