Derbyshire County Council and Bolsover MP Natalie Fleet are continuing to seek a solution to reduce traffic congestion at a notorious M1 junction in the county.
Junction 28 of the M1 motorway is located in an area ranked as having one of the highest levels of transport-related issues for residents in England.
The Midlands Connect transport body – which helps to develop transport projects – has claimed that residents in the Bolsover district and the area around Junction 28 of the M1 motorway, at South Normanton near Alfreton, are living with a high risk of transport issues affecting their lives.
In Bolsover district, 64,495 people, or 80.1 per cent of the district’s residents, live in neighbourhoods with a nationally high risk of Transport-Related Social Exclusion – meaning transport issues have a fundamental impact on their lives – compared with 18 per cent of residents across England, according to Midlands Connect’s analysis of TRSE statistics.
Labour MP Ms Fleet – who was recently appointed Parliamentary Champion for Junction 28 by Midlands Connect – said, “I’m shocked by these figures, but sadly not surprised.
“So many people tell me how difficult it is to travel around our area, and the impact this has on their lives – one of the reasons I was so keen to take up the role of Parliamentary Champion for Junction 28.
“I will be doing all I can to make sure that the issue of Transport-Related Social Exclusion is high on the Government’s agenda.”
Transport-Related Social Exclusion is when people are unable to access opportunities, services, and community life due to issues with the transport system.
This could mean residents are unable to access childcare or good job opportunities, or they face poverty and financial hardship because of transport costs, or significant stress and anxiety from using the transport system as part of their everyday lives.
Bolsover district ranks as number two out of 296 Local Authority districts for the overall level of TRSE risk, according to Midlands Connect’s analysis, and the district’s Pinxton, South Normanton, and Broadmeadows areas are among the top 10 per cent of England’s council wards at risk from Transport-Related Social Exclusion.
The M1 motorway’s Junction 28 is regarded as an important logistical location in the East Midlands, situated between Birmingham and Manchester, and it is where the M1 links to Sutton and Mansfield via the A38.
It also provides links to Sheffield and Nottingham for residents of South Normanton, Pinxton, Alfreton, Kirkby, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, and it serves as a route to the Peak District National Park.
However, Midlands Connect stated that the junction experiences thousands of hours of delays each year, costing the economy millions of pounds, and has argued that it is in desperate need of intervention. The transport body’s analysis earlier in the year showed the junction was operating at up to what it quoted to be “107 per cent” capacity in the morning rush-hour period.
Consumer research conducted by Midlands Connect in 2022 also showed that 82 per cent of residents surveyed in the districts of Bolsover and Ashfield would support improvements to upgrade Junction 28 of the M1 in Derbyshire.
Swati Mittal, of the Midlands Connect Integrated Transport Programme, said, “These new figures are yet more evidence of how we need to upgrade Junction 28 and unlock the road network in and around South Normanton and Pinxton. These figures were the highest compared to the similar schemes which we promote and look at.”
Midlands Connect has shown that upgrading Junction 28 would be good for businesses, according to Swati Mittal, and that this target is supported by residents and would help tackle transport exclusion.
Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, Cllr Carolyn Renwick, said the council has been working for over two years trying to secure improvements and investments to help ease congestion and road safety issues around Junction 28 of the M1 motorway.
Fellow Conservative County Cllr Charlotte Cupit, Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, has also been calling for more Government action and funding.
The Labour Government has pledged £6.7 billion for roads, rail, and schools in its Autumn Budget statement announced on 30 October.
Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, said Junction 28 has been one of its road priorities for some time, and it understands how congestion can cause frustrating knock-on effects for individuals and businesses.
National Highways has also stated that it is looking forward to working with Ms Fleet to help reduce congestion at Junction 28 of the M1 motorway.
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