DERBYSHIRE: Significant delays to multi-million road scheme

The mammoth A61 Growth Corridor scheme has ambitious aims to improve infrastructure to support the creation of 8,298 jobs and 6,670 homes and is valued at £16.04 million.

However, a report compiled for Derbyshire County Council’s investment and infrastructure committee states that the project has suffered “significant delays” as a final business case is prepared.

As a result, the authority formed a project control board to keep the scheme on track.

Deputy leader Cllr Simon Spencer oversees the highways responsibilities of the council and says that the project will stay on target after injecting “some extra resource”.

A key outstanding issue which is preventing the scheme from progressing is a traffic regulation order to manage congestion while construction takes place.

The project is set to be completed by 2021.

Councillor Spencer said: “The A61 corridor project is a large and complicated project that includes a masterplan for Chesterfield Station which aims to improve access so that the most can be made of the opportunities HS2 will bring. Once HS2 is built, high speed trains will stop in Chesterfield.

“It also includes access to The Avenue – a large housing site – improvements to the A61 Whittington Moor roundabout to reduce delays; using technology to reduce delays on the A61; and measures to encourage walking and cycling including a segregated cycle path between the Whittington Moor roundabout and Peak Resort.

“The aim is to support the creation of an initial 5,000 jobs, and delivery of 3,500 new homes – this will eventually grow to 8,298 jobs and 6,670 homes.

“There has been a delay in submitting the business case to D2N2, but with some extra resource we are now on track to do this by November 2018.”

Eddie Bisknell , Local Democracy Reporting Service