Rees-mogg says town bypass ‘ties in’ with Government road plans
THE Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-mogg, has said in Parliament that the county council’s consultation into options for Ashbourne’s long-awaited A515 bypass “ties in” with the Government’s multi-billion pound package of road-scheme funding.
Mr Rees-mogg was challenged by Derbyshire Dales MP Sarah Dines on Thursday, having dialled into the session to request a debate on how the Government will deliver its promise of more key infrastructure projects in the Midlands.
Referring specifically to the Ashbourne bypass, Ms Dines, over a video link, explained that the Ashbourne project had been on the district’s agenda for too long.
She said: “For more than 100 years, in one form or another, the Ashbourne bypass in the Derbyshire Dales has been endlessly discussed, debated, consulted upon and promised.
“The residents of Ashbourne, which is a quintessentially English, medieval town, suffer from having more than 7,000 vehicles a day rumbling through the town – including many heavy lorries from the nearby quarries.
“With the expected postbrexit boom and the promise of ‘levelling up,’ rural communities such as mine should not be forgotten.
“May we please have a debate on the processes around how we build key infrastructure projects – not least of which is the Ashbourne bypass.”
Mr Rees-mogg began his response by commending Ms Dines on her efforts in campaigning for the bypass, and then he referred to articles published in the News Telegraph’s sister paper, the Derby Telegraph, outlining progress of Derbyshire County Council’s consultation.
He told the House: “I understand from the Derby Telegraph that there has been progress towards making the bypass a reality, with the local authority considering the results of a consultation.
“And this does tie in with the Government’s announcement of £27 billion package to spend on our strategic road network, which will provide essential upgrades and new roads across the country.”
Derbyshire County Council is now waiting on the results of the consultation, which ran through November and December, to be analysed by consultants.
It is hoped a report can then be prepared, outlining the views of the public and the preferred routes, to be put before the cabinet in March.
Deciding on the preferred route for the northern relief road to take would leave the scheme with only a few more hurdles to cross before funding can be sought and the construction can get under way.
Concluding his response to Ms Dines in the House of Commons, Mr Rees-mogg light-heartedly mocked her frustration that it had taken 100 years to deliver a bypass for Ashbourne.
He said: “I would remind the honourable lady that the Parliament Act refers to itself as a ‘temporary measure’ – and that is 110 years old this year.
“So 100 years seems like a long time – but perhaps not always in a parliamentary context.”
This ties in with the planned £27 billion package for our road strategic road network. Jacob Rees-mogg