National Highways has three designs for Gibbet Hill roundabout and has extended its consultation to 17 November. Work would start in 2031 at the earliest.
People now have until Tuesday 17 November to comment on National Highways’ plans to rebuild Gibbet Hill roundabout. The junction carries the A426 from Rugby to Lutterworth across the A5, just under four miles north of Rugby town centre.
The consultation opened on 23 September and was due to close on 3 November. National Highways has extended it by two weeks and added an online webinar on Tuesday 3 November at 6pm.
It is asking about three designs. None of them would be built soon. Gibbet Hill is a “pipeline” scheme in the Government’s third Road Investment Strategy, which means it is being designed now for possible construction after 2031. National Highways says plainly that “being part of the pipeline does not guarantee construction”.
Why National Highways wants to change it
The consultation brochure says the roundabout “regularly experiences long queues” on all its main approaches. It gives these reasons:
- it is on a major freight route and is the diversion route when the M1 or M6 shuts
- a high share of the traffic is lorries
- queues push traffic through nearby villages such as Shawell
- drivers overrun the verges, two arms have poor visibility, and there is no proper footway near the services
National Highways expects it to get worse. It names Magna Park, the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and housing growth in Rugby and Lutterworth as the pressures.
The brochure’s safety assessment covers 2020 to 2024. It found five slight-injury collisions at the roundabout itself. On the approaches there were three serious collisions and one fatal one, spread along the A5 and A426, some of them head-on.
The three options
National Highways looked at a longer list and kept three, numbered 5, 6 and 11.
- Option 5 stretches the existing roundabout to the north east, with two lanes around it. The A5 and A426 get two-lane entries and exits, with a 100m second lane on the approaches. Gibbet Lane is realigned but stays single-lane.
- Option 6 builds a new roundabout to the north of the current one and realigns every arm to meet it. Again the A5 and A426 get two lanes and Gibbet Lane stays at one.
- Option 11 builds a much larger three-lane roundabout to the north. The A5 and A426 arms are widened to three-lane entries. A second, smaller roundabout on Gibbet Lane keeps access to the services and nearby homes.
| From National Highways' own scoring | Option 5 | Option 6 | Option 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journey times and congestion | Moderate benefit | Moderate benefit | Moderate benefit |
| Road safety | Moderate benefit | Slight benefit | Moderate benefit |
| Disruption while it is built | Large | Moderate | Moderate |
| Land taken | Least | Most | In between |
| Cost band | ££ million | £££ million | £££ million |
| Value for money | High | Low | Medium |
| Time to build | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years |
The brochure does not give a cost in pounds for any option, only the bands above.
On its own figures, Option 5 is the cheapest and the best value, but it is the most disruptive to build because the work happens on the live roundabout. Option 11 moves traffic best: National Highways says it gives “the strongest enhancement in journey time reliability”. Option 6 has the lowest benefits and the highest cost.
The environmental scoring is the same for all three. Each would have large negative effects on noise, landscape and soils during construction. Four homes would be affected by every option. All three cut through a large part of the Watling Street Trackway Local Wildlife Site.
Options 6 and 11 come within a kilometre of Coton House, a Grade II* listed country house. The Roman town of Tripontium, a scheduled monument, is about a kilometre south west of the scheme.
What was ruled out
Traffic lights were tested, including signalling the existing roundabout. National Highways says some signal layouts “performed worse than the existing roundabout”. A throughabout, a crossroads and a staggered T-junction were also dropped because the modelling showed they would still be over capacity at peak times.
When it could happen
The environmental assessment summary assumes construction starts in 2031, lasts about 24 months, and the new junction opens in 2033. That depends on planning approval and funding.
Every option would mean narrow lanes, lower speed limits and queues at busy times while it is built. The brochure warns of “occasional lane closures or full junction closures” with diversions.
What it means for you
If you use the A426 between Rugby and Lutterworth, or join the A5 at Gibbet Hill, this is the stage where your view counts most. National Highways says this round will help it choose a preferred option. It has already fixed the scheme’s extent and aims, so those are not up for comment.
- Online: the response form is on the consultation page.
- On paper: brochures and forms are at Rugby Library, Little Elborow Street, and at Lutterworth Library, Lutterworth Leisure Centre and the Magna Park estate office. Post them free to FREEPOST A5 GIBBET HILL.
- Webinar: Tuesday 3 November at 6pm. Register by emailing A5GibbetHill@nationalhighways.co.uk.
- Phone: 0300 123 5000, quoting “A5 Gibbet Hill Consultation”.
- Deadline: 11.59pm on Tuesday 17 November.
The two drop-in exhibitions, at the Holiday Inn Rugby at Crick on 7 October and in Cotesbach on 17 October, have already taken place.
National Highways says it will publish a summary of the responses within 12 weeks of the consultation closing. A preferred option would be announced only if the Department for Transport approves the next design stage.
Gibbet Hill is also where Tarmac’s proposed waste fuel plant at Shawell Quarry would send its lorries; we covered that application in our Shawell Quarry story. Current overnight closures on the A5, M6 and M1 are on our roadworks and travel page.
Sources
- National Highways, A5 Gibbet Hill Options Consultation page, read 28 October 2026 (extension to 17 November, webinar, deposit points)
- National Highways, A5 Gibbet Hill Options Consultation Brochure, September 2026 (options, Table 1 scoring, collisions, discounted options, construction)
- National Highways, A5 Gibbet Hill Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Assessment (2031 start, 24 months, 2033 opening)
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