Chatsworth Road: ‘This is a sad day for local democracy’ - says Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins

Derbyshire County Council have now approved the East-West Cycle Path, which will see the permanent closure of Crow Lane and a cycle lane created along Chatsworth Road – with the road being narrowed and a reduction in the speed limit to 30mph all the way from Holymoorside.

In response, Mr Perkins said: “Whether you are for or against the proposals, I think we can all agree that the County Council’s handling of this issue has been shambolic, incompetent and undemocratic. This is a sad day for local democracy. With any proposed large development or infrastructure project, there will always be some people who remain unhappy with the final decision, but it would leave less of a bitter taste in the mouth if the County Council had made a real attempt to consult local people.

“It is very clear to me that there has been no real attempt to consult people’s views and that the Council had made all the decisions far in advance and paid lip-service to any real attempt to engage with the community, particularly those residents along Chatsworth Road who will be impacted the most by the proposals. The County Council still claim to have delivered 4,000 consultation letters, but it appears that these were not all delivered. The original consultation was only conducted online for a three-week period at the height of the pandemic and was clearly insufficient and not a genuine attempt to secure the views of local people.

“I had a meeting with Cllr Athwal in November 2021 to express my concerns about the letters that people had not received and the short timeframe for the consultation. Cllr Athwal dismissed the concerns and said that even if the letters were not delivered, the Council had no duty to send them as part of the consultation. He also stood by the three-week consultation process and made it clear that he did not care about the concerns and objections being raised by people in Chesterfield and that DCC were proceeding whether local people agreed or not.

“I have also consistently pressed the County Council to hold public meetings, but they have failed to do so. I attended a public meeting held by the Chesterfield Civic Society at Brookfield School, which was attended by over 200 people, but no representative from the Council was there.

“Many residents have been raising further concerns about the consultation process. I believe that the consultation process has been deeply flawed and unfair. I secured a Westminster Hall debate to raise my concerns regarding the Council’s consultation process. I also raised this in a meeting with the then Minister for Cycling, Chris Heaton-Harris MP, who informed me that whilst guidance is provided regarding the consultation process, the final decision is up to local authorities and the Government will not intervene.

“I remain of the opinion that the alternative suggestions, such as closing Dark Lane instead of Crow Lane or having a cross-country path instead of using Chatsworth Road, should have been fully considered and should have been part of a fair and robust consultation process.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “Council understands that the outcome will not please everybody, however, we have followed a democratic process and are satisfied that the majority are still in favour of this scheme."

Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal added: “It is very disappointing to see the views of Toby Perkins on this route. When Crow Lane was first closed to traffic this was something that initially he supported.

“When I met with Mr Perkins in September 2021 he told me that this cycling route was discussed with candidates by most residents on the door step while they were canvassing in the run up to the County Council elections in 2021, so it is clear that people did know about it.

“He is wrong to say that I did not care about the concerns and objections being raised and I did not say that we would proceed regardless of what people said. We have gone above and beyond in consulting with the public on this scheme. And unless we take bold actions we will not persuade more people to walk or use bikes rather than their cars.”