5,000-name petition handed in to Northants county council calls for widening of the A43

More than 5,000 Nothamptonshire residents have signed a petition calling for the whole of the A43 to be a dual carriageway.
Northamptonshire County Council is proceeding with plans to dual the A43, though it is not yet known whether it can get the funding for the final stretch. A petition today calls for the dualling to be done no matter what cost.Northamptonshire County Council is proceeding with plans to dual the A43, though it is not yet known whether it can get the funding for the final stretch. A petition today calls for the dualling to be done no matter what cost.
Northamptonshire County Council is proceeding with plans to dual the A43, though it is not yet known whether it can get the funding for the final stretch. A petition today calls for the dualling to be done no matter what cost.

Councillor Jim Hakewell (Con, Rothwell and Mawsley) has handed the petition, started by Mawsley resident Georgie Ashcroft, into Northamptonshire County Council during the last few minutes.

Ms Ashcroft says the A43 between Kettering and Northampton has always been “notorious for accidents and traffic congestion.”

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Although the county council already has plans to dual the A43 up to where it joins with the A14, it has still not attained funding for the final stretch of the project - which is expected to cost £65 million.

But the petition today has called on the council to find the money at all costs - before more lives are lost on the road.

Ms Ashcroft’s mum Caren died in a crash on the A43 a year ago.

Reading a speech from Ms Ashcroft, Councillor Hakewell said: “A single lane of traffic can no longer cope with the volume of traffic.

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“It is an all-too-regular occurrence that dangerous overtakes are made.

“Too many lives have been lost on this road, lives that matter.

“It is time money is no longer an excuse, especially when it comes to the safety of people’s lives.

“Money can be replaced, lives cannot.”

In total the petition, hosted on the website Change.org, gathered 5,265 supporters.

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