Chesterfield politicians issue update on long-awaited Staveley bypass plan

Community leaders claim the project will reduce traffic on the busy A619 from Chesterfield to Brimington and Staveley, cut journey times on other roads and open up regeneration opportunities.

The scheme was awarded £93m from the Government last year but was first raised as an idea 94 years ago.

North East Derbyshire MP Lee Rowley said: “Even getting this tranche of money was a huge breakthrough – the first step, after many years of little progress, in realising a scheme which was first mooted back in 1927.

"Since then, the county council have been working up more detail around the scheme in readiness to submit to the Government for a decision on whether it goes forward.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said residents would be given an opportunity to have their say on the project.

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She added: “We’ve had a provisional funding offer from the Government for the Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route.

“We are due to submit a business case to the Government in the autumn and are working towards a planning application, which means we are still some way away from starting any work.

"We will need to carry out a full consultation before we submit the planning application, which will give residents the opportunity to have their say on the plans.”

Politicians from across the political spectrum have campaigned for the project.

Chesterfield’s Labour MP Toby Perkins said it would ‘speed up traffic that is just passing through Staveley and Chesterfield and free up space on those roads that are there for people who are accessing Chesterfield’.

And Chesterfield Borough Council leader Tricia Gilby has hailed the project as a way to reduce air pollution in Brimington and provide a better link between the town centre and the proposed HS2 depot in Staveley.

Conservative Mr Rowley added: “Staveley bypass is just another element in our broader programme to try to improve North East Derbyshire's infrastructure – alongside the two Town Deals, the early work on alleviating congestion on the A61, the new primary school at The Avenue, possible improvements to the Midland Mainline and the potential re-opening of the Barrow Hill Line.”

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