A major crash has forced the closure of the A453 near Isley Walton in Leicestershire, blocking access between Walton Hill and Moor Lane and causing disruption for festival-goers heading to Download Festival as well as passengers travelling to and from East Midlands Airport.
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene, with Leicestershire Police leading the investigation and recovery operation. National Highways confirmed there was no access for traffic to Download Festival from the East Midlands Airport side as a result of the closure, though it said other routes into the site remained open.
In a statement, National Highways said: “The A453 is closed between Walton Hill & Moor Lane near Isley Walton following a traffic collision. No access for traffic to the Download Festival from the East Midlands Airport side. Leicestershire Police are leading the investigations & recovery. Currently, no estimated time for clearance.”
The closure adds to an already complex traffic picture around Donington Park this week, with Download Festival organisers having put in place a series of temporary road closures and a one-way system to manage the flow of the tens of thousands of fans attending the event. According to West Bridgford Wire, a temporary closure at the Walton Hill junction between Isley Walton and the Hilltop lights was already scheduled for 9pm to 2am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights to help festival traffic leave the site safely, alongside a one-way system on Melbourne Road and the A453 running from the junction of Slade Lane and Melbourne Lane through to Moor Lane.
Congestion around the M1 Junction 24, A50 and A453 had already been building throughout the morning as festival-goers arrived, with Skylink bus services to and from East Midlands Airport reporting delays of between 30 and 70 minutes even before the crash. One operator said it had been forced to terminate its Skylink Nottingham to East Midlands Gateway service at the airport’s arrivals area due to heavy traffic.
The road network around Donington Park has a troubled history during Download Festival weekends. In 2023, roads bosses launched a formal investigation after “unprecedented” delays saw some attendees queue for more than seven hours to reach the site, with around 600 East Midlands Airport passengers missing flights as a result. A subsequent council inquiry found the festival had not breached its noise and traffic licence conditions, though organisers Live Nation Entertainment acknowledged at the time that the congestion was “unprecedented and not acceptable” and pledged changes for future years.
National Highways has urged drivers heading towards Download Festival or East Midlands Airport to check for live updates before setting off, with no estimated time given for when the A453 will reopen.
