Fury over Derby A6 bridge which 'should have been built years ago'

Aerial view of the proposed site
-Credit:Google


A housing developer has been labelled 'shambolic' after a footbridge promised more than 15 years ago as part of a development failed to materialise.

Persimmon Homes North Midlands was supposed to have built a bridge over the A6 approaching Derby years ago and before it built hundreds more homes, a South Derbyshire District Council meeting was told on Tuesday night (January 28). Councillors approved plans from the developer for two full-size football pitches, a junior football pitch, a sports pavilion, a cricket square and three acres of allotment space next to the A6 in Boulton Moor.

The only pedestrian access point planned for the site, known as the Triangle, to support more than 2,000 houses built or under construction in the area, is via a footbridge over the A6 that does not yet exist. Councillors were told that the construction of the A6 footbridge, south of the Thulston Roundabout, is a legal obligation that was tied to the granting of 1,058 houses in “Boulton Moor Phase 1” in 2009.

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The bridge, councillors were told, was supposed to be built by the time 500 houses had been built and occupied but that has not happened and many more homes have now been built. This situation, as it stands, would leave pedestrians and cyclists unable to access the proposed leisure facilities directly from the surrounding housing developments the site is meant to support.

An application for the footbridge was submitted last October but has not yet been decided and is currently awaiting assessment of final details by National Highways, officers said. Council officers said there were ways to enforce the building of the bridge should the application not progress as intended.

A spokesperson for Persimmon said the initial planning permission for the footbridge lapsed because "it was necessary for there to be approved land for the footbridge to connect to, before it could be built". They said the bridge would be built as soon as possible.

Artist's impression of a bridge
The planned cycling and footbridge over the A6 south of the Derby Thulston Roundabout -Credit:Persimmon

Cllr Dan Corbin said: “Developers have been nothing short of shambolic with the development of this whole area. Everything in this development has been piecemeal.

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“The footbridge is not there so you can’t access it by foot from the houses, they will all have to drive to it, which of course has an environmental factor. I am really confused and baffled why the bridge hasn’t come forward yet and baffled at how this development is coming forward.

“I don’t have any faith that the bridge will come forward, why did we just let it sail past the trigger point. That bridge should have been built years ago.”

He asked that the council look into ways for it to ensure that the leisure site remained protected for that use and that use alone, not housing development, in perpetuity.

Steffan Saunders, head of planning, said: “The bridge application should have come forward sooner, that is agreed, and nobody would disagree.”

Cllr Andrew Kirke, an allotment holder, said the boundary around the planned allotments, to replace those to be lost in Shardlow Road through a separate approved 250-home application, needed to be more secure to protect from theft. He also asked that the 14 planned car parking spaces included a number of electric vehicle charging points, which was agreed.

Artist's impression of a bridge
The planned cycling and footbridge over the A6 south of the Derby Thulston Roundabout -Credit:Persimmon

Cllr Ben Stuart said: “For the type of people you want cycling to this site the footbridge is essential. We have all now had experiences of developers not building certain things after triggers.” Mr Saunders said: “The bridge should be there already but it is not. The council can enforce the Section 106 agreement but there is an application with the council now and we are waiting on National Highways and then we will have this application brought to committee quickly.”

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A Persimmon spokesperson said: ""We're pleased that South Derbyshire District Council has granted planning permission for the creation of playing pitches, sports pavilion, allotments, and additional car parking at our Buttercup Leys development at Boulton Moor. Work will begin on this infrastructure in the coming weeks.

"We are also working with the council to finalise the technical details for the proposed footbridge. Our planning permission for the footbridge unfortunately lapsed owing to the fact that it was necessary for there to be approved land for the footbridge to connect to, before it could be built. To address this, we submitted a revised application for the footbridge back in October last year, which takes into account the development in its current form.

“Once planning permission has been received for the footbridge and connecting triangle land, we will be working to deliver this infrastructure as soon as possible, working closely with relevant consultees during this process."

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