M1 junction near shops site ‘needs improving’
BUSINESSES have called for improvements to upgrade a junction of the M1 which they say is causing disruption and leading to “ridiculous” tailbacks.
Concerns have been raised over Junction 28, which provides access to the popular East Midlands Designer Outlet off the A38 and South Normanton, via Mansfield Road.
David Cox, who occasionally helps with deliveries at Brookhill Cafe, at the Brookhill Industrial Estate in Pinxton, said improvements were desperately needed.
He said the tailbacks were “ridiculous”, saying: “You can’t get one way or the other. There’s going to be a bump before much longer.
“We have got a business on the industrial estate, we are always late for deliveries with one thing or another because the bottleneck is holding everything up. Then you have got the school as well turning out.”
Mark Fletcher, Conservative MP for Bolsover, and Councillor Steve Fritchley, leader of Bolsover District Council, said the junction was highly congested and struggling to deal with the volume of traffic.
They have written to the Department for Transport and Highways England to request funding for improvements.
The political leaders said the road layout was “outdated”.
They also said they were concerned about the level of noise and air pollution from cars and lorries sat at the junction, especially around rush hour.
“Traffic sat on the junction generates a large amount of pollution and residents in South Normanton and Pinxton are understandably concerned,” the leaders said.
The junction is an important gateway to businesses in South Normanton, Pinxton, Sutton and Mansfield.
Mr Fletcher said: “Making long-term changes to the junction will drastically improve traffic flow through the area, as well as improving air quality for those that live in South Normanton and Pinxton.
“It’s vital that we improve the junction here to help unlock potential in the south of the constituency.”
The leaders have written to local businesses to see how proposed improvements could have a positive impact. In the letter, they wrote: “As a recent meeting with Highways England, they outlined to us their new design, which has an extremely high cost-benefit ratio (CPR) and demonstrates significant improvements to journey times, as well as a decrease in the number of injuries from collisions.
“They are currently finalising administrative details.”
National Highways head of service delivery Adrian Oulds said: “We’re aware of the concerns raised by Mark Fletcher MP in relation to the location and will continue to discuss the issues raised with him in due course.
“In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor the performance of the junction and will work with the local community on any future improvements.”