East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has expressed her delight over the allocation of millions of pounds towards regeneration and improvement projects for Derbyshire including support for the long-awaited Chesterfield-to-Staveley bypass scheme.
The East Midlands Combined County Authority has allocated and invested more than £20 million of Government funding from various funding pots for Derbyshire County Council’s recently earmarked and preferred projects and priorities.
Derbyshire County Council’s plans for EMCCA’s investment covers a wide range of schemes and the combined authority has also allocated £2.5m of Transport for City Regions funding towards the development and investigation of options for the Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route plans.
Ms Ward said: “Fast, fair growth is what my East Midlands Growth Plan is all about. I want everyone who lives in the East Midlands to benefit from improvements to the local economy.
“I am delighted to allocate the money to Derbyshire and look forward to seeing the projects progress. My mission is to ensure better jobs, fairer pay and new opportunities in every community.”
However, the Labour Government has not yet made any commitments to provide the remaining overall estimated, necessary funding to complete and get the £166m Chesterfield-Staveley bypass scheme up-and-running but EMCCA has stressed that it will keep engaging with Government and partners to make sure any future funding decisions reflect the needs of the area.
The county council still has this scheme in its sights and hopes to see a new single carriageway route of nearly four miles built between Chesterfield and Staveley relieving congestion on the network in the area and reducing traffic-related emissions and pollution associated with congestion and.
It is also hoped the scheme will provide economic growth, jobs and homes, and revive brownfield land as part of plans for the Staveley Growth Corridor which will be largely dependent upon the Chesterfield-Staveley bypass being built.
Ms Ward has previously stated she has been keen to invest money for a feasibility study for the bypass scheme subject to a business case and a ground investigation while awaiting a Government decision on the scheme to formally give it the go-ahead.
EMCCA stated that funding for the ground investigation is already planned for 2025-26 in its City Region Sustainable Transport budget separately from a recent Government funding announcement for transport projects and the authority added that it will keep working closely with partners and the Government to make sure any plans fit with the wider goals for the region.
The county council’s Cabinet recently approved the latest Government-backed EMCCA funding allocations at a meeting on October 16 with a list of projects which are set to benefit from the investment worth millions of pounds as part of the council’s Regeneration Project Pipeline.
Its plans for EMCCA’s investment includes spending up to £1.2 million from the Transport for City Regions feasibility funding towards investigating options for Shirebrook access and connectivity, as well as plans to regenerate the former Willington Power Station site and support for a number of ‘active travel’ projects to encourage walking and cycling.
The list of potential projects under the county council’s Regeneration Project Pipeline, which also features market town centre revamps, has been developed under programme areas including; Growth Zone North; Growth Zone South; Market Towns; Culture, Heritage and Tourism; And Enabling Infrastructure.
Growth Zone North includes the potential Staveley Growth Corridor with possible new homes and infrastructure linked to the Chesterfield-Staveley Bypass plans, Spire Neighbourhood and the Station Masterplan in Chesterfield, and further proposals for the A61/Avenue in Wingerworth.
Growth Zone South includes the South Derbyshire Growth Zone near Derby, New Stanton Park near Ilkeston, and the redevelopment of the former Willington Power Station for commercial purposes.
Market Towns include town centre redevelopments in Eckington, Killamarsh, Woodville, Clay Cross, Swadlincote, Shirebrook and Melbourne, revitalising Buxton, including the relocation of the library and museum, and the Matlock Market Hall redevelopment.
Culture, Heritage and Tourism includes expansion and integration of cycle and walking routes such as the White Peak Loop and Derwent Valley, Bolsover Loop and Bennerley, the Chesterfield Canal restoration and completion of missing sections, and comprehensive regeneration and redevelopment at key sites within Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Enabling Infrastructure includes developing the implementation of a flood resilience work programme, reviewing the design of M1 Junction 30 and Treble Bob between Barlborough and Clowne which may see increased traffic from the approved Clowne Garden Village housing scheme, and the completion of the White Peak Loop for cycling.
The council plans also include allocating £250,000 from the TCR Market Towns funding towards the installation of infrastructure to better manage visitor on-street parking in Castleton and nearby Rushup Edge.
Visitor parking has been identified as a ‘significant issue’ after police were forced to close Castleton’s Winnats Pass and nearby Rushup Edge in January for safety reasons due to the volume of double-parked cars.
County Cllr Rob Reaney, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said: “We’re committed to working with EMCCA to drive a higher quality of life through investing in the Derbyshire economy, backing our commitment to create more prosperous, green and sustainable places with opportunities for everyone.
“From building new road infrastructure to create jobs by opening up land for business development, to investing in skills and training to make sure we have a ready and able workforce to meet the demands of local industry, we’re confident we have a pipeline of projects to address some of the key economic challenges for Derbyshire as and when funding is available.”
