A GOVERNMENT official could be called in to carry out a public inquiry after Barnsley Council’s planning board members approved a new road scheme - despite a 2,600-strong petition urging them to reject the proposal.
At a heated 90-minute debate during the planning committee’s meeting at the town hall on Tuesday, campaigners attempting to save Penny Pie Park - which will be carved up under the plan to create a one-way gyratory off Dodworth Road - voiced their dismay as the bid was backed.
Four members, including local Labour councillor Richard Riggs, voted against the scheme while members were told nearby Horizon Community College and bus operator Stagecoach offered their support.
The new road bypasses a section of Pogmoor Road and cuts through the park, which would lose about 25 per cent of its land and 75 of its 242 trees, and prohibit vehicles from the motorway turning right onto Broadway.
Motorists will instead have to go around the gyratory and back up Dodworth Road.
Prior to the application being considered, a request was made by campaigners to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, James Brokenshire, urging him to ‘call in’ the application which effectively means he would become the decision maker.
Campaigners, who have been backed by Angela Smith MP and Coun Hannah Kitching, will now have to wait until early next year to find out if the secretary of state has decided to take on the matter or if the council’s decision will stand.
Peter Fielding, who spoke on behalf of the action group, said: “There’s been unanimous community anger regarding the damage the plan will cause. We disagree strongly with the council’s opinion about congestion on Dodworth Road and we do not believe it’s as serious as they say.
“Locals question the level of congestion and doubt the scheme’s benefits. Highways bosses say there are no viable alternatives but there’s been many put forward, all of which have been rejected out of hand by the department.
“There will be an extra 3,000 vehicles using this area per day and Penny Pie Park will become an unusable space as no-one will want to use a play area in the middle of a three-lane carriageway.
“It’ll go from a well-used facility into an unused one. As well as this, more than 2,000 homes will be affected by an increase in noise and we have grave concerns about road safety, particularly around Horizon.
“We will continue to fight to stop this scheme going ahead and ensure that the council takes the clear wishes of our community seriously.
“You would not build a school next to a gyratory, so why build a gyratory next to a school?
“This is a huge gamble, an irreversible one, and we should be put first instead of an outdated, car-centric scheme that fails the people of Barnsley.”
Campaigners were criticised by Coun Doug Birkinshaw, chairman of the planning board, who said they ‘harassed and intimidated’ councillors after they were barricaded in their coach by members of Penny Pie Park Action Group, who formed a human chain around the vehicle during a pre-meeting site visit.
Ground investigation works commissioned by the council revealed nothing untoward, the meeting was told, while head of planning Joe Jenkinson said Dodworth Road’s problems were ‘unique’ due to its single-lane carriageway.
“More lanes will enable additional capacity as queues won’t be as long and traffic will become much freer,” he added. “It’s a unique road off the M1 in South Yorkshire as just about every route off the motorway has dual carriageways.
“For whatever reason when junction 37 of the M1 was opened in 1968, not much thought was given to the future. It is an important arterial route in and out of town and we accept there is a need to act.”
Coun Kitching, who was in the public gallery for the meeting alongside campaigners, told the Chronicle the decision was ‘disappointing if not surprising’.
“It’s basically in the secretary of state’s hands now and if he decides to call in the application, the council’s decision will become irrelevant and he will be the one who decides its fate,” she added.
“If he doesn’t, the council’s decision stands but we will be appealing it if that’s the case via a judicial review. Some councillors opted to vote against the scheme so this was not a case of something being unanimously approved.
“It’s a matter of national interest as it sets a dangerous precedent in which councils can destroy popular and well-used green spaces despite widespread public opposition.
“Campaigners feel aggrieved as this is a council application that’s been decided by the council. History shows they’ve never rejected an application that’s effectively come from their own.”
