The MP for Congleton has been praised for working "tirelessly" and bringing people "together" to ensure the Congleton Link Road was built.

Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton, welcomed the opening of the £90m Congleton Link Road - the culmination of the project the Cheshire East Conservatives launched in 2012.

The Conservatives through "careful" planning, developer contributions and the support of Mrs Bruce, who helped secure £45m of Government funding, commenced the project for what is the "largest" infrastructure project developed by Cheshire East.

The 5.5km route opened at the weekend for walkers and cyclists before its formal opening for traffic on Monday.

Speaking at the House of Commons yesterday (Thursday, 22nd April), Mrs Bruce asked Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the house, to congratulate her constituency following the opening of the bypass.

Mrs Bruce said: "This week, my constituency celebrates the opening of the Congleton link road.

"Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating and thanking all who have worked on it, including community leaders, past and present councillors, council officers, contractors and the business people who worked so hard to secure it?

"It will help to reduce congestion, make getting to school safer, shorten commute times and improve air quality, and it was facilitated not least by the investment of some £50 million from national Government.

"Does this not demonstrate that this Government are committed to delivering infrastructure improvements in the north for the real-life daily benefit of the people who live here?"

Mr Rees-Mogg commended Mrs Bruce, who he claimed worked "tirelessly" and "brought people together" to ensure the project went ahead.

Mr Rees-Mogg responded: "In the list of people who deserve thanks, my honorary friend forgot to include the most distinguished Member of Parliament, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the link road was built.

"She brought people together, campaigned with them and made sure that it happened.

"She is looking slightly embarrassed as I say this, but I think she really does deserve a good deal of credit herself. This fits in with that the Government are trying to do.

"We will spend more than £600 billion of taxpayers' money over the next five years, and £19 billion in transport next year alone.

"This is part of the levelling-up approach and building back better to ensure that the whole country benefits, and I am delighted that Congleton is benefiting from a bypass."

Completion of the road will now support the provision of a further 3,000 jobs, 2,400 homes and 20 hectares of employment land which Cheshire East Conservatives believe will "future-proof the development of Congleton for generations to come".

Spades went to soil in February 2019 and Cheshire East Conservatives were pleased that the project was completed by Grahams with minimal delay.