Group says bus gate has cut rat run traffic

The bus gate restriction was introduced in 2022 following a consulation

A residents' group has voiced its full support for a bus gate in Derby which has seen more than 900 motorists fined, despite no bus services accessing it.

Church Lane in Darley Abbey is closed to motorists from the A6 Duffield Road between 07:00 and 09:00, Monday to Friday.

Despite criticism from some nearby residents, Phil Harris, chair of the Darley Abbey Society, said most people are "in favour" of the restrictions, and that they had led to a reduction in drivers using the village as a "rat run".

Mr Harris said: "These measures have been deemed very effective by the majority of residents."

Phil Harris, chair of the Darley Abbey Society, said the bus gate was a good thing for the area

Mr Harris said the bus gate had dramatically reduced traffic through the village during peak times in the morning.

"People were using Church Lane to jump the queue and using it as a rat run to bypass traffic on the A6 carriageway on Duffield Road," he added.

"We got to a situation where, because it got even worse, people were trying to rat run the rat runners by accessing different roads."

Mr Harris said there had been a lot of discussions about what to do, including blocking off Church Lane entirely or making it a one-way system.

The bus gate has led to more than 915 drivers being fined in the first nine months of 2025

Derby City Council implemented a bus gate in 2022, which Mr Harris said was received "favourably" by people in Darley Abbey.

"These measures have been deemed very effective by the majority of residents," he said.

Asked about residents living close to the bus gate who have been fined and oppose the restrictions, he said: "The crass answer is you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs - it's not inconceivable for people to plan around this, there are other forms of transport than taking the car out.

"Or you can sadly have to queue a little bit longer from the Church Lane junction."

He added that it is a "a little bit of an inconvenience every now and again" but that drivers should plan accordingly.

Darley Abbey councillor Martin Repton said more than 700 people responded to a consultation about traffic calming measures in 2020, with the majority being in favour.

He said it would be "chaos" if the bus gate was removed.

"Local people rightly demanded action and urged the council to do something about this," he added.

"When this was implemented, the vast majority of people were very supportive of the measures."

On the people being fined living close to the bus gate, Repton said: "I can understand why people living at that end of Church Lane would want to be exempt from it, I still think people would prefer the rat running not to be allowed.

"I understand the concerns of a number of people but I think it's important to look back to where we were and we could have unintended consequences even if you could consider unpicking it."