Outline of progress on Sandy Lane Relief Road

11 April 2024

The new road being built to replace part of Sandy Lane near Harpole could soon be open, using a temporary link while further work takes place.

Sandy Lane Relief Road, as it is currently known, was required to serve new housing developments being built in the area.

It will provide a new route for vehicles that might previously have used Sandy Lane which stretched from the Kislingbury roundabout on the A4500 to the junction of Berrywood Road and Roman Road.

There has been a clear impact on Harpole and Duston residents, who have seen an increase in vehicles cutting through those areas.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) agreed the construction of a temporary link as a potential solution some time ago with developers which has been progressed.

However, due to other work the council was not aware of, implemented by the developer to respond to resident concerns, we have had to reassess the safety of the temporary link to take this into account.

We can confirm the safety audit is complete and we now await timescales from the developers to undertake the resulting works prior to opening of the road

“We’re conscious that this work has caused lots of frustration and disruption and we have sympathy for everyone affected.

“We’ve been working as hard as we can to try and provide a temporary solution, to get the road open or at least partially open, but unauthorised work by the developers has made this difficult to achieve.

“We’re continuing to work with the developer as we would like to see the road open as quickly as possible, but of course it must be safe for residents and road users alike.

“We know there are businesses that have been affected by the works and we are confident that once everything is complete, they will see significant benefits. We are sorry that this has been so long in coming.”Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste

We anticipate that a permanent link will be opened between Sandy Lane Relief Road and Sandy Lane by early summer. This is already under construction and once complete would allow the temporary link to be closed.

Sandy Lane Relief Road consists of two stretches:

• Southern section that runs north from the A4500 opposite Upton Valley Way North, on land owned by Homes England – partially completed in 2010
• Northern section that runs south from Roman Road, crossing Sandy Lane, and progressing toward the land owned by Homes England - due to complete in 2024

For construction of the northern section to take place, Sandy Lane had to close, and parts of it will not reopen to through traffic.

WNC continues to meet with Homes England to connect both stretches of the relief road as quickly as possible and thereby complete the route.