Building work on a major relief road project for Bury St Edmunds will start next month, it has been announced.

The £15million Eastern Relief Road (ERR) is hoped to be completed by the summer of 2017, with workers set to start work on March 8 2016.

The completion of the road is crucial to the development of 500 homes, the new Sybil Andrews Academy secondary school and a business park, which is hoped to bring in an estimated 14,000 jobs and £275m to the town over the next 25 years.

The road will run from the junction of Lady Miriam Way/Skyliner Way on Moreton Hall to junction 45 of the A14.

Suffolk County Council are set to appoint a contractor imminently, announcing today (February 26) that the road should be finished by the summer next year.

The relief road, first announced six years ago, reached a “major milestone” on Thursday when St Edmundsbury Borough Council, who are leading the Suffolk Business Park project, concluded 18 months of negotiations with landowner Rougham Estate.

The borough last year authorised compulsory purchase powers but in the end they were not needed, with Rougham Estate selling the land for the road and business park to the council on Thursday (February 25).

Contrary to rumours circulating on social media today, the historic Rougham Airfield, formerly RAF Bury St Edmunds, is not part of the deal and compulsory purchase powers have not been used.

The airfield, also owned by Rougham Estate, is set to remain open for aviation, with the relief road running to the south of the runway between the airfield and the existing Rougham Industrial Estate.

The 500 home Taylor Wimpey development is set for land adjoining Lady Miriam Way and Mount Road, currently home to the Flying Fortress Pub. No homes, roads or commercial developments will be built on the airfield.