Residents ‘frustrated’ after funding to improve ‘dangerous’ road spent on active travel schemes

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A councillor says residents have been left ‘frustrated’ after funding to improve a road in Mapplewell has instead been used for active travel schemes.

A legal agreement required the developer who built 325 houses on the former North Gawber Colliery in 2015 to pay Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council £77,580, for improvement works on Swallow Hill Road.

During the public consultation for the housing development, residents raised concerns about Swallow Hill Road, which is close to the entrance of the development on Carr Green Lane.

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The road, which narrows to a single track, was branded ‘dangerous’ by some residents during the planning process, and they raised concerns about additional traffic from the residents of the new homes using the road.

Swallow Hill RoadSwallow Hill Road
Swallow Hill Road

As a result, the developer paid BMBC more than £77,500 to improve the road – but the council now say the funding has been used for active travel schemes instead.

During last week’s full council meeting, Councillor Stephen Hunt asked BMBC why the scheme was no longer on the table, and said that the road had ‘significantly’ deteriorated since the new estate was built.

He added that residents had felt ‘frustrated’ that the improvements had not been made.

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Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet member for environment and highways at BMBC, confirmed that the money had been received, but was to be used to fund active travel schemes in the ward instead.

“Delivering meaningful improvement works to Swallow Hill Road would cost far in excess of the Section 106 contribution and there are no identified funding pots to complete the work,” he told the meeting.

“I can confirm, however, that the Section 106 monies have been transferred into delivering further active travel improvements within the Darton East ward, and the strategic transportation team have arranged a meeting with you to discuss the details of this further.”

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