Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, has slammed the decision by Derbyshire County Council to pause the development of the Staveley Bypass.

Toby said:

“The decision to pause the Staveley Bypass is a major blow for the area and for the the wider Staveley Vision Master Plan. This decision would mean that the two most significant infrastructure projects for our area this century will have been cancelled within a month or so of each other.

This not only denies Staveley and Brimington people the by-pass that has been spoken of for 60 years, but having finally convinced government of the case it is beyond disappointing that it should now be the local council who will jeopardise this development when we have got the government signed up to delivering it.

It means that the government’s £140 million potential investment in our area will disappear, alongside the much smaller contribution the cash-strapped County Council was expected to make.

The government’s under-funding of Councils which is leaving Councils of all colours on the brink is the root cause of the shortfall, but to give up £140 Million of central government investment because you can’t find £21 million is the epitome of a false economy and it will damage our economic prospects in a key regeneration area as well as leave local people continuing to live in a traffic congestion black spot.

If you compare this to when the Labour Party was in Government and in control of DCC, we were able to build the Junction 29A motorway junction, which has subsequently brought thousands of jobs to our area.

​​​​​​​I will be writing to DCC to ask them to re-consider, but I will also see if Ministers at departments for Transport and DLUHC can intervene to save this crucial project.”