A battle over who is responsible for connecting a £50m motorway junction to the road network is still ongoing nearly two years after the majority of the construction work finished.
Most of the work on the M49 junction, near Avonmouth, was completed by National Highways (formerly Highways England) at the end of 2019 - but it is still not in use because the link road connecting it has not been built.
The two-bridge junction is due to connect Central Park, a warehouse and distribution centre used by companies including Tesco, Lidl and Amazon, to the motorway.
It is understood the strip of land on which the access road needs to be built is 160 metres long. National Highways owns 30 metres and the developer, Delta Properties, owns the rest.
As BusinessLive understands, it is usual for National Highways to leave a margin for tie-in that enables developers to construct onto National Highways land and connect to the network. The margin for the stub roads is the same on both sides of the junction.
In January, South Gloucestershire council said that it was Delta’s responsibility to build the link road, but Delta Properties refuted the claim, saying it owed “no legal obligation” to any public body to construct the road infrastructure associated with the new junction.
The local authority has now said the responsibility lies jointly with National Highways and Delta.
But Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council chairman Peter Tyzack said there were "no legal grounds" on which Delta could be made to build the road after a company in the area told him it was "looking at possibilities" on legal action over the failure to connect the junction.
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He said: "I've read the planning document, and there’s nothing in there to hang any legal action on, as far as I can see. It would have to depend on any agreement the company might have with the landowner [Delta] with regards to access to the motorway. If that’s the case, that’s the only thread they could hang it on."
In January, Delta said that “in the spirit of moving things forward” it had spent several months finalising designs for the road and working out how much it would cost.
Then, in February, the West of England Combined Authority pledged £1m to assist with building, raising hopes the link road could be constructed within about 12 months.
Delta Properties has now told Business Live that "excellent progress” is being made towards building the road - but has blamed an occupier at the business park for delaying progress.
A Delta spokesperson said: “Excellent progress has been made on securing landowner agreements needed to facilitate commencement of construction of the Westbound M49 link road.
“One particular occupier has delayed the process and it is hoped that they can respond soon so that final agreements can be put in place.
“In parallel, discussions continue with South Gloucestershire Council in a co-operative spirit to try and finalise the wider arrangements required to allow public access to the wider road network near the new junction.”
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Colin Bird, National Highways’ programme leader for the South West, said: “We share the frustration that many feel that, since completing the new junction scheme, it has not yet been able to open and unlock the economic potential of the local area.
“As the local link roads will connect into the strategic road network, we remain ready to prioritise any interactions into connecting to our network, which can support the link road being opened as soon as possible and realise the benefits of the investment National Highways has made.”
'Those responsible must be held to account'
West of England metro mayor Dan Norris, who was elected in May, said he is “angry” the link road is still not completed.
Mr Norris said the lack of transparency over what had caused the delay was an “alarm bell” - but he had “no doubt” the truth would eventually come out.
“[It] isn’t just frustrating and highly annoying, it makes me angry," he said.
"I’d like to be able to get involved to see it sorted. Unfortunately, this venture does not just predate me becoming metro mayor, it also predates the previous metro mayor, for these works were initiated before the West of England Combined Authority was even created.”
He said the responsibility for the delivery of the road lay jointly between South Gloucestershire Council and the developer as the land owner.
Mr Norris' predecessor, the Conservative Tim Bowles, said last year that Delta had failed to "deliver on their commitment" and had behaved "appallingly".
"The M49 Junction is causing consternation and misery and is not a good advertisement for the ability of our region to deliver major projects. This worries me as I seek vital monies for our communities from central government," said Mr Norris.
“Various media have tried to root out the truth," he added. "When [the truth] does [come out] those responsible must be held to account for damaging the reputation of our great region in this way.
“The West of England region is brilliant and this South Gloucestershire motorway junction is not a reflection on the rest of us.”
Mr Norris added: “This sort of fiasco won’t be repeated under my leadership of the West of England Combined Authority, but we are left with the embarrassment of South Gloucestershire Council and the developer showing the public disrespect and contempt in equal measure.”
Cllr Steve Reade, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for regeneration, environment and strategic Infrastructure, has hit back at Mr Norris' claims.
He said: “Our new Labour Mayor clearly hasn’t done his homework on this important regional matter, despite employing an army of new advisers and spin doctors. He hasn’t raised this issue with us at all in his first few months.
“Were he to ever ask, he would be told that new and existing motorway junctions and how they connect into the existing road network are the responsibility of the government body Highways England, not local councils.
"It’s the agreement between Highways England and the private landowner who owns the business park that needs scrutinising to understand why this new M49 junction remains stuck and unavailable to use.
“More Labour spin is the last thing our region needs, which is why South Gloucestershire Council will continue to facilitate discussions to bring all parties together to find a resolution. Our new Labour Mayor is welcome to join us if his interest in this issue is more than just fleeting.”
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