For over a year, local MP Robert Largan has been calling on High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council to work together to avoid two sets of roadworks happening simultaneously to avoid complete traffic chaos and effectively cutting Buxton off from the rest of the High Peak.

Long Hill (A5004) between Whaley Bridge and Buxton will close from 25th April. This closure is for long-needed repairs to stop land slippage and make the road safe for the long term. It will take several months.

At the same time, High Peak Borough Council approved works starting as part of constructing the A6 roundabout on Fairfield Common, which will begin the following Monday (28th March).

Mr Largan recently held a meeting with both High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council to get some joined up thinking and avoid complete traffic chaos. It has now been agreed that the work on the A6 roundabout will not involve closing the A6, and it won’t require temporary traffic lights until September. 

The A6 roundabout is still starting next week, but this work will be on the areas to the side of the road, not on the road itself. The aim is to get Long Hill repaired and re-opened by September and wait until September to put in temporary traffic lights on the A6. 

There will still be a significant increase in traffic on the A6 when Long Hill is closed, but this has avoided cutting Buxton off altogether and the inevitable complete mayhem that would cause local roads.

Robert Largan MP for High Peak commented: 

“I’m pleased that some common sense has been applied to get Long Hill repaired and re-opened by September and wait until September to put in temporary traffic lights on the A6.

“I’m very grateful to the officers at both High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council for agreeing to meet with me and work together to reduce the impact of these works.

“I’ll be pushing to get the works done as quickly as possible and minimise disruption for residents and businesses.

“I’m still working on trying to sort out the situation in Glossop, with the Snake Pass still shut, with 20 weeks of roadworks planned for Mottram Moor, while Northern is running a reduced timetable.”