Shut slip roads will cause 'exceptional problems'

Business owners say the two-year closure of both slip roads of an M5 junction will cause "exceptional problems".

Junction 10 near Cheltenham, which currently only allows drivers heading south to leave the M5 and those travelling north to join, is getting a £372m upgrade to enable motorists to leave and join regardless of their direction of travel.

To facilitate the upgrade, entire junction will close in 2027 and reopen in 2029, when the new junction is finished.

But Peter Cassidy, managing director of nearby Cellar Supplies and Clavell and Hind Brewery, said: "It just seems an extraordinarily long time... it'll cause exceptional problems for us for accepting our customers and deliveries."

Julian Tooke, cabinet member for business, economic development, planning and infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council, said the slip roads must close so the most complex parts of the work" can be carried out safely and quickly.

The M5 will remain open throughout.

While Cassidy said his business welcomed the upgrading of the junction, which he believes will "make everything better", he added it should have come sooner.

"It's going to be a problem to get around the area and be one big traffic jam for two years, so it will definitely affect our cash flow and our deliveries," he said.

Terry Hill, owner of Noz-alls, a welding supply shop at Knightsbridge Business Centre, said while alternative routes are available, there will be "a lot of traffic holdups".

"We need the housing, we need all the investment and the four-way junction is going to be a solution and much, much better," he said.

"But for it to be closed for two years, which is when the junction is actually supposed to be finished in 2029, just seems an excessive amount of time for the slip roads to be closed."

Withybridge Lane, which connects Tewkesbury Road to the Old Gloucester Road will also be closed.

"We know this will be difficult for people who use junction 10 and nearby roads," Mr Tooke said.

He added that different approaches were considered "but some options do increase safety risks, cost more and create more changes for drivers".

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