Erewash councillors have unanimously agreed to spend up to £80,000 examining options to improve access to New Stanton Park, including the possibility of creating a new junction on the M1.
The money will be taken from the Erewash Investment Fund and used to commission an economic appraisal of potential improvements to the Stanton regeneration site.
One option to be considered will be a new M1 junction at the Lows Lane underpass, which has been referred to as Junction 25A.
However, councillors stressed that the decision does not approve the construction of a motorway junction. The study could conclude that another road scheme, improved rail access or a combination of measures would provide a better solution.
A report examining the options is expected to be presented to the Council Executive within nine months.
‘A golden opportunity’
Introducing the motion, Conservative opposition leader Cllr Wayne Major described the former Stanton Ironworks as the largest brownfield development site in the East Midlands.
He said its redevelopment had the potential to create thousands of jobs and generate millions of pounds in business rates, but warned that the effect of additional traffic on surrounding communities could not be ignored.
Cllr Major said residents of Sandiacre and Stanton-by-Dale were already living with heavy goods vehicles travelling through their communities.
“We cannot have development and economic growth if we don’t put the money behind the infrastructure to deliver it,” he said.
He argued that the continuing development of New Stanton Park created a limited opportunity to make the economic case to the Government for major infrastructure investment.
“If we don’t do it now, we lose the economic case for doing it,” he said.
“Once Stanton is built out, I fear it will be very difficult to convince the Government that there needs to be a new junction.”
Cllr Major compared the proposal with the long campaign to reopen Ilkeston railway station, saying councillors and other local representatives had succeeded because they were prepared to pursue an ambitious project.
“I would ask you to believe,” he told councillors. “This is the first step along the road.”
Study may recommend a different solution
Council leader Cllr James Dawson seconded the motion and described the regeneration of Stanton as one of the most significant economic opportunities in the history of the area and the wider region.
He said businesses, employees, suppliers and visitors needed to be able to reach the development safely and efficiently without causing unacceptable disruption for nearby residents.
However, Cllr Dawson stressed that the appraisal would not be limited to making a case for Junction 25A.
“It may well come back and say that a Junction 25A is not the right answer,” he said.
“It may come back and say there is another option that we haven’t looked into.”
He said alternatives could include another access road, improvements to the existing railhead or a combination of road and rail measures.
Cllr Dawson said establishing an evidence base would help shape future planning policy and strengthen discussions with the East Midlands Combined County Authority and the Government.
“This is an investment not just in economic growth, but in knowledge, strategic planning and our future prosperity,” he said.
He added that decisions of such significance needed to be “guided by facts rather than assumptions”.
Calls to take HGVs off residential roads
Cllr Tony Sanghera said he supported the proposal because a purpose-built route could take heavy goods vehicles away from narrow residential streets.
He said this could reduce noise and air pollution, improve road safety and reduce the amount of money spent repairing roads damaged by heavy traffic.
Cllr Sanghera also argued that removing HGVs from residential routes would improve people’s wellbeing by allowing them to sleep, open their windows and live without fear of damage to their properties.
He said action was needed to protect residents in Sandiacre, Stanton-by-Dale and other affected communities.
Cllr Kevin Miller recalled earlier efforts to secure Junction 25A and said the previous proposed realignment of the M1 for HS2 had once presented an opportunity to build it.
He pointed to Junction 29A at Markham Vale as an example of a motorway junction built to support employment development and improve access to a major business park.
Cllr Miller said his main reason for supporting the study was to relieve the impact of HGV traffic on local residents.
“Their lives are a misery. It’s very dangerous,” he said.
He added that hundreds of heavy goods vehicles travelling through the area created concerns about children’s safety, accidents and pollution.
Warning over possible additional traffic
Cllr Andrew Prince said New Stanton Park required suitable infrastructure and that a junction at Lows Lane was worth investigating if it could provide HGVs with more direct access to the motorway.
However, he cautioned that the appraisal needed to consider more than the movement of commercial traffic.
Cllr Prince said it should also examine how a new junction might change journeys made by other motorists and whether it could attract additional traffic onto surrounding roads.
“What I would hate to see years down the line is a new junction created, but Stanton-by-Dale and the surrounding area become an even greater rat run than they already are,” he said.
He supported the motion on the basis that the study would examine wider local traffic patterns.
Cross-party support
No councillor spoke against the proposal during the debate.
In his closing remarks, Cllr Major welcomed the cross-party support and said the study represented an investment in Erewash’s future.
He said the next stage would involve persuading Derbyshire County Council and other regional bodies to support the work.
Councillors approved the motion unanimously, with no votes against and no abstentions.
The decision authorises the council to spend up to £80,000 on the economic appraisal. It does not commit the council, the Government or any other authority to constructing Junction 25A or any of the other options which may be examined.