‘They deserve better’ – a 20-year campaign to improve roads for North Nottinghamshire coalfield communities has been successful

A 20-year campaign to help the ‘left behind’ North Nottinghamshire coalfield communities is finally taking shape after a multi-million pound road improvement scheme was approved.

The major £41 million scheme to upgrade five junctions across two roads in Nottinghamshire was announced yesterday by the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) after government approval.

The project forms part of the final improvements to junctions on the A6097/A614 corridor but had been delayed in recent years.

Speaking to the local democracy reporting service (LDRS) today (September 19), Nottinghamshire County Councillor, Bruce Laughton (Con) said he and late Labour County Councillor, Stella Smedley, first started the campaign for the improvements around 2003.

Stella Smedley served as the Ollerton and Boughton councillor on the authority for more than 37 years. She died in October 2014 and Cllr Laughton said she fought “tooth and nail” for improvements to Ollerton roundabout.

He added: “I have been to every single funding meeting on the A614 funding for the last five years. The Conservatives have been holding that department in County Hall to account constantly to keep this [campaign] on the go.”

The scheme was first proposed back in 2019, was given planning consent in September 2022 and work was supposed to have started in 2023. Funding for the scheme was placed under review by the Labour Government following the General Election last year.

Cllr Laughton said the cost implications of the scheme’s delays had “mushroomed out of control”.

According to Cllr Laughton, during the Covid-19 pandemic the costs for the scheme were around £27 million, rising to around £34 million with around the time it was delayed under the Labour Government and it now sits at £41 million.

He said he was “over the moon” the funding had been approved, where the scheme will have a positive impact on the coalfield communities in the impacted who have historically been “left behind”.

He said: “A lot of these (coalfield) communities have been left behind. They’ve all been left behind because everyone goes down the A614 but doesn’t go into [the nearby villages].

“These miners worked for this country for 120 years digging coal to feed the industrial revolution – that paid the wealth of this country.

“It came from Nottinghamshire coalfields and they deserve better. Their ancestors have done the hard yards and they’re left behind.”

He added the project will improve the “economic viability” for these communities, such as Bilsthorpe, Ollerton and Edwinstowe.

The money will be used for junction improvements between East Bridgford and Ollerton, including at Ollerton roundabout, where the road will be widened to provide two entry lanes to the roundabout. Two toucan crossings will also be installed.

Lowdham roundabout will now benefit from a third lane on the A612 Nottingham Road and a maintenance scheme and relining will take place at White Post roundabout.

The scheme also involves simplifying the Warren Hill junction, with an extended merge lane being added. On the A6097 Bridgford Street and Kirk Hill junction, two ahead lanes will open in both directions, and separately signalled right-turn lanes to East Bridgford and Newton villages will be made.

But the “fight” and campaigning to get the works done for the north Nottinghamshire roads has been a more than 20-year effort.

Newark and Sherwood District Councillor Lee Brazier (Lab), representing the Ollerton ward, said: “It’s been needed for a long time. There have been quite a few accidents [at Ollerton roundabout], and the delays are quite significant at times.

“We see bottlenecks through Ollerton, particularly when the A1 is closed at Newark.

“It will mean a huge impact to the quality of life of residents in Ollerton village, which currently gets used as a cut-through for people travelling from the Rufford direction to Ollerton.”

Fellow Ollerton councillor on the District Council, Mike Pringle (Lab), told the LDRS: “All good things come to those who wait. We have a Labour Mayor, Labour Government, Labour district councillors all working on this project.

“It’s a huge investment for us locally… if there’s a better movement of traffic, it’s better for businesses coming into that area.”

In total, £24.3 million of the funding will come from the government, with EMCCA providing £7.5 million. Nottinghamshire County Council and financial contributions from developers will fund the rest.

Labour Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, said in a statement: “By tackling congestion at key pinch points in Edwinstowe, Lowdham, Ollerton, and Blidworth, we’re not only reducing journey delays and improving bus journeys, we’re also making it quicker and easier for people to get where they need to be.”