Thornton Relief Road is a boost for borough's economy

The Thornton Relief Road will be a huge boost to Sefton's economy, the borough's Labour leader and Sefton Central's Labour MP both said today.

The long-awaited road was finally given the greenlight this week, after a 40-year-long campaign.

Labour's Cllr Peter Dowd and Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson both said the £19m route, which is deigned to ease congestion on the borough's roads by improving access to Switch Island and the M57 and M58, will create jobs and benefit local businesses.

Cllr Dowd said: "Lots of people have worked really hard for this, so this is a victory for the whole of Sefton.

"It has been a long time coming, but the creation of this road will bring lots of long-term benefits. It will not only ease congestion in and around Thornton, but also on roads throughout East Sefton and Crosby, while improving infrastructure links from the Southport and the north end of the borough through to the southern end.

"This also obviously means better connections to Switch Island and the motorways, which is a benefit for businesses in the borough.

"We fully expect work to get underway before the end of this year and the whole project to take around 12 months to finish.

"This is great news for the borough and for our long-term local economy."

MP Bill Esterson said people from all corners of his constituency will benefit from the Thornton Relief Road.

Bill said: "This road will benefit people throughout my constituency. Not only will it ease the congestion in Thornton and Crosby, but roads in Lydiate and Maghull should benefit as motorists have improved links to Southport and Formby.

"People and businesses in Formby will also benefit through the improved motorway links.

"This has been a long-running issue for many people in Sefton Central. I have had people on the doorstep in Formby, Aintree, Maghull, Lydiate and Thornton all tell me how much they want the relief road. I have had hundreds and hundreds of emails from constituents all asking for the road to be built.

"That's why I campaigned for it. That's why I called on the Tories and Lib Dems to u-turn on their decision to shelve the plans three years ago.

"I am delighted for everyone who has campaigned for this road throughout the years.

"This is a boost for our local economy. It is a boost for our local infrastructure. It is a boost for our local businesses.

"I will now be calling on the contractor to use local sub-contractors and make sure that local people are employed on the construction phase."