Call for meeting to explain Long Eaton and Sawley's 'constant' roadworks

Isaac Ashe - BBC News, Derby
·3 min read
A queue of cars
Road closures and traffic lights left drivers seeing red this week [BBC]

Calls for a public meeting to discuss an area's "constant" roadworks have been turned down by Derbyshire County Council.

At the start of the week, Long Eaton and Sawley were reduced to "gridlock" by emergency works to a faulty cable.

Five-way traffic lights were installed by National Grid close to Long Eaton's railway station.

But coupled with pre-planned works nearby, drivers were left reporting delays of more than an hour.

These works concluded on Tuesday - but on Wednesday, planned works on nearby Tamworth Road by Cadent began.

A borough councillor has called on the county council to meet residents alongside organisations such as National Grid and Severn Trent to answer questions about the issues.

Derbyshire County Council said it was doing everything it could to minimise disruption.

queuing traffic
The roadworks have led to delays of more than an hour [BBC]

Paul Maginnis, Erewash Borough Councillor for Sawley Ward, said: "There was about 12 hours breathing space between the two sets of lights.

"In Sawley, in the last couple of years it's been almost constant works. The biggest issue is on Tamworth Road which is an absolute nightmare, all the side roads get blocked in.

"I contacted Derbyshire County Council to ask for a public meeting to keep residents up to date. National Grid has agreed to a meeting in principle, but from the county council it's been a 'computer says no' response.

"I'm not kicking off, I've tried to work constructively with people, this is beyond party politics. People are angry, businesses are kicking off, it's the biggest issue for residents in Sawley and Long Eaton.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: "We're continuing to do all we can to minimise disruption within the powers we have, given that these are essential utility works we cannot prevent.

"The current works by Cadent were planned. These were delayed while the emergency works by National Grid Electricity Distribution were taking place but as this is a private customer connection, we cannot unreasonably delay."

'Logistical challenges'

The council says it has worked with Cadent to shorten the work's duration.

The spokesperson added: "Whilst we appreciate and share local frustration over disruption, we are doing everything we can, including liaising with local councillors and residents, but it is ultimately for the utility companies to explain their works and how they are seeking to manage these."

A National Grid spokesman said: "When work is required in this area it can create significant logistical challenges due to the location of underground cables along Tamworth Road and, therefore, unfortunately disruption.

"We will be meeting with Derbyshire County Council's highways department next week to discuss the recent emergency work to fix a fault that affected the electricity supplies of a large number of customers."

Kye Ettridge, from Severn Trent, said: "We're more than happy to engage with local communities and attend any additional meetings to explain our planned works in more detail.

"We always recognise our potential impact with road closures and work closely with the relevant highways authority to ensure these works are agreed and planned in advance at all times."

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