THE A14 upgrade proposals could threaten Wood Green Animal Shelters near Godmanchester, with visitors having to make long detours, the charity believes. It claims a slip road to the A1198, which passes the centre, has been omitted from the latest Highways

THE A14 upgrade proposals could threaten Wood Green Animal Shelters near Godmanchester, with visitors having to make long detours, the charity believes.

It claims a slip road to the A1198, which passes the centre, has been omitted from the latest Highways Agency consultation on the £600million-plus scheme.

"These proposals all present a potential threat to the current accessibility of Wood Green from the A14, via the A1198," the charity said.

"The new proposals involve building a new stretch of road that will run to the south of the existing A14 route, crossing the A1198, without providing a slip road on to the A1198.

"Visitors to Wood Green Animal Shelters could face additional journey times to reach the shelter by having to follow longer and confusing alternative routes to reach the A1198, particularly when travelling from the west and north."

Wood Green's chief executive, Dennis Baker, fears that this could lead to excessive and complicated journeys for visitors attempting to reach the shelter and could also cause additional, unnecessary traffic on the local roads around Huntingdon.

The loss of donations and trading could reduce the centre's ability to look after animals, Wood Green added.

But the Highways Agency's strategy has always been to minimise the number of junctions on the new road in the interests of road safety. It decided some years ago, with the agreement of both Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council, that an intersection with the A1198 would compromise safety and lead to unnecessary additional traffic in Huntingdon.

"No link to the A1198 was shown in the original consultation, nor is there one in the current consultation," said an agency spokesman. "But we will consider any responses we receive.