Work to prepare for the construction of the A6 roundabout in Fairfield is underway.



High Peak Borough Council secured funding from Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to build the roundabout at the southern end of the golf course to provide access to housing sites at Hogshaw and Waterswallows (Dale Lane).



The Council has now given the go-ahead to appoint the main contractor for the project and for work to prepare the site ahead of the construction to begin.



The building work will take place between May and October this year with utility diversion work, alterations to the golf course and some tree felling taking place between mid-February and the May start date.



Councillor Anthony Mckeown, Leader of the Council, said: “The construction of the roundabout is key to opening up the housing sites at Hogshaw and Waterswallows which form part of the adopted Local Plan.



“We are now in the position to start the work necessary to prepare the site for the main construction work to begin.



“We understand that people will want to know what this means in terms of the programme of work and how this might affect them and the journeys they make. We are working with the County Council to minimise, as much as possible, traffic delays during the works.



“We are committed to ensuring we keep everyone informed throughout the various stages of this project and we’ll be updating our website and our Facebook and Twitter accounts in good time so that information about any changes is available before they happen and people can plan ahead.”



The first of the preparatory works will be the felling of trees. Temporary traffic lights will be in place from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 March when nine mature trees on either side of the A6 will be removed. This work has been timed to avoid the bird nesting season.



A plan showing which trees will need to come down is available on the Council’s website together with a landscape plan showing replacement planting around the roundabout.



Alterations to the golf course, mainly around the fourteenth green and fifteenth tee, will start in mid-February and are expected to take around two months.



Utility diversions will start in mid-March when Openreach will be on site for six weeks followed by Cadent who will start their eight-week programme in the middle of May.



Some traffic management measures will be in place whilst these works are carried out and people are advised to plan their trips and allow extra time for travel.