SHORT notice and lack of information about road closures as part of a major £2.6million scheme at Brownhill roundabout could leave businesses counting the cost, it is claimed.

Solicitor Lisa McNulty, whose office is in Whalley New Road, Blackburn, said she only received notice of the closure of Whalley New Road from its junction with Opal Street to its junction with Haston Lee Avenue on Thursday, with the closure scheduled to run between August 12 and August 30.

She said the short notice meant she would have to cancel appointments and said the closure should have been communicated to residents and businesses a lot better by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The alternative route for the affected traffic will be via Whalley New Road, Lark Hill, Barbara Castle Way, Preston New Road, Yew Tree Drive and Ramsgreave Drive and vice versa.

Ms McNulty said: “I have had to cancel appointments because I don’t know how badly I’ll be affected.

“I’m not happy that we only found out on Thursday. I have got people who might not be able to get to work easily.

“I’m just appalled that the lack of notification that we have had.

“It’s going to be chaos around here on Monday morning.

“I am losing two full working days because I will be cancelling all my appointments.

“If we had been given more notice, we could have made alternative arrangements to deal with it.”

Executive member for growth and development, Cllr Phil Riley, said: “I understand some of the concerns because the leaflet sent out was not clear and we are making every effort to produce a more clear version that will be distributed as quickly as we can manage it.”

The council published its intention to close the road with a temporary road closure order made on August 1, which was confirmed yesterday.

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In it, director of HR, legal and governance, David Fairclough, said: “The effect of the order is to close A6119, A666 Whalley New Road from its junction with Opal Street to its junction with Haston Lee Avenue. The closure is for surfacing work.

“The order will come into force on August 12 and shall continue in force for a period of eighteen months or until the works are completed, whichever is the earlier.

“However, it is anticipated that the works will be completed by August 30.”