Better Transport

• Richard Butler send them a message
• Tel: 01332 294342
• DerbyHEART website

DerbyHEART was formed to fight the 'Connecting Derby' road scheme. The scheme would involve building new roads through a socially deprived residential area and also through and adjacent to the historic Strutts Park Conservation area, destroying the settings of some of Derby's most historic buildings.

The scheme has been promoted as a public transport scheme despite the fact that 90% of the benefits go to private transport users. It would increase road traffic by 5%.

The project has been subject to massive increases in costs, and to meet the huge funding gap the local Council has robbed the following sources: £2m allocated for a new bus station, £1m that was for a park and ride scheme, and £3.5m that was for local transport initiatives that could lead to modal shift. £40m is being spent to achieve very little that meets the needs of the 21st century and the threat of global warming.

In short it is an expensive, old-fashioned idea that should be replaced by a scheme that supports public transport and encourages real modal shift away from private transport.

We meet every Tuesday from around 7:30pm at The Flower Pot Public House, King Street, Derby.

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In April / May 2007 a public inquiry was held into the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and Side Road Order (SRO) that are required if the proposed road is to be built. The result of this inquiry was expected in October, but was delayed until December. We had a partial victory in that the most damaging part of the road from a conservation aspect was deleted from the CPO and SRO; sadly the most damaging part from the point of view of peoples' lives was given the go-ahead.

We also had a 'village green application' public inquiry in December 2007. Part of the route of the proposed road goes across land that has been used by local people for pursuits such as dog-walking and picnicking for over 20 years. Although the application was fiercely opposed by Derby City Council, and any such legitimate use by local people was refuted by the council, the inspector from the CPO inquiry has made strong comments about how the land is used by local people and suggests that the council's plans are weaker because they do not adequately deal with this loss of green open space.

Given the strong comments made about the green open spaces perhaps it is not surprising that although the inspector's report on the CPO was written in July 2007, the Secretary of State's decision was not released until one week after the public inquiry into the village green application had closed.