Costs for park-and-ride site to tackle congestion for Mansfield commuters almost quadrupled before scheme shelved

The Leapool Roundabout park-and-ride site, south of Ravenshead, was hailed as the solution to congestion problems on the A60, the main route from Mansfield to Nottingham.

However, Nottinghamshire Council, the county highways authority, said the original £2.4 million budget was estimated at £9.3m by 2023.

The project, which would have used money from the Department for Transport, has now been cancelled, although the council said it would safeguard the land for a possible future scheme.

Coun John Clarke, Gedling Council leader, said he was “very disappointed” the plans will not go ahead.

The county council said the budgets from cancelled schemes have been moved to other existing projects.

The Transforming Cities Fund is given out by the government for local road and infrastructure projects, but the county council said since the bid was submitted in 2019, costs have soared, meaning some cannot go ahead.

Nottingham Council led the bid to the DfT for Transforming Cities cash, but granted Nottinghamshire Council £7.9m to lead a number of proposals in the county boundary.

However, since 2019 the costs for all the projects have more than doubled to £15.9m meaning they cannot all go ahead.

Coun Clarke said: “It’s a shame they’ve cancelled it because it was a good idea. The plans have been milled around for a number of years.

“We’re trying our best to get carbon down and this would’ve been one way of doing that. I’m really disappointed but we will keep lobbying for it.”

County council documents stated: “A number of options have been explored to assess whether or not the scheme can be delivered within the original budget and provide the same level of public transport benefits.

“While there are cheaper options, unfortunately none of these options achieve the required cost saving nor provide the level of public transport benefits envisaged.

“There are also additional risks to this project that includes; the need for planning, land acquisition and other statutory procedures.

“The council will continue to safeguard the land for a park and ride ide at this location and, the feasibility and design work done to date can be used to assist future funding opportunities.”

They said no additional funding is available from the Government.