The BBC reports frustration from businesses around Junction 10 of the M5 over delays to the planned redevelopment of the junction, once again showing how the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is struggling to keep up with rising construction costs.
A Gloucestershire County Council “third party” scheme currently costing £363m aims to turn the Junction 10 into a conventional “all moves” junction, mainly to facilitate thousands of new homes in the Cheltenham area.
The cost of the scheme has cost has risen by £70m since 2023, which a council report mainly attributes to delays, particularly in obtaining a development consent order, which transport secretary Heidi Alexander granted in June.
At that time, the council said that “preparation works will begin this summer to enable the start of scheme construction from spring 2026, with completion anticipated in 2028”, but the council appears to be waiting for a £70m funding gap to be filled.
A report to the council’s cabinet earlier this month noted that the previous £293m cost was to be met by £212m HIF grant funding “with the remaining £81m to be addressed by Section 106 contributions from developments that were dependent on the junction going ahead”.
However, the need to underwrite the scheme with £40m in advance of these contributions increased the shortfall to £110m.
Local councils are to cover £40m, with district councils contributing £20m Community Infrastructure Levy cash and Gloucestershire putting in £20m of its own.
But this leaves the scheme dependent on a bid from the county to Homes England for a further £70m from HIF.
Transport Insights 