Another important milestone has been reached on the Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme (FARRRS) with construction of the road starting on top of the recently completed eight metre high embankment between Junction 3 of the M18 and Rossington.

Tarmacking of the first section of dual carriageway will provide access into Verdion’s £400million iPort project and Harworth Estates’ development of 1,200 new homes on the former Rossington Colliery site. The ground works for those developments have already started and building work, including the first homes, is expected to start in spring next year.

As well as enabling work to progress on these schemes, FARRRS will dramatically improve journey times to Doncaster Sheffield Airport supporting development at the new Enterprise Zone and its other business parks.

Excellent progress is being made along the entire three mile route from the motorway network to Parrott’s Corner at the A638 Bawtry Road and the link to Rossington at West End Lane.

Embankments continue to go up either side of the new bridge being constructed over the East Coast Main Line and following completion of bridges over the Brancliffe to Kirk Sandall Line and the River Torne at Rossington, work is well underway on the remaining three bridges. Beams are expected to be lifted into place shortly on the Mother Drain bridge on the approach to Parrott’s Corner.

Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, said: “We are entering the home straight for the completion of access into private sector led developments which will unlock thousands of new jobs and homes.

“FARRRS is one of a suite of initiatives strengthening our economy and making Doncaster an attractive proposition for new businesses, investors and developers. We have a new Enterprise Zone, the High Speed Rail College, the recently announced Inward Investment Incentive Pilot Scheme and ongoing regeneration schemes which are helping to transform the town. I am fully committed to delivering economic growth in Doncaster.”

Tim Love, Director of Strategic Land at Harworth Estates, said: “We saw for ourselves the fantastic work being made on the road a couple of weeks ago and its extremely heartening that the entire programme – one of the most complex in the UK – remains on track.  The first homes will be built on our site next March and we look forward to delivering a development that local people will be proud of.”

John Clements, Development Director of Verdion, said: “We are extremely pleased that FARRRS is on track to deliver the first stretch of new road which will open up access to iPort. We are now on site starting the £21 million infrastructure works, making the site oven ready for potential occupiers.”

As well as assistance from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, the Doncaster Council led regeneration project has backing from private sector partners Harworth Estates, the Peel Group and Verdion and is supported regionally by the Growing Places Fund and the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The main contractor for the works is Carillion.

Further information on FARRRS is available at: www.doncaster.gov.uk/FARRRS