‘Grotesque’ A6 roundabout to serve new homes approved

COUNCILLORS have unanimously approved plans for a new £3 million roundabout on the A6 in a Derbyshire town to support the building of hundreds of homes.

Dozens of residents opposed plans for the 40-metre roundabout in Fairfield Road, Buxton, saying it would cause further disruption and not improve woeful traffic conditions.

They also felt Derbyshire County Council’s plans paved the way for hundreds of homes which would have a further negative impact on residents and the town’s services, and that the roundabout would see the harmful reduction in open green space on Fairfield Common.

On Monday, members of the county council planning committee unanimously approved authority’s the roundabout plans. Its planners had recommended the application be approved, citing that the public benefits of the scheme outweighed the negatives and there was a need to properly support development.

They also stressed the roundabout scheme must be discussed in isolation, not in connection with the housing developments, totalling nearly 600 new properties, it aims to support.

Members of the public were “congratulated” for their wellresearched objection letters, but all councillors on the committee approved the plans.

Residents called the roundabout plans “grotesque” and “absurd” and said a real solution for the “blighted” town’s traffic problems would be a bypass, with queues from Buxton

often stretching several miles to Dove Holes. Louise Straw, objecting, said: “Money will be spent on a white elephant which benefits no-one and could be spent regenerating Buxton town centre.”

Alan Purser, a Bible teacher living in Buxton, said: “It is proposed to install a giant thrombosis in a major traffic artery. It will be a significant inconvenience to residents.”

Other objecting residents and the Buxton Town Team also called for more sustainable travel links, saying the area’s largest employers are already doing what they can, but more must be done.

They had called for changes to the design of the roundabout to allow better usage by cyclists, equestrians and pedestrians - but also to move Buxton from a town built with a focus on motorists to one based on sustainable transport.

Cllr Linda Grooby, ward member, said: “The roundabout was always going to be controversial, without a doubt, the construction period will cause additional chaos as it goes into Buxton and it will probably be quite lengthy - probably around six months.

“However, we cannot ignore the need to build it in order to enable the development of employment and much-needed housing and although there are people who think we don’t need additional housing, the statistics prove differently.

“A major advantage of this construction and future of the roads that link to it, is for the residents in certain parts of Fairfield, close to the common. The lives of residents in this area are currently blighted by HGVS - these are in fact very narrow streets in a very heavily built-up housing estate.

“The impact of an empty tipper truck rattling through these streets at 4.30am is pretty dire to say the least. The HGVS move through and onwards to the industrial estate and along Queen’s Road.

“The roundabout will without a doubt impact on the flow of traffic in and out of this great gateway at peak times - even now the traffic can be backed up for three miles.”

Cllr Ron Mihaly disagreed that traffic information supporting the need for the roundabout was “robust”.

He said there were “a lot of loose ends” and assessing traffic in the area for 12 hours was not enough to base an entire piece of new infrastructure on.

David Arnold, the council’s head of planning, said a wider plan for sustainable travel in the town would be drawn up as the relevant housing plans are developed.

He stressed the roundabout was a “key” and “vital” piece of infrastructure needed to support new housing - for which he says there is also a proven need.

A key part of the scheme would see Waterswallows Road “stopped up”, effectively creating a cul-de-sac.

This would be caused by an arm of the new roundabout being built from the A6 across what is currently part of Fairfield Common, over land which forms one of the golf course’s holes.

A new pedestrian crossing would also be installed north of the proposed roundabout.