Relief road near Northampton would INCREASE traffic by 87 per cent in nearby areas, FOI request reveals

The North West Relief Road is a misleading name if you live near its proposed route, according to campaigners.
The proposed route of the North West Relief Road (in red). Traffic along Brampton Lane, at its most easternmost edge, could increase by 87 percent if Buckton Fields Phase Two is approved this evening.The proposed route of the North West Relief Road (in red). Traffic along Brampton Lane, at its most easternmost edge, could increase by 87 percent if Buckton Fields Phase Two is approved this evening.
The proposed route of the North West Relief Road (in red). Traffic along Brampton Lane, at its most easternmost edge, could increase by 87 percent if Buckton Fields Phase Two is approved this evening.

For a residents' association has uncovered estimates that show a bypass meant to carry traffic around Northampton from new homes to the north of the town would lead to 87 per cent more traffic deposited in Boughton, Whitehills and Kingsthorpe.

And, ironically, it will be the North West Relief Road - whose proposed route when completed in 2021 would end at nearby Brampton Lane - that sends all the vehicles their way.

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Charlotte Mackaness, a Boughton resident, said: "The relief road seems a good idea if you live in Dallington and places to the west of Buckton Fields.

"But for us, it would provide no relief whatsoever - the opposite, in fact.

"The relief road is cited as the major mitigation scheme for Buckton Fields, but it is the worst possible option for us. The best option is in fact to have no relief road.

"We’re up the proverbial creek without a paddle if more houses are built without more infrastructure but in an even worse situation if the promised infrastructure ever is constructed."

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Residents are highlighting the new data this evening (Wednesday) to members of Daventry District Council's planning committee, who will decide if Buckton Fields phase two goes ahead.

The 674 new houses are recommended for approval by planners based on the views of consultants, who say increases in traffic are "not considered to be significant".

Whitehills and Spring Park Residents' Association (WASPRA), who uncovered the new traffic figures, hopes to persuade councillors to change or scrap the scheme and has put on a bus to help transport the large numbers of residents wishing to attend tonight.

WASPRA member Angela Bartlett said: “It's hard to overstate the strength of feeling over this. This county’s residents are fed up of potty and unaccountable decision making."

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In the planning papers, Northamptonshire County Council Highways said the relief road will be only one of several schemes to disperse Buckton Fields traffic.

It says there would also be a left-hand turn lane on Brampton Lane, at the junction with Welford Road, A5199 as well as increasing flare on the Brampton Lane approach to the Harborough Road, A508 and changes to the lane markings on the northbound A508.

Highways said they could also create aditional capacity at the A508/Holly Lodge Drive junction, in order to attract traffic to this route and away from "less suitable routes", such as through the village of Boughton.

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