Closed road row grows: fears of more to come

OLDHAM’S Labour leader has hit out at the closure of a busy road and asked which others could follow.

As revealed by the Evening Chronicle yesterday, Coal Pit Lane, Limeside has been closed indefinitely for safety — and Oldham Council has no money to repair it.

Councillor Jim McMahon has backed motorists’ fears that the decision will turn residential streets into rat-runs as drivers seek alternative routes.

The Failsworth East councillor raised concerns over the state of the road with service director for highways Tony Noblet in 2007 — saying it was an essential link into Oldham and Ashton and immediate repairs could be done.

Mr Noblet said the unclassified road needed a major rebuild that would cost £250,000, which the highways budget could not fund. Accident records showed 14 accidents, including two serious ones, in three years so traffic calming was also required.

In his reply, Mr Noblet said the road would be patched to meet safety standards and then an overlay surfacing with some carriageway restrictions would be provisionally put in the 2008-09 programme.

But the road was closed today with no indication of when repairs will — if ever — take place.

Councillor McMahon has written again to Mr Noblet: “I am surprised Coal Pit Lane has been closed entirely since when I reported it to you in October, 2007, you assured me it would be added to the capital programme this financial year.

“My question is this; given Coalpit Lane was in such a poor state it required closure, what other roads across the borough have been resurfaced in this current financial year and how did their condition compare?

“The impact of such a well used route being closed is causing traffic chaos in Failsworth and Hollinwood.

“I would also like to see the report which calls for an immediate closure. I need assurances the risk is significant and not just someone being over cautious.”

A motorist also hit out at the council saying: “I have travelled that road since 1974 going to Manchester. They have never made any attempt to improve it in all that time and to now say it’s dangerous and needs to close is an absolute load of rubbish. Where have they been in the last 35 years?

“I don’t know of one road in Oldham that they have repaired properly.”

Oldham was shamed in 2004 for having the worst roads in England with 65 per cent of the borough’s major roads in need of repair.