PLANS to connect the M65 to the M1 motorway should be put back on the table, an East Lancashire MP has said.

Hyndburn MP Graham Jones has called for a feasibility study to be conducted on plans to join the motorways in a bid to improve the connections between the east and west.

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He said if successful the move would create an ‘economic highway’ for the north.

Mr Jones met with David Brown, the chief executive of Transport for the North, who ‘agreed it was an option’.

However, one critic labelled the scheme as ‘silly nonsense’ and said there was ‘nowhere for the road to go’.

Mr Jones said the plans were in the very early stages and he would be seeking the views of councils across the north as well as the Department for Transport.

He said he could envisage the motorway extending as far up as Teeside or Scotch Corner near Darlington.

Mr Jones said: “There is a huge debate about increasing the number of east west connections.

“It is a big issue and people are beginning to look at the M65 and think it is the motorway to nowhere.

“Mr Brown agreed with me that it is a serious option, but it will be the treasury that makes the decision.”

Admitting the scheme was a long way off, he said the issue needs to be ‘pushed up the agenda’ over the next two years with a serious feasibility study carried out.

“The M62 is already crowded. A second link between the M65 and M1 would be very popular for the people of East Lancashire and the communities off the M1,” he said.

“If we are serious about the Northern Powerhouse, we should consider that billions is being spent on Crossrail 2 in the south. We could use that money to spend on schemes in the north.

“My concern for constituents and those in East Lancashire is improving the economic infrastructure and creating an economic highway used by millions of people and businesses.”

But the plan was slammed by Lord Tony Greaves who said it was a ‘waste of time’.

He said: “It is silly nonsense.

“There is no route for it. It would destroy Colne and the costs would be huge.

“People should be concerned with things that could happen like the railway line between Skipton and Colne.

“There is no chance this will happen. The MP for Hyndburn is living in cloud cuckoo land.”

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said he supported the idea, but accused Lancashire County Council of stalling on plans for a bypass for Colne.

He said: “We have been pushing for a bypass for Colne or for continuing the M65 through to Yorkshire. The traffic congestion in Colne is amongst the worst in the UK.

“I am overjoyed if Graham Jones is willing to put some pressure on his fellow Labour politicians because they have let down East Lancashire for too long.”

Cllr John Fillis, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said it had carried out a study on a potential bypass around Colne but found there were not enough economic benefits to generate the funding for it, but they are working on improving traffic flow.

He said: “We will need a long term solution and the extension of the M65 is an option well worth considering.”

Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is right the MP wants to raise the aspirations for the area. It would open up Lancashire psychologically to be connected to the world and not a cul-de-sac and would of course strengthen east west connections.”

He warned however that it could see unwanted congestion as well as causing ‘serious planning and development issues in Yorkshire’.