Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins is continuing to press for the Chesterfield-Staveley bypass scheme to get under way after raising concerns that there are too many residents still being exposed to ‘unacceptable levels’ of air pollution.
A recently-released Chesterfield Borough Council 2024 Air Quality Status Report revealed High Street and Ringwood Road, in Brimington, as the worst areas in the borough with the highest levels of air pollution closely followed by Brimington’s Church Street.
Although none of the eleven worst-polluted areas in the council’s report breached the UK limit for nitrogen dioxide they all exceeded the World Health Organisation’s lower guideline for clean air.
Mr Perkins, the borough council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority are ever eager to keep plans for the stalled £166million Chesterfield-to-Staveley Regeneration Route scheme on track, not least, to help drive down traffic congestion and air pollution.
The Chesterfield Labour MP said: “Whilst it is a relief that no areas in Chesterfield have breached the UK limit for NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), it does still show that there are too many Chesterfield citizens that are exposed to unacceptable levels of air pollution which has damaging health impacts particularly on children’s young lungs leading to asthma and other respiratory issues.
“The high levels in Brimington reinforce the need for the Staveley bypass which I am pursuing with local MPs and the [East Midlands] Mayor, and [it] will speed up traffic and take it away from close proximity to homes. It also re-emphasizes the need to support people to use active travel and public transport where possible.”
Chesterfield Borough Council’s report has further highlighted the importance of the bypass plans – particularly for Brimington between Chesterfield and Staveley – after they were ‘paused’ in 2023 by Derbyshire County Council as the county council addressed forecast multi-million pound budget deficits while awaiting Government confirmation on funding for the project.
The UK limit measurement for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – most closely associated with car fumes – is 40 ug/m3 but all of the eleven worst places of concern in the Chesterfield borough previously highlighted by the Derbyshire Times exceeded the WHO’s lower guideline for clean air of 10 ug/m3 of NO2.
Areas with the highest levels included High Street and Ringwood Road, in Brimington, as the most polluted with a 34.8 ug/m3 annual mean concentration of NO2 with Church Street, Brimington, with an annual mean concentration of NO2 of 34.4 ug/m3.
Concerns have also been raised by residents, businesses and a planning consultancy that a recently approved scheme for a new Aldi foodstore on Ringwood Road, in Brimington, would lead to further increased traffic congestion problems and more air pollution and that it should have only been allowed once the proposed bypass plans went ahead to provide an alternative route for motorists.
The East Midlands Combined County Authority recently announced that it has committed £2.5m from the 2025-26 City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement to progress with the next stage of the Chesterfield-to-Staveley Regeneration Route scheme.
The final scheme hopes to see a new single carriageway route of nearly four miles built between Chesterfield and Staveley relieving congestion on the existing network in the area and reducing traffic-related emissions associated with congestion and it is also hoped the scheme will provide economic growth, jobs and homes, and revive brownfield land.
EMCCA Mayor Claire Ward has said there is a need to to invest money for feasibility to clean up the land in question so development is not stopping while all concerned parties await decisions from the Government.
Chesterfield Borough Cllr Steve Lismore, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, has said the council is continuing to support the Chesterfield-to-Staveley Regeneration Route scheme to help ease congestion particularly in Brimington which has been one of the worst areas for air pollution, and he hopes the trend for decreasing levels of air pollution will continue with the council’s proactive approach to the problem.
The council is following several initiatives to reduce air pollution including promoting the use of low emission vehicles and supporting the roll-out of electric vehicles and electric charging points through new developments and infrastructure and with new homes.
It is also encouraging people to walk, cycle and use public transport while insisting on air quality assessments from developers concerning possible impacts on traffic.
The council is also backing proposals like the reopening of the Barrow Hill Line and Station Link Road to ease congestion, and it has formulated an Environment Improvement Plan, and it is trying to mitigate the impact of air pollution through tree planting and green buffer zones while working with a number of environmental groups.
Its 2024 Air Quality Status Report report described key pollutants as nitrogen dioxide gas which comes from transport or energy operations, sulphur dioxide gas from the combustion of coal and crude oil, and particle matter from natural sources such as pollen and industrial emissions and smoke from fires and dust from tyres and brakes.
But the main pollutant of concern in Chesterfield is nitrogen dioxide and the predominant source is traffic, according to the report, even though the overall trend in levels of the pollutant continues to show a gradual decline.
Church Street, in Brimington, has previously been declared as an Air Quality Management Area, and elsewhere Sheffield Road, at Stonegravels, is being closely monitored and kept under review due to the changes in levels of nitrogen dioxide, according to the report.
The council’s report explained Chesterfield can be problematic as an intersection for goods vehicles and traffic from the south of Manchester, Stockport, Macclesfield, and Stoke-on-Trent and unfortunately there has been a lower than expected uptake of low-emission vehicles across the region.
But the Government’s Road to Zero initiative includes an approach to reduce exhaust emissions from road transport through a number of mechanisms while balancing the needs of communities.
Mr Perkins added: “When so many people continue to have their health impacted by air pollution, it is important that all people in positions of power do all they can to reduce car usage where practicable, and I will be looking forward to learning what the new administration at Derbyshire County Council’s policy is in regard to this.”
Other places in the council’s report with concerning readings include: Warner Street, in Chesterfield, with 31.2 ug/m3; Sheffield Road, in Whittington Moor, with 28.0 ug/m3; Hasland Road, Hasland, with 27.8 ug/m3; Lowgates, Staveley, with 26.7 ug/m3; a stretch on Derby Road, Chesterfield, with 26.5 ug/m3; A further part of Derby Road, Chesterfield, with 25.3 ug/m3; Walton Fields Road, Brampton, with 25.9 ug/m3; Saltergate / Compton Street, Chesterfield, with 25.0 ug / m3; And Hollis Lane, Chesterfield, with 24.8 ug/m3.
