Great meeting with Mike Penning in London Tuesday 6th Dec. We discussed the A14 and how it may be upgraded. We have been working very hard behind the scenes to get this vital road improvement back on the agenda.

The Minister gave me assurances that the existing road will not be tolled and that the study will be swift and completed by June next year. In the meantime he has been able to find a very welcome £20m to carry out some minor improvements to the existing road which will buy some time.

At the County Council we have been pressing hard for the County to be much higher up the pecking order. We want to be working along side DfT and the Highways Agency to create a solution because we believe we know this road better than most. Mike made it very clear that a new scheme would only work on that basis.