Call to restore houses if road scheme scrapped

Boarded up houses which were bought out in preparation for a road scheme should be brought back into use if the project is cancelled, campaigners have said.

All the homes on Queensway in Derby were barricaded after they were bought by National Highways, as part of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) ahead of work on the A38.

But the £600m upgrade has been thrown into doubt after the government proposed it be cancelled to allow more money to be spent on the UK's defence.

The Stop the A38 Expansion Group has now called for the properties to be restored and returned to use should the scheme be scrapped.

The A38 scheme has faced repeated delays since first being proposed in 2001 but seemed to have been confirmed by the government in July 2025, and would see roads widened, with flyovers and underpasses constructed at Little Eaton, Markeaton and Kingsway roundabouts.

The project has always been controversial with the Labour-led city council questioning whether the 25-year-old plans were still appropriate.

And in June, the government confirmed the National Highways-led project could be one that is scrapped in order to pay for increased defence spending.

The has led to fresh questions being asked over the future of the houses close to the Markeaton Island – and whether they can be saved.

Clare Wood from the Stop the A38 Expansion Group pointed out to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the time since the houses were vacated has left the area neglected and forbidding, but the buildings themselves were still sound.

She said: "We've always opposed the CPO of people's homes and we have total sympathy for those who were bought out and had no choice but to move against their wishes.

"Many of the homes also had established gardens which will be completely overgrown now.

"If the new road scheme is cancelled, those houses could be lived in again."

Paul Rowlands, who lives nearby on Plimsoll Street, said: "One of the sad things about all of this was the people who had to give up their homes.

"I hope if the A38 doesn't happen, some sensitive thought is put into what happens with those houses."

A National Highways spokesperson said: "The possible cancellation of the A38 is currently under consultation.

"No final decision has yet been made and an update will be shared in due course."

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