CONGESTION could be a thing of the past in and around Severn Beach as the area looks set to finally get direct access to the motorway, the Gazette can reveal.

The ever-growing manufacturing area will at last get the funds to build a much-needed junction of the M49, thanks to the new Bristol City Region City Deal.

As part of the agreement struck between the coalition government and the four West of England local authorities, the enterprise areas recently created in the region, including the one in Severnside, will be allowed to retain 100 per cent of their growth in business rates tax for the next 25 years.

This income will be used, in combination with other funding sources, to create a West of England Development Fund worth £1 billion to be spent on necessary infrastructure and better transport links.

And the Avonmouth and Severnside enterprise area is set to receive a share of £84.2 million towards improvements including the creation of a new M49 junction.

Cllr Robert Griffin (Con, Pilning and Severn Beach), who has been leading the campaign for a new M49 junction to serve the Severnside area, welcomed the news.

"As a community, this is a massive step forward for our M49 junction campaign because we have been arguing for years that we should not be left with a giant regional distribution hub, but with no immediate access to the motorway network," he said.

"A new motorway junction is really the only way to tackle the increasing level of HGV and commuter traffic along both the A403 and more local roads, including through Easter Compton and Pilning.

"There’s still a long way to go before a new junction is actually in place, but sorting out how it was to be funded was always going to be the hardest part," he added. "We now seem to have an answer to this, which is hugely encouraging."

Half of the £84.2 million is expected to go towards improving local infrastructure, that is creating a new junction on the M49. The rest should be used towards flood prevention work.

The City Deal is also expected to unlock "significant economic growth" in the area and deliver more than 10,000 new jobs in large-scale manufacturing and distribution by 2013.

The other South Gloucestershire enterprise areas in Filton and Emersons Green will see their economy significantly boosted as a result of the City Deal.