HIGHWAYS chiefs have blocked National Grid’s plans to dig up newly-laid flags in the heart of Barnoldswick’s shopping area.

The utilities company wanted to carry out the work in Church Street so it could lay a new gas main and services to properties.

Despite the request being blocked by Lancashire County Council, local councillors fear the work will still go ahead in the near future.

They slammed National Grid for a “lack of co-ordination”, but a spokesman said they attend regular meetings with highways officers.

Stone flags are being laid in Church Street at the request of councillors. Resurfacing has been going on for a number of weeks. The work has been planned for over a year, meaning National Grid could have liaised with local authorities earlier, councillors said. Coun David Whipp, who organised electrical connection work in the street before resurfacing, said: “The Traffic Management Act requires utility companies to carry out routine work before roads and pavements are resurfaced.

“National Grid should have done the work well before now. Highways staff have blocked them from doing the work now.

"Unfortunately, they can come back in two years when the ‘no dig’ moratorium is lifted, so they’ll still wreck the new surfaces. This should have been avoided.”

A spokesman for National Grid said: “We recognised that we could not do our work while the resurfacing is being carried out and are happy to go along with the suggestion that we wait until 2011.”