A councillor is continuing to raise concerns about the number of HGV lorries moving through a Derbyshire housing estate and a busy residential village with shops and a primary school.

Staveley Town Cllr Paul Mann has highlighted safety fears posed by what appear to be construction lorries travelling along Inkersall Green Road between Inkersall and Middlecroft, near Staveley, after Staveley Town Cllr Mick Bagshaw had originally raised similar concerns for nearby Duckmanton.

Cllr Mann believes the lorries are coming from a housing construction site off Tom, Lane, Duckmanton, and he has suggested to Derbyshire County Council’s Traffic Management Team the Inkersall Green Road route should be subject to a temporary weight restriction, apart from business deliveries, so construction site traffic trying to reach the A619 can be diverted onto a safer route.

He said: “They come off Tom Lane and turn right but instead of continuing into Staveley to join the A619 they turn into the junction with Inkersall Green Road going under a bridge, passing eight junctions, past a park, past Inkersall Primary School and parked cars and Inkersall shops.

Residents who were opposed to the Duckmanton housing scheme, off Tom Lane, had gathered at Chesterfield Borough Council'S Town Hall to oppose the plans. Taken by BBC LDR Jon Cooper.

placeholder image — Residents who were opposed to the Duckmanton housing scheme, off Tom Lane, had gathered at Chesterfield Borough Council'S Town Hall to oppose the plans. Taken by BBC LDR Jon Cooper.

“You have the Co-op on one side with people trying to cross with no pelican crossing and then you get to Troughbrook Bottom which has a staggered junction.”

Staveley Town Councillor Mick Bagshaw, who oversees the Duckmanton ward, previously raised concerns about potential road safety issues and disturbances from construction lorries around the Tom Lane housing development and the prospect of hundreds of extra, daily traffic movements once the development is completed.

But he believes the current problems do not involve lorries from developer Honey’s Pearl housing development for 275 homes on Tom Lane after he recently took a sample list of those travelling through claiming none were contracted to Honey who he says have now put signs up in the village and on site and have introduced a system where contractors will be fined if they do not use an alternative agreed route.

However, Cllr Mann maintains road safety issues with lorries are persisting for residents around Inkersall Green Road and he wants to see a weight restriction imposed on this route to deter HGVs and for them to be redirected along an alternative route.

Pictured Is Inkersall Green Road, Near Staveley. Courtesy Of Google Street View.

He suggested instead of lorries turning into Inkersall Green Road from Inkersall Road they should continue to Staveley and turn left into Chesterfield Road so they would eventually pass through Troughbrook Bottom instead of having to pull out at the junction from Inkersall Green Road at what he claims is a designated ‘dangerous crossing point’ and they can go safely straight on towards the A619.

Cllr Mann said: “All they have to do is turn right out of Tom Lane, go straight on past the Speedwell Rooms to join Chesterfield Road for the A619 where there are traffic lights and it is safer to pull out.

“By doing that they are not going past a school, a village, shops, and not joining a junction that is designated as a dangerous crossing point.”

He argued that if the county council’s highways Traffic Management Team imposed a weight restriction for Inkersall Green Road lorries would be redirected along Inkersall Road and onto Chesterfield towards the A619.

Inkersall Green Road, Near Staveley. Courtesy Of Google Street View.

Cllr Mann said: “There is no reason why any wagon should come through Inkersall Green Road unless it’s delivering so there should be a restriction except for access.”

He added the county council’s Traffic Management Team told him signs have been put up at Duckmanton near the development because despite a weight restriction at this location some HGVs were using this route as a short cut for the M1 and developer Honey has been directing traffic away from Inkersall and speed ramps were also introduced, although Cllr Mann says nothing has changed for Inkersall Green Road.

The Traffic Management Team stated, according to Cllr Mann, that any additional weight restrictions elsewhere are not suitable on his suggested alternative route and that Inkersall Green Road is considered to be a primary access route from the A619 and Inkersall Road.

Cllr Mann stated the county council’s Traffic Management Team believes it is not practical to have further weight restrictions because the council fears this would displace traffic elsewhere without resolving the underlying issue.

The county council Traffic Management Team also argued, according to Cllr Mann, that Inkersall Green Road has a low bridge which does work as a natural deterrent for bigger lorries but the situation is being monitored and steps have been taken to reduce the impact of the development’s traffic.

Cllr Mann said: “I challenged them to give me a reason why any 7.5tonne wagon that is not delivering to any business in that area has any reason to cut through Inkersall, past a school, and past shops to join the A619 via a dangerous junction when they can join another road with controlled traffic.”

Cllr Bagshaw also says he has been working with Honey and a PCSO with concerns about lorries in the area and he aims to further contact the developers again to consider introducing an ‘approved route’.

He said: “All I can presume is that the lorries are taking a short cut to access the Middlecroft, Inkersall development. I shall be writing to the developers asking them to introduce a similar system and approved route.

“By cutting through Inkersall and Duckmanton, they are creating extra unnecessary traffic using the bad Inkersall Green Road top junction, for which it was agreed in the planning conditions for the developers to install traffic lights and make the junction safer. This to date has not been done and needs doing as a matter of urgency.”

Cllr Bagshaw fears matters may get worse after he says Chesterfield Borough Council is considering a site off Bamford Road, at Inkersall Green, in its proposed Local Plan among potential residential development areas for the future.

Residents had also raised concerns with the planning authority Chesterfield Borough Council during the planning process in August, 2023, about feared over-development, the loss of greenfield land, the potential harm to wildlife, sewage capacity and flooding on Tom Lane and Rectory Road, with traffic safety and congestion fears along Tom Lane.

A Honey spokesperson said: “We are actively and positively working with all parties to manage the HGV situation and will continue to do so.

“We believe we have taken all reasonable steps to resolve the concerns regarding HGV movements to and from our site, and we will adhere to any further measures introduced by the council.”

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Councillor Charlotte Hill said: “We understand Councillor Mann’s concerns about HGV traffic in the area and appreciate the significant impact it can have on local communities, particularly in residential areas.

“We’ve looked at the issue in detail and worked with the developer to introduce additional signage at either end of Duckmanton Village, as despite the presence of an enforceable weight restriction there, some HGV drivers were using the route as a shortcut to and from the M1. The developer is also actively directing all site traffic to avoid travelling through Inkersall.

“We’ve also reduced the speed limit through the junction of Inkersall Road and Inkersall Green Road from 60mph to 40mph as well as on other sections of the two roads, and a new set of traffic lights will also be installed at the junction in the future, paid for by the nearby housing developer.

“Weight restrictions still allow access when making deliveries, and Inkersall Green Road is the main road into the village from both Inkersall Road and the A619 and as such all vehicles have to enter this way – although Inkersall Green Road does have a low bridge which prevents HGVs over a certain height passing through.'

“Historically there has always been some level of HGV traffic passing through Inkersall, and traffic calming measures have already been installed near the school to help manage vehicle speeds. Enforcing speed limits remains the responsibility of the police.

“We will keep the situation under review but in the meantime, I’d be happy to speak to residents if they wish to get in touch to discuss their concerns further.”