Campaigners who spent years calling for a refined bypass to alleviate traffic say 'the majority of HGVs' have been 'taken out' of the heart of Gedling Village since the road opened earlier this year. Francis Rodrigues, secretary of the Gedling Village Preservation Society, played a crucial role in opposing the original route of the £49m Gedling Access Road.
With the society set up in 1977, the campaigners argued the original safeguarded route would have "severed the local community" with it suggested to go through the centre of the village. After a staunch objection, the original route, which would have cut through Willow Park, was dropped and the green open space saved.
A number of alternative routes were considered but the closure of Gedling Colliery - in 1991 - presented more options. The plans were revised to realign the road across the old pit site, rather than to completely bypass it, which has also enabled future homes to be built on the former colliery site.
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In 1996 the current route was adopted and the bypass later became known as the Gedling Access Road. Local residents said the new bypass was needed to stop heavy traffic coming off the A612 Colwick Loop Road, onto Shearing Hill, up to Arnold Lane and into the village.
And since the road - which has subsequently been called Colliery Way, in a nod to the area's mining heritage - opened in March, Mr Rodrigues said the bypass had made a big different in the heart of Gedling Village.
The 72-year-old said: "It's taken 45 years to actually see it open. The majority of HGVs have been taken out of the area.
"We are still getting some as there's a big housing estate but 98 percent of the heavy goods vehicles I would say have been taken out. From 4pm until 6pm traffic would tail back from Arnold Lane where the houses finish, all the way back into Gedling Village, but that's all gone now. You get a burst of 20 or 30 vehicles and then a burst of calm."
Mr Rodrigues was referring to the vast, £140m Chase Farm housing development where more than 1,000 homes are due to be built in total off Arnold Lane. A local centre, expected to include shops and a nursery, was previously given outline planning permission, meaning this part of the development can go ahead in principle.
There are also plans for a new primary school to serve the development and there is also the potential for a pub/restaurant and drive-through, which could be occupied by Costa, at a site in Lambley Lane less than 500m away from the housing estate.
Mr Rodrigues believes the new access road can lead to further investment and development in the area. He said: "I'm very satisfied that the new road is finally open.
"It's taken 45 years but it's been worth the wait." Other people said the road had made a difference.
Semi-retired Michael Allsopp, who is 60 years old and lives in Gedling, said: "It's a lot better, it's lovely. It's made such a big difference in terms of the country park and just making the area a lot better than when the pit was there, and obviously there's the new estate there."
His son Nathan Allsopp, 33, of Arnold, agreed that the new road was money well spent. He added: "It's easier to travel in Arnold."
The road forms the final part of a wider highways scheme after the Eastern Outer Loop Road works began in the 1980s which led to Lady Bay Bridge becoming used as a road crossing over the River Trent, while Daleside Road was extended and Colwick Loop Road and Trent Valley Road were built.
The 3.8km single carriageway Colliery Way links the A612 Trent Valley Road and Nottingham Road to Mapperley Plains. It runs parallel with the A6211 Arnold Lane and through the centre of the old colliery site.
The new bypass crosses several fields, Glebe Farm and a section of walled garden at Gedling House and part of the Carlton-le-Willows Academy grounds. Other local businesses said the route had relieved traffic in Gedling Village.
Samantha Davis, manager of Castle Rock pub The Willowbrook in Main Street, said: "It's definitely reduced the traffic down Arnold Lane and through the village itself. I just feel sorry for people who are on the side streets of it.
"There's a lot of speeding going off down there, so I'm sure there will soon be speed cameras about. It's definitely changing the area and allowing for more developments in the area."
But she added: "It's a bit of a shame we've had to loose a bit of nature and whatnot." Architectural technologist Paul Anderson was yet to be convinced by the benefits of the road.
The 45-year-old Mapperley resident said: "I think the jury is still out on it. I think it is a bit quieter. It was very quiet when the road first opened but that was when there were constructing the new roundabout.
"It is quieter, but I think it's just a lack of it being established as a road." He said he'd also noticed cars travelling quickly along the new bypass. He said: "When it is quiet, especially at night time, it's being used as a speed track."
Willowbrook chef and Gedling resident, Karen Beck, 54, said there was now more traffic passing along Jessop's Lane, which is connected to Colliery Way via a new junction with Lambley Lane. Jessop's Lane is located between the new bypass and the A6211 Arnold Lane.
Ms Beck said: "I think there's a lot more traffic down Jessop's Lane, to be fair. They used to use it as a cut through bit, and they still are. I still think Arnold Lane is still busy, as there are still 7.5 tonne lorries coming down Arnold Lane.
"I thought Jessop's Lane was pretty quiet but then when they closed Arnold Lane it got used as a rat run. It's been going on for ages."
Planning permission for Colliery Way was approved in 2014 and a consortium agreed to fund the project, made up of Nottinghamshire County Council, Gedling Borough Council, Homes England, Keepmoat Homes, the developer behind Chase Farm, and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. The main construction work on the bypass began in January 2020 and road closures have been necessary as the build progressed.
The road will also allow the Chase Farm estate to expand. Speaking previously, Councillor Ben Bradley MP, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “The Gedling Access Road has been in the pipeline for over 50 years.
"Colliery Way is much more than just a new road – it will provide access to new high-quality, affordable homes to help people get on the property ladder and will bring about journey time savings and other safety and efficiency benefits worth at least £73 million.
"Better links to Gedling Country Park thanks to the scheme will encourage more people to walk and cycle, the new link between two key road corridors will boost business in the area and increasing woodland in the area by 40% will improve habitats for wildlife and help green spaces to thrive." However, neighbours living close to the new road said it was now more of a struggle to get off their driveways since the road opened.
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