MP Lee Rowley meets with Government minister to push for green light on £166m Staveley bypass plans

The Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route scheme, overseen by Derbyshire County Council (DCC), would create a new 3.7 mile route between the two towns.

It would stretch from the roundabout by Sainsbury’s on the A619 in Chesterfield, past the new Heritage Green Estate, and finish at Hall Lane in Staveley.

The proposals aim to reduce congestion between Chesterfield and Staveley and open up disused land for 1,800 homes and a swathe of new businesses – creating 3,400 jobs.

DCC has submitted a business case to the Government, and is currently waiting on a decision as to whether they will provide a grant to help fund the development. Lee Rowley, Conservative MP for North East Derbyshire, said that he was recently stressing the importance of the scheme to Richard Holden MP – the Minister for Roads.

In a Facebook post, Mr Rowley said: “The bypass – something which has been in the works for, count them, 90 years – was given a new opportunity several years ago when the Government funded detailed work to build a business case. Since then, Derbyshire County Council have been working on that detail and, a number of months ago, submitted the case back to the Government. The Government are now considering the bid and we should hear a decision on it soon.

“To help highlight the significance of this initiative for North East Derbyshire, I met with Richard to highlight the importance of this for our area and to go through the benefits that it would bring Staveley. We should hear more in the coming months!

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“As I say every time I talk about infrastructure, we won't get everything we bid for but it's important to make the case as much as we can for new opportunities in North East Derbyshire – fingers crossed on this one!”

The council is looking to get an 85 per cent grant from central Government of £141 million to pay for the majority of the scheme. It says a “local” contribution of £25 million will be required to fund the rest of the scheme, with landowners telling the authority this “can be achieved”, the report details.

A public consultation in early 2022, showed 60 per cent of respondents were in favour of the project. A formal planning application is due to be submitted this year.