Highways England (HE) has announced funding of £5m for a new junction on the A1 in Lincolnshire that will help create almost 5,000 jobs in the region.

HE’s Growth and Housing Fund will be providing £23m for the junction on the A1 south of Grantham, which will bolster the plans for the 193-hectare Spitalgate Heath Garden Villages urban extension.

The £100m Growth and Housing Fund is in addition to the UK Government’s £15bn investment in roads between 2015 and 2020, which will be used towards the cost of road improvements that are needed for new developments which promise swift delivery of homes and jobs.

"The A1 junction in the Lincolnshire is partly funded by developer and local authority funds, and is expected to create nearly 1,000 new full-time jobs."

Ian Parsons who is leading the initiative at Highways England said: “Today’s funding is a boost for growth that will help kick-start a major regeneration scheme as well as alleviate congestion, meaning better journeys for motorists.

“New homes and workspaces bring jobs and prosperity to communities. Our job is to ensure the road system supports that prosperity by funding additional road capacity to serve significant new developments.

“We will continue to use our Growth and Housing Fund and work with a range of local stakeholders to unlock further development sites around the country."

The A1 junction in the Lincolnshire is partly funded by developer and local authority funds, and is expected to create nearly 1,000 new full-time jobs.

Additionally, around 4,000 jobs and nearly 3,700 homes will be created in a new urban extension, which will include a new local centre, schools, community facilities, conserved woodland and a network of innovative ‘blue green corridors’ to assist with flood alleviation.

The urban extension programme will be delivered by the local authority with support from the Homes and Communities Agency, Network Rail, Greater Lincolnshire LEP and £28.5m developer contributions.

The Growth and Housing Fund is a national Highways England initiative to support improvements to the strategic road network that will help create thousands of jobs and homes.