North East Derbyshire District Council says regeneration remains a ‘priority’ despite ‘scrapping’ of Barrow Hill Line scheme

North East Derbyshire District Council’s Leader has stressed the authority will continue with a cooperative approach with regional leaders and Parliamentary representatives to outline the district’s regeneration priorities after the council has been asked to urge Government not to give up on the area’s community schemes.
Labour Council Leader, Cllr Nigel Barker, rejected opposition Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Alex Dale’s request during a meeting on September 23 that the council should write to the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, and to NE Derbyshire Labour MP Louise Jones to ensure regeneration in the district continues after plans for the Barrow Hill passenger railway line have been ‘scrapped’.
Cllr Dale told the meeting: “Whatever you think of the last Government, there was a focus on levelling up and regeneration and we had seen that visibly in several areas of North East Derbyshire.
“I personally have a concern around the scrapping of the Barrow Hill Line and there are other bits and bats that may have been in the firing line.”
Cllr Dale stated the previous Conservative Government was focussed on levelling up and regenerating northern and midland communities as Clay Cross and Staveley received £25million each for Town Deal regeneration projects, the region’s hospital had major upgrades, and the Barrow Hill Line was due to be re-opened for passengers.
However, Cllr Dale added that the new Labour Government has ‘scrapped’ the Barrow Hill Line plans after blaming the former Government for a ‘supposed’ financial ‘black hole’ which he argued Labour has helped to create with public sector pay rises.
Plans to restore passenger services on the Barrow Hill freight line between Sheffield and Chesterfield were put on hold after the Government announced a spending review of its infrastructure schemes while blaming the previous Conservative Government for leaving a £22bn gap in public finances.
However, Cllr Barker rejected Cllr Dale’s request to write to the Chancellor because he argued that regeneration remains a key priority and that the council is continuing to engage with colleagues to realise the Barrow Hill Line in the future as the Government takes stock of its resources.
He also dismissed Cllr Dale’s claims about a previously announced £20m of funding for regeneration in Dronfield as a speculative announcement that had been made just before the General Election to win votes.
Cllr Barker said: “The investment in regeneration of the towns and villages and key sites and local infrastructure remains a key priority and we are not denying that.
“That’s why our administration and council officers are working to plan for our communities to harness new funding and allocate the funding we already have direct control over to maximise the impact of the district.
“And we recognise that the Government is currently taking stock of the resources it has and we also appreciate that a little time is required to ensure the best possible mechanisms are put in place for administering the regeneration funds whether at national or at district level all through the new [East Midlands] mayoral combined authority.”
He added: “In the meantime we continue to engage with our colleagues on alternative longer term approaches to realise the Barrow Hill Line and other regeneration projects in the district.
“We agree that the £20m for Dronfield would have been a great windfall but we recognise the new Government needs to be clear on the big picture and explain opportunities which can benefit all our district rather than in this case focus on a speculative announcement made, I would say, in desperation a month before the General Election.”
Cllr Barker said the council has met with new MPs and the East Midlands Combined County Authority to discuss regeneration priorities and the council plays an active role in the Industrial Communities Alliance which campaigns for and focuses on former coalfield and industrial areas like North East Derbyshire.
He added: “So instead of jumping on a stand-alone letter to Government we are taking a more cooperative approach with authorities to make our views known while engaging with regional leaders and our Parliamentary representatives to ensure they understand our priorities in a much greater detail.”