Peninsula Transport welcomes the Government’s decision to grant a development consent order for the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester dualling by Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport.

Peninsula Transport Chair Councillor Geoff Brown said: “Upgrading the road to a dual carriageway between Sparkford and Ilchester is an important milestone in delivering much needed improvements to the A303/A358/A30 corridor. Tackling longstanding bottlenecks and alleviating congestion will benefit our businesses, communities, and environment with improved reliability and reduced journey times.

“We want our transport system to boost our economy and support our communities and in order to do that we need to be better connected. As our second strategic route in and out of the Peninsula, the A303/A358/A30 corridor provides an important link between East and West, as well as all-important connectivity within our area.

“There is still a way to go for the route as a whole and we will continue to work with the Department for Transport and Highways England to deliver end-to-end improvement along the corridor. We want to ensure a safe, efficient and resilient route that supports our region’s economic growth and improves the resilience of our transport connectivity with the rest of the UK.”