Link road shuts despite road repair delay

Earlier this month transport bosses at Lancashire County Council (LCC) revealed plans to close Division Lane - between Midgeland Road and Wild Lane - following concerns about the safety of the road surface and complaints from neighbours, who felt drivers were using the route as a rat-run.

County Hall said work was expected to take up to six weeks starting today, but after discussing the issue with residents, the authority has revealed it will delay the work, but the route will still be closed to drivers.

It has emerged some residents are concerned if the road is fixed, more motorists will use it exacerbating their complaints.

Phil Barrett, director of Lancashire County Council highway services, said: “We’ve listened to comments made by local residents and have postponed this work while further discussions take place with them.”

The northernmost section of Wild Lane was closed off in August last year due to the state of the road, with a repair bill set at £350,000.

Commuters could drive on to Division Lane, on to Midgeland Road, before completing the diversion on School Road.

But with the increase in traffic, transport chiefs at Lancashire County Council said it has taken its toll on the state of the road, leading to its closure..

Carol Gilligan, who lives in Midgeland Road, welcomed the delay to work, adding residents were concerned once the road - a single track - was fixed, more drivers would look to use the cut-through.

She said: “County Coun John Fillis, the highways cabinet member, has contacted us and said he wants to discuss the issue again with officers.

“The work will no longer go ahead as scheduled.

“He (County Coun Fillis) said he would be coming out to look at the work himself, where further proposals would be put forward.”

Earlier this month, Sim Lane-Dixon, Lancashire County Council’s highways manager for Fylde, had said the road would have to be closed due to a “substantial deterioration of the road surface.”

A spokesman for LCC was unable to confirm when the work would be able to start on the route.