OBJECTIONS have been received against a £40,000 plan to install speed bumps near three new housing estates.

The new major housing developments totalling more than 450 homes are all accessed off Gib Lane in Blackburn, and plans for the introduction of more traffic-calming measures were first mooted earlier this year.

Residents nearby have already suffered months of traffic misery after council bosses shut Gib Lane between its junctions with Ernlouen Close and Broken Stone Road from November last year until the end of March.

The closure was to allow sewer, highway and footpath works and involved drivers undertaking lengthy detours.

Following the approval of residential developments, all of which are to be accessed off Gib Lane, a planning condition was attached for an off-site highway safety scheme which includes speed bumps.

Under section 278 of the Highways Act 1980, a local highways authority can enter into a legal agreement with a developer for them to either pay for, or make alterations or improvements to the highway.

The money for the scheme is to be provided by the firms behind the three developments - Story Homes, Wainhomes North-West and Kingswood Homes.

But objections were received as part of a public consultation into the proposal.

Six letters of objection to the proposals were received, four from residents of Gib Lane and two from residents of Risedale Grove.

Concerns were raised the measures would cause problems in winter for vehicles trying to climb the hill and calls were made for an alternative form of traffic calming.

It was also stated the plan would be a major inconvenience for Gib Lane residents and that road humps could cause damage to cars as well as being a health concern to those who have neck or back injuries.

In a report to go before the council's planning and highways committee next week, officer Tammy Rehman said: "There are other steep roads within the borough which have traffic calming

without causing problems for vehicles in the winter.

"In addition, Gib Lane is on a gritting route and as such is treated when adverse weather is forecast.

"The ‘humps’ proposed are in fact raised speed tables along the road and at junctions with side roads. Whilst these are designed to reduce the speed of vehicles along Gib Lane they should not cause any major inconvenience to users.

"Any road hump or raised speed table need to be ‘uncomfortable’ to achieve the necessary traffic calming. The level of discomfort is greatly reduced if they are traversed at a sufficiently slow speed and hence if used correctly, i.e. at low speeds, there should be no damage to vehicles or their occupants.

"Other traffic calming measures were considered but raised speed tables were considered to be the best/appropriate solution in this instance.

"Raised speed tables are proposed along the length of Gib Lane and not only at road junctions. There are junction tables proposed at both new and existing road junctions on Gib Lane.

"Officers consider that the majority of the objections are those normally raised against any proposed traffic calming containing raised tables or road humps rather than specific objections to the scheme."

It is recommended committee members vote to overrule the objections and allow the scheme to go ahead as originally planned.