Tunnel to man's home planned due to new road scheme

There are plans for a tunnel to be built to allow a homeowner access to his property which would otherwise be cut off due to a major new road project.

Brian Garlick, who initially hoped to sell his house to National Highways, lives along the site of the A417 Missing Link, which is being constructed between Gloucester and Cirencester.

National Highways said it was unable to buy the property and that the underpass had always been planned to allow access to two telephone masts and help with drainage in the area.

A National Highways spokesperson said it is now progressing the final design, which will allow vehicle access.

The spokesperson added that while National Highways did initially discuss buying Mr Garlick's property, it was later confirmed that it sits outside of the scheme boundary and therefore it "had no viable route to do so".

But Mr Garlick, whose mum and dad owned the home in the 1950s and was born there, said National Highways had made an offer on the property before later pulling out.

This left both National Highways and Mr Garlick with the problem of how he would access his house.

He said that initially a driveway had been suggested, but it was later decided a tunnel would be "a lot safer".

"I did think it was a little bit over the top at the time... but after thinking about it thought it probably would be a good idea," Mr Garlick said.

It is hoped the £460m road scheme will reduce traffic congestion at the single-carriageway bottleneck stretch past Birdlip.

As well as a three-mile (4.8km) dual carriageway between Gloucester and Cirencester, a number of "green bridges" will also be built to boost wildlife in the area. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.

A417 Missing Link programme manager for National Highways, Steve Foxley, said: "We had lengthy discussions with Mr Garlick ahead of construction regarding any disruption to him and agreed a way forward that worked for both parties.

"We will continue to do our best to address any concerns and to minimise any impacts to the community and residents from our work on the scheme."

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