CAMPAIGNERS’ hopes that a public inquiry would be carried out into Barnsley Council’s plans for a one-way road system have been dashed after a government official opted against conducting a probe.
Penny Pie Park, off Dodworth Road, was the subject of a petition, with more than 2,500 signatures, handed in to the local authority before Christmas after councillors on its planning board voted to approve the £4.3m scheme which will cut through it.
Work was put on hold after the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, James Brokenshire, was asked by campaigners to ‘call in’ the decision which would have effectively meant he became the decision maker.
However, Mr Brokenshire did not decide to do so, leaving the council free to press ahead with creating the road which, it says, is a solution to Dodworth Road’s congestion woes.
Campaigners have vowed to continue their fight this week and told the Chronicle they are examining the process of a judicial review to challenge the ‘sham of the current planning process’.
“This decision is in no way an endorsement of the scheme but now puts the decision as to whether to proceed firmly back in the hands of Barnsley Council,” campaigner Peter Giles told the Chronicle.
“While it is obvious that Barnsley Labour are determined to force this scheme through - against the clear wishes of the local community whose 2,600-name petition and unprecedented 250 written objections have so far been ignored - the action group continue to fight for this scheme to be stopped.
“I have serious concerns about the impact of reduced air quality on local schoolchildren - if the council proceed it would be an act of betrayal against our children.
“There is clear evidence that the levels of air pollution around Horizon Community College will increase significantly if the gyratory is built as planned. This scheme was promoted to reduce queuing on the M1 slip roads, reducing the supposed 26-minute journey time into town from the M1 and to reduce air pollution.
“These false claims have all been discredited and we now know that the real reason for this gyratory is to unlock the development potential on hundreds of acres of nearby green belt after pressure from property developers and against the wishes of the local community. The gyratory will not improve journey times, will not reduce queues and will not improve road safety. It will, however, mean that we lose a well-loved local park, increase traffic levels, increase noise levels, increase air pollution and put the road safety of school children at risk.”
The road will see traffic from the motorway towards the town centre diverted around the new system from the Broadway traffic lights, with vehicles coming out of town using the existing but improved Dodworth Road, which is being made one-way on the four-lane section past Horizon Community College.
The traffic lights will remain, but there will be a new road built to bypass a section of Pogmoor Road and no right turn onto Broadway to traffic from the motorway with motorists having to go around the gyratory and back up Dodworth Road.
Funding for the £4.3m scheme, which was initially earmarked to start as soon as April and take a year to complete, will be jointly covered by the council, which has re-prioritised its highways department’s expenditure programme to enable the work, and Sheffield City Region’s investment fund which has provided £2.7m towards the project.
Coun Hannah Kitching, who has backed the campaigners, said: “The role of the Sheffield City Region in funding this scheme cannot go unchallenged. Mayor Dan Jarvis has refused to engage with any residents over the Penny Pie Park issue and the only information coming from the Sheffield City Region has been in response to freedom of information requests.
“Mayor Jarvis has been very vocal in promoting his new transport policy and in promoting issues such as green spaces and active travel. The Penny Pie Park gyratory scheme flies in the face of all these policies.”
Mr Brokenshire’s decision was received by the council in writing last Friday, which meant the hold preventing work was formally lifted.
Mr Jarvis declined to comment.
It is not known exactly when work will start on the gyratory through Penny Pie Park, but the leader of the council says the community will be given a say in how the remaining park is redesigned.
Following news that the scheme can now progress, after the government declined protester’s request to step in and take the planning decision out of the council’s hands, Coun Sir Steve Houghton, said: “Further details on the process between now and the scheme starting on site, including suggested timescales, will be issued in due course.
“In the meantime we would like to thank everybody for their patience and can confirm that the council will seek to work with the community on the detailed design of the re-designed park.”
