Derbyshire County Council apologise after A617 Hasland Bypass closure causes gridlock in Chesterfield

Motorists spoke out after a major Chesterfield gateway was shut on Saturday, July 23 – the first day of the school holidays and the start of a busy weekend of events in the town centre.

The A617 Hasland Bypass, which connects Horns Bridge Roundabout to the M1, was closed to the Temple Normanton slip road until 6pm to allow ‘essential maintenance’, according to Derbyshire County Council.

David Ford slammed the authority as he told the Derbyshire Times how it took him ‘nearly an hour’ to reach the motorway.

He said: “Why have DCC decided to close the A617 on the first Saturday of the school holidays. Gridlocked Chesterfield. They did the same last year with the same result. Do they not learn from previous mistakes. Nearly an hour to get from chesterfield onto the motorway.”

Derbyshire County Council faced similar criticism last year after closing the busy route for what it called a delayed ‘spring clean’, with many drivers questioning why the work wasn’t carried out during lockdown or at night.

The authority has now apologised to those who were affected by the closure over the weekend.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We closed the A617 to carry out routine maintenance, which we do every year.

"We do this at a weekend as this causes less congestion, but realise that closing this busy road does still affect many people, even at the weekends. Our apologies to anyone affected by the closure."

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