24 road schemes axed as DfT cuts tear £1.6bn hole in England pipeline

Twenty-four road projects across England have been dropped from the government's funding programme, with the four largest cancelled schemes alone worth more than £1.6bn. The Department for Transport has not published an official list, but has begun writing to each affected council to confirm the cancellations.

The casualties include the £930m M5 Junction 9 and A46 upgrade in Gloucestershire, the £303m Melksham bypass, the £197m Chesterfield Staveley Regeneration Route and the £185.3m Kendal Northern Access Route. For civils contractors, the decisions remove a substantial block of work from the forward pipeline after months of waiting for ministers to conclude their review of the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Which schemes have been cut?

The full list of 24 was published by the campaign group Transport Action Network, which combined earlier withdrawals with decisions communicated this month. The DfT had already confirmed the removal of the A17 Pullover junction and Thurrock's A13/A126 east-facing slips by June.

According to Transport Action Network, the scrapped schemes include:

• M5 Junction 9 and A46 (Ashchurch) Transport Scheme
• A350 Melksham Bypass
• Kendal Northern Access Route
• Chesterfield Staveley Regeneration Route
• A509 Isham Bypass
• A31 Farnham Corridor
• A127 Corridor for Growth – Route Improvements
• A500 Crewe Dualling scheme
• A1237 York Outer Ring Road dualling Phase 2 – Wetherby Road to A19
• Sheffield Innovation Corridor Road
• Ely to Cambridge A10 Improvement
• Warrington Western Link Road
• Aylesbury Eastern Link
• Shipley Eastern Congestion Relief Road
• Rocket Junction, Liverpool
• A13/A126 East Facing Slip Roads, Thurrock

Transport Action Network notes that bold entries on its list indicate independently confirmed funding withdrawals, while the remainder remain TAN-reported.

What does each cancellation mean locally?

Essex County Council confirmed on 9 October that its A127 Corridor for Growth scheme had been scrapped. North Northamptonshire has been told the long-awaited A509 Isham bypass is out.

In Surrey, the axe has fallen on the £115m A31 Farnham Corridor scheme, which would have tackled bottlenecks at Hickley's Corner, Coxbridge and Shepherd and Flock. Surrey council leader Tim Oliver said the government had abandoned a longstanding priority despite continuing congestion and safety concerns.

Crewe has suffered a second setback. Ministers rejected a cheaper A500 corridor upgrade developed after the loss of the original HS2-linked dualling scheme; Cheshire East Council is now assessing the financial fallout and whether any elements of the replacement scheme can still be delivered.

The biggest named casualty is Gloucestershire's proposed M5 Junction 9a and rerouted A46 around Ashchurch. Gloucestershire and Tewkesbury councils warned the decision would undermine housing and employment growth. The scheme has been removed from the local roads programme and is not currently being considered for a future Road Investment Strategy.

Can any schemes come back?

Several councils intend to fight for another funding route. Westmorland and Furness has requested talks with the DfT to challenge the Kendal decision, while North Northamptonshire is reviewing its options for Isham. Ministers have left open the possibility of both schemes returning if suitable funding and compelling business cases emerge — a narrow door, but one that keeps two live procurement prospects in play for contractors watching the pipeline.