FUNDING to develop the case for a £110m north Kirklees orbital road has been agreed.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has agreed to spend £248,000 to develop the plan for the route that could link the M62 with the M1.

They money would be spent on a ‘Strategic Case for the Transformational Project’ that will look at locations for the road, likely to be a dual carriageway,

If the plan gets to go-ahead it could take three years to construct.

A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “The council has successfully secured a grant of £247k from the Transformational Funding Pot, which is part of the West Yorkshire Transport Fund.

“This grant will be used to look at route options for North Kirklees Orbital. The work will also assess the benefits of the scheme.

“In order to bid for funding the council has to submit an estimated cost for the project they are wanting to investigate. Our current estimate is £110 million.

“Both the cost and timescales are dependent on the outcome of the further feasibility work.

Locations for the road have also not been revealed, a map provided to the Examiner last year shows a two-mile-wide strip between the two motorways and includes Hartshead, Mirfield, Robertown, Dewsbury Moor, Ravensthorpe, Savile Town, Earlsheaton, Chickenley and Ossett.