Chesterfield MP says Derbyshire missing out on latest £4.7bn Government transport funding is a ‘slap in the face’

The Labour MP Toby Perkins and Chesterfield Borough Council Leader Tricia Gilby have both previously expressed disappointment at the Government’s decision to scrap plans to extend the high-speed train railway line HS2 beyond the East Midlands due to spiralling costs.

However, the Government stated plans were underway to reinvest an originally earmarked figure of around £36bn for the HS2 scheme into other transport projects under a Network North plan for rail lines, roads and tramlines.

But in the latest Government £4.7bn handout from the Local Transport Fund Derbyshire and Derby have been excluded because the region is expected to receive a substantial £1.5bn settlement from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement 2 pot as part of the formation of the East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority in the spring.

Mr Perkins said: “Here in Derbyshire, we have the worst potholes in the entire country, bus services that are frequently late or don’t show up at all and train services that are often standing room only.

“The cancellation of HS2’s northern leg is a disaster for the region and would have brought significant investment and jobs to Chesterfield – as well as improving our connectivity and ability to attract new businesses to the area.

“It is a real slap in the face to the people of Derbyshire that we will not receive anything from the announced funding plan.”

Derbyshire has plenty of proposed transport projects which would welcome a further financial boost including: The stalled Chesterfield to Staveley Regeneration Route bypass; A possible Clay Cross Train Station; The Derbyshire Rail Industry Innovation Vehicle training and commerce centre; The Regeneration of Chesterfield Railway Station; The reopening of the former Barrow Hill railway line: And desperately needed county road pothole repairs among others.

The Chesterfield to Staveley Regeneration Route bypass is perhaps in most need after it has currently been ‘paused’ by cash-strapped Derbyshire County Council who have only recently announced plans to balance a forecast budget deficit for 2024-25 of over £39m.

If the bypass scheme is revived it aims to reduce congestion, create new jobs, and homes and open up a growth corridor for businesses as part of a series of regeneration schemes for the region.

Cllr Gilby, of Labour-controlled Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Our understanding is that this is funding specifically allocated as part of the City Region Sustainable Travel Settlement and is for regions that are not covered by a combined authority.

“The East Midlands Combined County Authority has already received an allocation from this fund for £1.5bn over five years.

“The council also continues to work with national and regional partners on the development of range of transport projects, including the Barrow Hill Restoring your Railway project, East Midlands rail stations project and the Chesterfield and Staveley Regeneration Route, which we are hopeful will be allocated funding from the Network North strategy.”

The multi-billion pound HS2 scheme was originally rolled-out as a new zero-carbon, high-speed railway that would serve as a levelling-up project for the north and south running between London, the Midlands and the north of England.

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in October that his Conservative Government was scrapping the line north of Birmingham – effectively getting rid of the leg to Manchester and the eastern leg to East Midlands Parkway.

Cllr Gilby had argued that building HS2 East in full would have been transformational for Chesterfield borough, creating jobs, driving investment, and freeing up capacity on the Midland Main Line to create a more dependable local rail service.

Chesterfield MP Mr Perkins and Cllr Gilby had initially been saddened in November, 2021, when original plans between the East Midlands and Leeds – which were to see HS2 go through Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds – were also scrapped and replaced with a proposed route stopping at an East Midlands hub near Nottingham which has also now been scrapped.

Mr Perkins said the Prime Minister’s decision to abandon the billions already spent on HS2 would leave the UK with a Victorian train infrastructure.

The Government’s latest Local Transport Fund handout aims to fund projects elsewhere in the north and the East Midlands from 2025 to improve connections particularly across towns, villages, and rural areas. and possibly refurbish bus and railway stations and support building charging point plans for electric cars.

Over the next seven years from April 2025, local transport authorities in the north will receive £2.5bn and others in the Midlands will receive £2.2bn.

The Network North Plan confirmed this money will be additional to the local transport, road and rail budgets allocated at the last spending review and it will be in addition to what those organisations were expecting for the next decade.

The Government also stressed the funding is additional to the previously announced highways maintenance funding and bus service improvement plans and local transport authority allocations aimed at helping to deliver increased bus routes and services.

The latest £4.7bn of funding has been earmarked for spending after the next spending review between 2025 and 2032 and it will be used to drive better connectivity in and between towns, suburbs and cities and to improve everyday journeys across places other than Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

A Government spokesperson stated: “The East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority will receive a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement from CRSTS2.

“Therefore, Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have not been included in LTF funding allocations, which are intended for areas outside the scope of CRSTS settlements.”

The final CRSTS2 allocations are to be confirmed following engagement with city regions on their delivery plans, according to the Government.

Concerning the Government’s latest £4.7bn funding scheme, Mr Perkins added that he is not convinced by this plan with the prospect of a General Election looming later this year.

He said: “I am not convinced this is a credible plan in any way. A Government on its last legs promising funding from future Governments will not fool anyone.

“Our roads aren’t fit to drive on and without a change of Government and a change of approach, we will continue to see transport infrastructure in the north being the poor relation as it has been throughout the last 14 years.

“Many of the schemes being talked about have already been announced, and we know from the cancellation of HS2’s Northern Leg, the numerous broken promises to electrify the Midland Mainline and the pause of the Staveley bypass, that we cannot trust the Conservatives to deliver the investment our area desperately needs.”

NE Derbyshire Conservative MP Lee Rowley was asked for a comment but has so far been unable to provide a statement.

A spokesperson, from Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council, said: “While we are not included in this latest round of funding as this allocation is for authorities outside combined authority areas, we already have access to equivalent funding which has already been announced by the government.

“Through the East Midlands Combined County Authority, Derbyshire will have access to the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement which is a total of £1.5bn over five years, which we have previously welcomed.

“We are not guaranteed a specific sum from this pot at this stage, but we will work with our partners in EMCCA to agree the Derbyshire projects to be funded and will obviously be seeking to achieve the best outcome for the county.”

Labour-led NE Derbyshire District Council chose not to comment.