Motorway junction is gateway to Markham Vale
06 June 2008
A new motorway junction hailed as a vital part of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme is set to open later this month.
Junction 29A off the M1 motorway will serve the Markham Vale regeneration development and officially opens on Friday 20 June.
As well as the new £8 million motorway junction there will also be a series of connecting roads improving transport links for local residents and workers, set to be finished in the next two years.
Work on the new junction started in March last year and it has always been seen as a key to the success of Markham Vale.
Designers had their work cut out from the start as they had to ensure the new junction would work with the motorway’s current three lanes, but could easily accommodate four lanes, planned for the future.
The £65 million regeneration scheme is a public and private sector partnership between Derbyshire County Council and Henry Boot Developments Ltd and will cover 360 hectares, creating 80 hectares of high quality commercial and industrial development.
It is expected to bring 5,000 jobs – 2,000 of which will be new to the area, and its development is set to reverse the decline in the area brought about by the closure of deep mines, loss of textile jobs and the reduction in heavy industry.
Plans for the first buildings on the site are currently being considered for approval, and if given the go-ahead, work is expected to start on these shortly.
As well as the major boost to the local economy Markham Vale is set to become one of the UK’s greenest commercial developments, with the proposed planting of more than 375,000 saplings around the scheme’s green spaces.
In addition, an area of 60 hectares will be used for short rotation coppice to provide wood fuel for some of the buildings and the development will also boast a wealth of `green’ buildings.
The £3 million flagship Markham Vale Environment Centre has already opened its doors with units to rent for environmentally-friendly businesses.
Children from local schools will join MPs, councillors and dozens of local people who have been involved or consulted on Markham Vale at the motorway junction opening ceremony, to be held between 12.30pm and 2pm.
Leader of Derbyshire County Council Councillor John Williams said: “The new motorway junction has always been a vital part of the whole Markham Vale development and its opening will be a major milestone.
“We are very confident that Markham Vale development will breathe new life into the former coalfields sites and bring more than 5,000 jobs to the area, giving a real boost to the local economy.”
Regional director at Henry Boot Developments, Vivienne Clements, said: “The new junction opening is great news. It will really add momentum to the delivery of Markham Vale. We’ve already experienced a good level of enquiries from potential occupiers and we expect this to significantly increase as a result of the new junction, not least because people can see just how accessible the scheme now is.”
