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The M60 around Manchester could soon get its missing link, making it England’s only complete orbital motorway. Two thirds of the public have given their backing to proposals to create a new link road at junction 18 of the M60 near Prestwich so that drivers travelling clockwise will no longer need to use a roundabout to continue their journey on the same motorway.

Highways England has now selected the link road as its preferred option for a major upgrade of the junction, which will see a new loop take drivers from the eastbound to the southbound M60.

A virtual reality video has been released showing how the new link road could look.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England’s chief executive, said:

Our proposal for a new link road at Simister Island was the clear favourite during our public consultation. We will now develop detailed designs for the upgrade, which will benefit everyone from local shoppers to haulage firms travelling across the North.

Around 90,000 drivers use Simister Island every day to travel between the M60, M62 and M66, making it one of the North’s busiest motorway junctions.

The missing link anomaly was created when the M60 was formed 21 years ago, connecting several existing motorways with a new stretch of motorway to form a 36-mile ring road around Manchester.

The current setup means drivers travelling eastbound soon find themselves on the M62 on their way to Leeds if they don’t use a roundabout to reach the southbound section of the M60.

Peter Molyneux, Major Roads Director at Transport for the North, said:

Correcting the well-known Simister Island anomaly will bring significant improvements for all those using it, offering safer and more reliable journeys around the M62, M66 and M60. It’s fantastic to see plans progressing at pace on this scheme following the recent public consultation.

It is a vital element in our Northern Infrastructure Pipeline to enhance connectivity and reduce disruption for all road users, both in the immediate area and across the North West. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Highways England as detailed plans are progressed.

More than 800 people took part in a two-month public consultation on the proposals last year, with 67% saying they supported the option to connect the M60 in a loop to the north of the junction.

A new two-lane link road will also be created for drivers travelling from the northbound to the westbound stretches of the M60 at Simister Island, replacing the existing single lane slip road.

And the hard shoulder will be converted to a permanent extra lane along the mile-long stretch of the M60 between junctions 17 and 18 to improve the flow of traffic, providing dedicated lanes for drivers travelling between motorways. CCTV cameras, traffic sensors and electronic signs will be used to maintain safety.

Highways England will hold another public consultation later this year once it has developed detailed designs for the scheme, with a planning application due to be submitted next winter. Construction work is due to start by spring 2025.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Madam Chair,

The United Kingdom, like a number of other participating States, is deeply concerned by the detention of thousands of peaceful protesters and journalists in Russia on 23 January. We call upon Russia to adhere to its national and international obligations and release those detained arbitrarily for exercising their right of peaceful assembly.

Peaceful protest is a vital part of any democratic society, as is a free and independent media. The violent suppression by police forces of the right of individuals to express their opinion is unacceptable. These events confirm a continuous negative pattern of shrinking space for the opposition, civil society, human rights defenders and independent voices in Russia.

Madam Chair,

At last week’s Permanent Council, we raised our concerns about the politically motivated detention of Alexey Navalny. His treatment and continued detention is another example of the shrinking democratic space in Russia and the deterioration in human rights.

In Astana in 2010, all OSCE participating States reaffirmed all OSCE principles and commitments, without exception, emphasized that we are accountable to our citizens, and that our commitments are matters of legitimate concern to all participating States. We therefore do not agree with any suggestion that the events of 23 January, or the continued detention of Mr Navalny, are solely internal matters for the Russian Federation. They are matters of concern to all OSCE participating States including the UK, and we will continue to support the protection of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of expression, of association and of peaceful assembly throughout the OSCE region, including in Russia.

Madam Chair,

Once again, we call on Russia to demonstrate its commitment to its international obligations, including its commitments in the OSCE, to release those citizens detained during peaceful demonstrations, and to release Mr Navalny without delay.

Shire Hall has been provided by Staffordshire County Council, while the Cirencester site is a former magistrates’ court owned by the local Police and Crime Commissioner – each venue provides two additional courtrooms.

The temporary facilities will help to free up space at their respective nearby Crown courts – allowing more hearings to be held safely and delivering speedier justice for victims.

It brings the total number of Nightingale courtrooms, set up nationwide to alleviate pressure on courts and tribunals resulting from the pandemic, to 39.

Justice Minister Chris Philp said:

These new Nightingale courts will help to boost the capacity in the system – reducing delays and ensuring speedier justice for all.

This is the latest step in our plan to work with the judiciary and legal sector in pursuing every available option to ensure our courts recover as quickly as possible.

Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader, Philip White said:

We’re pleased to have been able to lend our support to HM Courts and Tribunals Service to enable it to continue with proceedings and avoid delays by using the historic courtrooms at our Shire Hall building.

It’s important that we all pull together to keep services going through the pandemic period for the benefit of our communities. The Shire Hall does of course provide the perfect space in its court rooms which were last used for this purpose over 30 years ago.

As we move forward beyond Covid-19 we can look forward to bringing the former library area in the Shire Hall back into productive use as our new enterprise hub for small businesses thanks to a £2m investment.

The Ministry of Justice has spared no expense in its continued efforts to keep the justice system running during this pandemic.

£142m has been spent on upgrading court buildings and technology, alongside £110m to increase capacity – making over a quarter of a billion-pound investment in court recovery this year.

1,600 extra staff are being hired, plexiglass screens set up in more than 450 courts, 20,000 remote hearings take place each week, and over 290 Covid-safe jury trial courtrooms are in operation – substantially more than before the pandemic.

The impact of these measures is already being seen. Since August, the magistrates’ courts backlog has been relentlessly reducing month on month. In the last full week before Christmas, Crown Court disposals exceeded receipts for the first time since Covid started.

These efforts will be supported by an extra £337m announced in the recent Spending Review to deliver swifter justice and support victims, while £76m will further increase capacity in Family Courts and tribunals.

Every HMCTS building – including Nightingale courts – meet the government’s Covid-secure guidelines, and public health experts have confirmed the arrangements remain sufficient to deal with the new strain of the virus.

1. More than £110m is being invested in a range of measures to tackle the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the recruitment of 1,600 additional staff and opening more Nightingale courts
2. We’re also spending £153m to improve court and tribunal buildings – the biggest single investment in court estate maintenance for more than 20 years
3. This progress will be bolstered by an extra £337m the government is spending next year to deliver swifter justice and support victims, while an additional £76 million will further increase capacity in family courts and tribunals
4. Details on measures to keep courts safe, secure and clean
5. More details on the Nightingale courtrooms in operation