Local MP Lee Rowley and Dronfield’s County Councillors Alex Dale and Angelique Foster have welcomed the news that Derbyshire County Council has doubled the stretch of the bypass they are intending to resurface in the next couple of weeks in a bid to reduce noise levels.
The A61 Dronfield By-pass cuts through the middle of the town and following surface dressing works in July last year, gave rise to a large number of complaints about the increase noise levels from residents across the town.
In the months that followed Lee, Alex and Angelique made a number of representations to the County Council’s highways team on behalf of residents and as a result of the pressure put on them, the Council decided to conduct noise surveys, before announcing on 16th June that they intended to resurface a one-mile stretch of the bypass to help deal with the problems that had arisen.
Since then, Lee, Angelique and Alex have been working constructively with Highways officers to ensure that the maximum benefit could be achieved for local residents experiencing the noise issues, particularly those in the Bowshaw and Hilltop areas who were concerned that the proposed one-mile stretch did not go far enough.
The Council has now announced that it has doubled the length of the proposed resurfacing works to two miles, so that it will cover from the Bowshaw roundabout to over half a kilometre south of the Gosforth Lane bridge. The work is due to start later this week.
Commenting, Cllr Alex Dale said “This is fantastic news for local residents in Dronfield. We’d like to thank all those who’ve been in touch with us to express concerns about the noise over the past year and those who have contacted the County Council directly. The success for this campaign would not have been possible without the support of local residents in helping us to highlight how important this problem has been and we’re grateful for everyone’s patience while we’ve been trying to fix it.”
Cllr Angelique Foster added: “We hope that the additional resurfacing the Council has committed to alongside Bowshaw and Hilltop will help to reduce the problem for residents in those areas and we’ve sought assurances from the Council’s noise consultants that that should be the case.”
Lee Rowley MP added: “We know that the bypass has always been a busy and noisy road and I know residents know there will always be some noise associated with it. We’re hopeful that these changes will help to reduce the particular issue of noise that has been present for the last year. The works are starting soon so thanks to everyone for bearing with the Council whilst they do them and we look forward to seeing the results.”
Pictured: Cllr Alex Dale at the entrance to the by-pass at Bowshaw
