Officer’s quarry concern

A SPECIALIST police officer has backed concerns about road safety if a tipping permit is granted at a controversial site.

Sgt Dean Memory, of GMP’s traffic management unit, highlights potential road safety in a letter to the Environment Agency which is examining issues surrounding Birks Quarry on the Lees-Austerlands border.

The officer, who visited the site, off the A62 Huddersfield Road, said he had been contacted by Oldham planning department and Phil Woolas, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

He says Oldham Council has two primary concerns over road safety — poor or inadequate sight lines on the approach to traffic signals at the quarry entrance and the depositing of mud on the highway.

In his letter, he said: “Traffic volumes will have significantly increased since the original planning process in the 1980s.”

And he backs the council’s concerns over inadequate wheel washing, adding: “Should this not be done properly or the equipment fail, then there is a real risk of depositing mud on a critical junction.”

In his letter to the police, Mr Woolas said: “Granting this licence permit will seriously endanger the safety of road users, pedestrians and property at this old quarry entrance.”

Mr Woolas said: “Concerns about road safety and access to the Birks Quarry expressed by GMP to the Environment Agency are a very significant development, which will be welcomed by local residents.

“I am sure the Environment Agency will take these very seriously when they come to their decision over the permit.”