Falkirk Council: Champany work will go ahead despite no Levelling Up cash

The UK Levelling Up fund cash would have been used to create an all-ways slip road on Junction 3 of the M9 and improve road alignment at Champany, close to Blackness, which has seen several serious accidents over the years.

A joint bid to the UK Government fund was made by West Lothian and Falkirk Councils, for the Linlithgow and East Falkirk parliamentary constituency which spans both areas. But both councils were left disappointed with the announcement that the bid had failed.

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “It was disappointing that the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bid was not successful but the council remains committed to the Champany Junction improvements.

“As stated in the report to Council in September 2022, officers will now come back to council with a proposal of how to fund the works at the Champany junction as part of future capital investment.”

But local councillors are concerned at the delay there has already been to work on the notorious accident blackspot.

In March 2022, Falkirk Council promised funding from its capital budget to upgrade two junctions on the A904 at Champany, the B903 to Blackness and the A803 to Linlithgow.

Both junctions have poor visibility and relatively high traffic speeds, which have led to some very serious accidents over the years.

At that stage, feasibility work was ongoing but the proposal was shelved in favour of joining forces with West Lothian’s more substantial scheme.

The £1.8 million that had been promised to the project in February’s budget was reallocated in September, with funding split between the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) bid and the Denny Eastern Access Road (DEAR) scheme which both had an urgent requirement for funding.

Officers have said that this recommendation was in the expectation of a successful LUF bid.

Councillors Ann Ritchie and David Aitchison asked for an update on the project at a recent meeting of Falkirk Council, before the recent announcement was made.

They were told that the earliest the project would be completed was spring 2024, but this was likely to be delayed by several months if the Levelling Up fund was unsuccessful.

Cllr Aitchison said: “I think Falkirk Council took it for granted that this levelling up fund bid would be successful with little regard to what would happen if it wasn’t successful and also for the safety of our residents.”

Successful bids to the fund locally include North Lanarkshire, where the council has won £9 million to support the demolition and regeneration of two failing shopping centres and a vacant office block in Cumbernauld.