Following the budget announcement that money would be provided for the long demanded Staveley bypass, Toby Perkins expressed his delight that the campaigning had finally borne fruit.

“I remember telling a cynical voter on the Chesterfield Road at Brimington that it was a priority back in 2010, and they said ‘it will never happen’, and it’s felt like that might be true through the ten years of austerity, but I am delighted that the collective campaigning that I have been doing alongside Chesterfield Borough, Derbyshire County, Midlands Connect and the local LEPs has finally resulted in today’s announcement. We always achieve more when we work together.”

“This will speed up traffic that is just passing through Staveley and Chesterfield and free up space on those roads that are there for people who are accessing Chesterfield. Investment in our roads must come alongside investment in public transport infrastructure too, because the environmental damage done by our over reliance on cars is great, but in itself this is an announcement that will be hugely welcomed across Chesterfield. “

The scheme will cost £93M, with £79M funded by central Government and the rest funded locally. The Derbyshire County Council scheme was included in Midlands Connect’s submission of 11 proposed schemes submitted to the Department for Transport. The Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route will create a new 5.7km single carriageway connecting the A619 north of Chesterfield town centre to the A6192 and A619 at Staveley. It offers an alternative to the often congested A619, supporting new jobs and homes, providing new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists, and making five regular bus services that use the existing A619 more reliable.