£2m boost for new Fairfield access road

The money has been awarded to High Peak Borough Council from the £5bn Housing Infrastructure Fund - a government capital grant programme - to unlock access to development sites at Hogshaw and Granby Road.

The authority says it plans to use the cash to build a new roundabout on the A6 at Fairfield Common linking access roads to the sites, which are allocated for housing in the adopted High Peak Local Plan.

Council leader, Coun Tony Ashton, said: “This is great news and we’re delighted to have been awarded this significant sum.

“It allows us to move forward with our long-standing plans for Hogshaw and Granby Road which have been allocated for development since 2005.

“By opening up access, this new infrastructure will also enable development to take place on adjoining sites which are privately owned.

“We’ll be working in partnership with those landowners, who have been very supportive of our bid, to ensure we’re able to start work as soon as possible.”

In September 2016 the council approved an ambitious programme for accelerating housing delivery.

The successful bid for the funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will open up access to the sites at Hogshaw to the north of the A6, and Granby Road to the south, which have the potential to provide 675 new homes.

Councillor Julie McCabe, Executive Councillor for Housing and Communities, said: “Housing is something very much on the national agenda so I’m delighted securing this funding means here in the High Peak we can now get on with providing 675 new homes.

“The lack of access has been the main barrier to getting housing on these sites so I look forward to seeing contractors on site in the near future.”

High Peak’s bid for HIF funding was one of three to be successful in the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership area.

Matt Wheatley, Chief Executive of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This is great news for the D2N2 LEP area and shows the strength of the bids by our local authority partners.

“The HIF investment will complement funding already provided by the LEP, to accelerate housing delivery.

“The need for more housing, in particular affordable homes, is rarely out of the news these days; and the LEP is committed to backing and working with partners in its area to ensure communities get the homes they need.”