Anger over hold-ups at Oswaldtwistle road repairs site (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Anger over hold-ups at Oswaldtwistle road repairs site

2:58pm Tuesday 20th November 2012 in News By Kate Jackson, Reporter

LANCASHIRE County Council has been blasted following delays to the repair of a key link road.

Lottice Lane, Oswaldtwistle, was closed on November 6 for roadworks after a drain collapsed, and was due to be opened by last Friday – but highway bosses now say that work will not be completed for several more weeks.

Journeys of just a few minutes from Hyndburn towards the M65 have been taking a quarter of an hour with queues down Shadsworth Road.

Paul Young, tenant at The Britannia pub in Haslingden Old Road, said the roadworks had caused him to have a 40 per cent down turn in customers.

He said: “As soon as the road was closed we noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of customers. We have had 40 per cent fewer customers because of it. We still have regular customers but the passing trade has been non existent.

“I will be pursuing compensation from the county council for loss of trade.”

Hyndburn Councillor Peter Britcliffe, who has been caught up in the delays, said: “It is causing traffic chaos. It is very worrying as it is the key route that emergency services use to get to the hospital.

“People are getting very fed up with the situation now.”

Oliver Starkey, public realm manager for the county council, said the drainage problems were ‘very complex,’ adding: "Our investigations have revealed a number of problems both under the highway and on adjoining land, so we have to work with our partners and land owners to resolve these drainage problems.

"Because of its location, continuing poor weather conditions, and the complex nature of the drainage system, this work will take several further weeks to complete. We're sorry for the inconvenience this is causing and we're working as hard as we can to resolve these issues."

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