Wild boar park owner's fears over road closures

1:08pm Thursday 17th January 2008

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TOURIST attractions and businesses fear that a road closure will have a severe effect on their livelihoods.

Customers and visitors to restaurants, shops and attractions in the Chipping area will have to make a 20-minute detour to get to their destinations when work starts on water mains in February.

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Owners are worried that customers will go else-where.

Sections of the Chipping to Longridge Road between Arbour Lane Ends and Cockleach Lane Ends will be closed over a proposed eight-week period.

Traffic will be diverted through Walker Fold, Mitton and Hurst Green, adding 15 miles to journeys from March 17.

Chris Bailey, of Bowland Wild Boar Park, said that the family business may have to close for several weeks as work will be taking place on their land.

"The pipeline comes through the park so they will have to dig up our grounds, which is due to take place in May," he said. "They have said they will try and do this between the bank holidays to minimise the impact on visitor figures. We will probably have to shut for at least two weeks because it will look such a mess."

He added: "Our biggest fear is that we rely a lot on repeat visitors and if people have to drive a long way round or it doesn't look up to scratch then they might not come again."

Julie Hallett, shop man-ager at Little Town Dairy, Chipping Road, Thornley, said: "We have no idea how long the work will take on our stretch of the road. We have built up our shop business over the last two years and this could ruin it. Customers will be put off by the long diversion."

She added: "Large vehicles come in and out of the dairy each day for deliveries. Silaging will start in a few months and the machines will need to get to the fields. It will be difficult to use the diversion on the back roads - two HGVs can't pass."

Susan Ferrari, owner of Ferrari's Country House hotel and restaurant, in Chipping Lane, Thornley, said: "We appreciate the work has got to be done but the announcement of the plans has been a little last minute for us.

"We will have to put as much damage limitation as possible in place. In the current economic climate with petrol prices so high, we don't know if customers will be willing to make the extra journey."

Residents complained about the closure at a public meeting earlier this week.

The work is being done by United Utilities on the Hodder water main because the Department of Work and Industry have stated that water quality is being aff-ected by mineral deposits in the water mains, and they must be relined before 2010.