CONCERNED LOCALS fear the long-term closure of Church Road in Uppermill this summer could paralyse the village and impact on businesses and residents across the community.
The road is scheduled to be closed from June 2 to August 31 as a million pound sewer improvement works is carried out by United Utilities.
Traffic diversions will mean detours of several miles on winding roads through Diggle or Greenfield to reach businesses and properties above the road works in Uppermill.
Julian Taylor, who owns the Church Inn above Uppermill with wife Christine, is worried the alternatives routes will not be able to cope with the sudden volume of new traffic.
He said: “We were told there are around 1,000 cars on the estates on Church Road and they will all have to go up the hill to get out of Uppermill.
“But there are three or even four weak culverts along that route which aren’t reinforced by concrete and could be a problem.
“The council have a duty of care to make sure these roads are safe for such a large amount of traffic and lorries to be diverted over – and they are not.”
He added: “What happens if there is an emergency and we can’t get services up here? Some of the roads aren’t wide enough to fit the fire engines and other vehicles through.
“There will be a massive effect on businesses who rely on people coming up here, like us at the Church Inn.”
Preparatory excavation work close to Pickhill Mews on Church Road has already started, with temporary traffic lights being put in place to control a one-way flow of traffic.
But Julian revealed: “I have already seen some road rage there with drivers not waiting at the lights. It’s chaos with cars and workers in the road and it will only get worse.”
Elsewhere, Judith Liversidge, who runs Husteads Farm and Riding School and keeps 23 horses on land at Church Road is concerned the road closure will threaten her livelihood.
“The closure will come during hay-making time as well as all the summer festivals and it’s going to be a nightmare for us as a business and the whole community,” she said.
“On some of the suggestion diversion routes, I’ve seen cars backing into fences to try to get past each other and it is just so dangerous.
“I bring horses up those lanes on Fridays and Saturdays and often they are led by children so with all the extra cars coming along, there’s going to be a huge risk.”
Teams of engineers have been planning the scheme since last October and working closely with Oldham Council to minimise the impact on traffic.
Tess Smith, UU’s project coordinator, said: “We have agreed with Oldham Council to minimise disruption for residents by working extended hours and within school holidays and our priority will be to keep to this schedule.”
The Council say extending the working pattern will reduce the duration of the road closures and overall programme length and temporary lights in Phase Three will reduce the remaining phases.
UU held a public exhibition for residents to meet their team at Uppermill’s Civic Hall on Thursday, May 1 to raise any questions and concerns.
Tess Smith added: “Everybody recognises we must resolve the nightmare of sewer flooding for residents, but the big problem has been the diversion route.
“We’ve looked at our schedule from every angle with Oldham Council to see what we can do to reduce the impact.
“We’re now planning on working 13 days a fortnight with extended hours to get it completed as quickly as possible,” she declared.
“And we will phase the work so the major diversion is confined to the school summer holidays.
“We know there’s never an ideal time to do work like this but we hope people will bear with us. It’s one of the many essential upgrades our customers’ bills help to fund and it will be well worth it when the flooding protection is in place.”
Questions on diversions should be directed to Oldham Council: 0161 770 3000. Residents with additional questions for UU should call: 0845 746 2200, quoting project number NCA 80029009.
Planned Work will be carried out in 6 phases:
Phase 1: Smithy Lane to Boltons Yard (Early June – 1 week)
Phase 2: Boltons Yard (Mid June – 2 weeks)
Phase 3: New Street from the junction of Boltons Yard to Church Road (Late June – 4 weeks)
Phase 4: Continuing along Church Road to the junction of Pickhill Lane (Late July – 2 weeks)
Phase 5: From the junction of Pickhill Lane to outside house number 23 Church Road (Early August – 1 week)
Phase 6: Continuing along Church Road to outside house number 35 (Mid August – 4 weeks)
* Dates/durations are a guide only. We will be working some weekends and extended hours so that we can reduce the length of time we are onsite.
Road Diversions:
Route 1: High Street. Wool Road, Huddersfield Road, Ward Lane. Running Hill Lane, Running Hill Gate, Church Road.
Route 2: Church Road. Gellfield Lane, Knowl Top Lane. Haw Clough Lane, Boarshurst Lane. Kinders Lane. Chew Valley Road
Chapel Road, Oldham Road, High Street.
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