Report by Jon Cooper – Local Democracy Reporter
A concerned councillor’s bid to persuade NE Derbyshire District Council to oppose a Derbyshire County Council-backed traffic lights scheme aimed at supporting a new housing and commercial estate has been rejected.
The Labour-controlled district council is favouring plans for a signalised junction near a staggered crossroads on the A61 Derby Road, in Wingerworth – with Mill Lane on one side and Nottingham Drive on the other – to maintain traffic flow, help movement in and out of the main carriageway and to keep pedestrians safe as the nearby Avenue housing and commercial estate progresses.
NE Derbyshire District Council has proposed a speed limit reduction for a 1.6mile stretch of the A61 through Wingerworth from 50mph to 40mph as well as backing plans for traffic lights and it voted against Independent District Cllr Ross Shipman’s motion at a meeting on January 26 for the council to oppose the plans after he highlighted public opposition in a consultation with fears for increased congestion and safety.
Cllr Shipman told the meeting: “This motion does not argue that nothing should be done. I have always said something should be done but the traffic lights scheme needs to be rejected and not wasted on any more money for a scheme that nobody wants.
“We need to write to the Derbyshire County Council and send a clear message that the consultation has been meaningful and their voices do matter.”
Cllr Shipman said rejecting the scheme would not be about stopping any new traffic intervention it would be about looking at an alternatives such as a roundabout which he believes would be a preferred option after he pointed out that consultation results showed a majority of respondents are opposed to the traffic lights scheme with approximately 65per cent stating they do not support the proposals compared with 30per cent in support.
But the district council believes the scheme will help to maintain traffic flow and keep road-users including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians safe and that it will improve access to residential and commercial areas and reduce traffic demands from the planned Avenue housing development onto the A61 at the Hornbeam Drive roundabout north of Nottingham Drive.
It has stated that the traffic lights would provide signal controlled pedestrian crossings over the A61 and Mill Lane and their width at four metres would allow for a shared use with cyclists.
Proposed traffic lights would feature vehicle detection technology which senses waiting vehicles and adjusts timing for the lights using sensors to optimise traffic flow and a bus stop between Mill Lane and Nottingham Drive would be moved as part of the scheme to a new northbound location away from the junction area and nearer to the Baker Road residential area.
The estimated £1m scheme is considered to be much less costly than an estimated cost of around £8m for a roundabout which would need to accommodate underground services and BT cables, according to District Council Director of Growth and Assets, Matthew Broughton, and it would be less expensive than a larger traffic signal arrangement under the current speed limit of 50mph, according to the district council.
Mr Broughton, said that despite 65per cent of respondents registering opposition to the traffic lights scheme, 68 per cent stated they want an intervention and 52per cent stated they regarded safety as a top concern with crossing, school children and turning movements which a roundabout would not address.
Council Leader, Cllr Nigel Barker, said there has always been an aspiration to have a southern access to The Avenue site and the council has secured £1m of funding from the East Midlands Combined County Authority for the proposed traffic lights scheme but it would be a ‘travesty’ if a much more expensive scheme was pursued instead and that funding was lost.
He told the meeting: “We have analysed the responses. We accept 65per cent didn’t support the original proposal but it also notes that 68per cent supported some sort of intervention.”
Cllr Barker added: “A big factor for me is a safe traffic point especially for school children coming off this big estate and if we can have a signalised junction that accommodates that I think that is a good thing.”
Labour Cllr Kevin Gillott also said he felt there would be a serious risk with pursuing nearly £10m for an alternative roundabout that could put any overall scheme at risk if the funding could not be found.
Construction work for the traffic lights scheme could begin in 2026 over two to three months, according to the district council, if the plans are given approval by the district council and Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority.
Cllr Shipman told the meeting: “The council sounds like it’s pushing ahead with a traffic lights system. When is this council going to learn to act on what people think?”
He previously stated people must have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their daily lives and that pushing ahead with a scheme that lacks public support risks undermining trust in the consultation process.
The district council oversaw the public consultation into the scheme following a request from Derbyshire County Council who secured £1m from the East Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority to develop a signalised junction in Wingerworth subject to approval by the county council’s highways authority.
The scheme aims to support a southern access point for the major brownfield strategic development of housing and employment land at the nearby Avenue site earmarked in the North East Derbyshire Local Plan.
Out of 451 consultation respondents, who were mostly local residents, 68per cent supported some sort of intervention on the traffic access onto the A61 from Nottingham Drive and Mill Lane, according to the district council, with views being taken into account on the overall design.
Signals on Nottingham Drive have been recognised as a ‘primary concern’ by the district council after it stated that the consultation highlighted many people’s worries that the time delays and vehicle detection loop would be insufficient to cope with vehicles exiting the A61 at peak times.
The council has stated that following the consultation it has considered the siting of the relocated northbound bus stop, extending the 40mph speed limit to the New Tupton roundabout, and maintaining safe and accessible crossing points for pedestrians.
A district council spokesperson has stated discussions between the county and district councils have been taking place on how to progress the scheme reflecting these issues and designers have been instructed to consider options to address concerns with the safety of all road users remaining an absolute priority.
Cllr Shipman argued the concerns about the traffic lights scheme come from people who use these road daily and he argued that consultants have not taken into account that they are dealing with a main road with a lot more housing expected in the southern part of the district.
Conservative District Cllr Charlotte Cupit said she was concerned the A61 could be brought to a standstill and it could be ‘disastrous’ trying to put in a four-way lights system and fellow Conservative Cllr Alex Dale said he could not help but feel a roundabout would be the best option.
Mr Broughton told the meeting that consultants WSP and Derbyshire County Council support the proposed traffic lights scheme as the ‘optimum solutiuon’.
Cllr Shipman’s motion urging the authority to oppose the plans and to write to the county council’s highways authority urging them not to proceed with the traffic lights scheme and to work with residents and district councillors to explore alternatives failed after it was rejected by a vote of 58per cent as opposed to 16per cent in favour and 26per cent abstaining.
