Highways bosses have issued an apology after roadworks caused traffic mayhem in Willington.

They have admitted the authority thought the work in Repton Road was down to an emergency with one house having lost power but it has now been established that this was not the case.

The work has meant traffic lights being in operation on the route, which caused long tailbacks yesterday, Thursday, July 5, as the road is a main diversion route for traffic which cannot travel over Burton Bridge out of town due to major works there.

The traffic lights caused major issues for drivers, with one saying it took her an hour to get from Burton to Repton after having to take a major detour via the A50 as tailbacks brought the road to a standstill.

She said: "It was ridiculous. It's a main diversion route while the work on Burton Bridge takes place and to find there's roadworks on the diversion route too. It made my blood boil."

Roadworks in Willington were non-emergency and causing congestion during Burton Bridge partial closure

A spokesman for county council has now said: “We gave permission for the work to take place in Repton Road, Willington, which initially we thought was to provide power to a property which had lost it.

"On closer inspection we realised that the application was for permission to carry out work to provide power for a new housing development.

“Had we realised this before we gave permission we would have asked Western Power to postpone the work while Burton Bridge is closed.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. We have asked Western Power to manually control the traffic lights to help with traffic flow, which they are doing."

The spokesman added that the pavement was to have a temporary road surface put on yesterday afternoon and the traffic lights removed. But they were due to be back in place today, Friday, July 6, for part of the day while the carriageway is then reinstated.

Western Power said it would be completing the job this morning, Friday, after 9.30am and would again use manually controlled lights while this was done.

Councillor Martyn Ford, deputy leader of South Derbyshire District Council and Derbyshire county councillor
Councillor Martyn Ford, who represents Willington on the county council

Staffordshire county councillor Conor Wileman, who had raised concerns about the roadworks, said he that such works should only be carried out on diversion routes during the bridge work if it was an emergency.

It comes as Councillor Martyn Ford said planners at the county council were under the impression that the work was for a single home, which may be classed as an emergency, and not for a new housing development.

A spokesman for Western Power Distribution told the Burton Mail yesterday, Thursday: "The roadworks are in Repton Road because we are installing electricity connection to a building site. It was a request from the building site that they wanted it done as quickly as possible.

"We started on Wednesday, July 4, and are due to complete by today, Friday, July 6.

"We did get permission from Derbyshire County Council and everything is on track to get it done as quickly as possible. We have gone through the usual process to apply for permission.

Third week of Burton Bridge partial closure for major improvement works

"We do realise the disruption caused. Work is still taking us into tomorrow but we are trying to work as quickly as possible."

When asked about the road being used as a diversion during the Burton Bridge closure, the spokesman later said: "Yesterday afternoon we were in contact with Derbyshire County Council which has agreed that we can close the footpath outside the substation in Repton Road and we would be able to take the traffic lights down that afternoon.

"We will work on the footpath rather than the road.

"We will need to reinstate the road today so the traffic lights will have to be there for a period of time."

The iconic Burton Bridge is closed to traffic heading out of town, however one lane is open to traffic coming in, as strengthening works take place. It has led to more traffic using Willington as a route home.