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12/10/2004 - Carlisle Northern Development route on the road to completion

Work to build the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) is a step nearer. The Department for Transport (DfT) have now told Cumbria County Council that it has full Ministerial approval for the scheme and can start the detailed tendering process to decide which firm will build the road. 

The news comes after talks between the council and the DfT agreed that all information and procedures were in place to meet the detailed requirements of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) process which will be used to finance the construction of the route.

Cumbria county councillor Kevan Wilkinson, spokesman for transport and infrastructure says:

"This news has been anxiously awaited in recent weeks by everyone involved in the project. It has been a frustrating time as we have had to provide extensive detail to satisfy the funding support conditions which at times seemed to be never ending. But now we have their go-ahead from DfT and can push forward with the tendering process. 

It is a significant step and brings closer the day that work will start on building the road. The county council is convinced the new route will bring a range of benefits to north and west Cumbria and we will continue to invest time, effort and resources to turn those plans into reality.

The CNDR will:

  • Substanially improve access to Kingmoor Park, north Cumbria's strategic industrial park, and help attract more employers and jobs to the site.
  • Provide a northern bypass for Carlisle reducing traffic congestion in the city and improving journey times to and from west Cumbria.

The news has been warmly welcomed by Tony Goddard, Managing Director of Kingmoor Park properties:

"This is a well needed bit of good news following the recent spate of job losses and closures in the city. The realisation of this major project is fundamental to Carlisle's future economic growth at a time when we need to be protecting and developing the city's assets including Kingstown, Parkhouse and Kingmoor Park. 

These areas are already experiencing a great deal of interest and investment but need a strengthened transport infrastructure to realise their full potential particularly Kingmoor Park, which has the potential to create 5000 jobs over the next 10 years. For this reason we will be doing whatever we can to support Cumbria County Council in delivering the CNDR."

Four firms were identifed by the council in May to bid for the design, construction and financing of the the new route. The contract will also include the management and maintenance of the new road and a network of existing roads in north and west Cumbria for the next thirty years.

Following confirmation by the DfT the council wrote to the four firms requesting their detailed proposals in the form a formal bids to take on the work. The tender process will be completed by the end of March 2005. Evaluation of the bids follows leading to the announcement of a Preferred Bidder. Provided government funding support is still in place, a contract could be awarded before the end of 2005 with construction commencing in Spring 2006. 

The four firms concerned are Connect CNDR, Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd, Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci Investments Ltd.