Calls for Linby bypass road to stop drivers using picturesque village as 'rat run' to the M1

Linby, which borders Hucknall and Papplewick, has been protected as a conservation area since the early 1970s, preventing overdevelopment on nearby green-belt land and limiting new plans at its historic centre.

Despite this, huge development is planned on the edge of the village at Top Wighay Far, (800 homes) and Whyburn Farm in Hucknall (up to 3,000 homes).

Recently, Gedling Borough Council launched an appraisal of the existing conservation area, with findings showing concerns over the level of traffic running through the village.

The main strip of road connects the A60 to the Hucknall bypass from which there is a short drive to junction 27 of the M1 at Annesley. It is cited as the quickest route for people in parts of Gedling to access the motorway.

Councillors were told at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on November 4 how some residents have called for a bypass access road to ease the high volume of traffic and divert cars away from Linby and nearby Papplewick.

A council report warned how this traffic, coupled with upcoming developments at nearby Top Wighay Farm and the potential 3,000-home Whyburn Farm plans in Hucknall, could ‘impact upon village life’.

It added the village is relatively well-hidden due to its landscape and character, with its ‘intimacy and seclusion only disturbed by the flow of traffic’.

The calls to ease traffic flow were met with support when the conservation area appraisal was discussed by cabinet members.

Coun Peter Ellis (Lab), portfolio holder for the environment, said: “The biggest problem is the road, it’s so fast and it goes towards the motorway.

“Cars are coming down into Papplewick and through Linby at all sorts of speeds, and the village is being spoilt by the fact there’s so much motorway traffic going down there.

“It is really sad, it’s so dangerous and the properties there are fantastic, it’s a lovely area.

“That road is just about the quickest way to get from Arnold to the motorway.

"We ought to try, if it’s possible, to siphon off traffic from that part of the borough because it is a rat run.”

Coun John Clarke (Lab), council leader, agreed and said he would support the creation of a road to improve safety.

Coun Clarke, who also sits on the highways authority Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “With the comments that some people want a bypass road, this fits in with my long-term dream to do what we’ve done with the Gedling access road and connect it to junction 27.

“That would bypass the village and significantly siphon down traffic.

“There are thousands of homes going to be built near that area, with Top Wighay and the plans at Ashfield, which will have a massive effect on the quality of life of Linby and other villages.

“It would improve safety if we got that road.”

The updated conservation area document was unanimously approved by the cabinet.

It will see the continuation of measures to protect the heritage and landscape of the conservation area, and remove the possibility of large-scale development near the centre of the village.