The relief road that could save a town from traffic nightmare

It has been rumoured for over two decades, but deafening calls for a relief road just won’t quieten down for a town at traffic breaking point.

It has been rumoured for over two decades, but deafening calls for a relief road just won’t quieten down for a town at traffic breaking point.

Littleborough is often described by many as a ‘lovely place, but I wouldn’t want to live there with all the traffic’, according to local councillor Richard Jackson. Anyone trying to get to work along the A58 will be no stranger to a standstill on the roads.

Bumper to bumper queuing snakes of cars is the biggest gripe for locals, so it’s understandable when plans for hundreds of new homes in the area spark outrage.

Boos rang out across the meeting room in Number One Riverside in Rochdale when Bloor Homes’ plan for 309 homes on the rural plot of land off Hollingworth Road. The planning committee approved the proposal on former green belt land on November 27, despite over 1,000 objection letters being sent into the council.

The site next to Hollingworth Lake, a tourist hotspot, was taken out of green belt allocation following the approval of the Places for Everyone (PfE) plan last year. PfE will see thousands of new homes built across Greater Manchester.

The Littleborough Lakeside councillors Richard Jackson, Tom Besford and Janet Emsley have been fervently against this since the beginning. They all voted against the PfE plan last year, which took the parcel of land out of the green belt allocation – losing its protected status.

Now they are ramping up calls for the A58 relief road because they feel the traffic problem has reached breaking point. They are not alone on this matter, with cross-party agreement at the latest town hall meeting that something needs to be done.

Coun Jackson told the December 17 meeting in Rochdale Town Hall: “The Pennines section of the A58 suffers from persistent congestion, poor road surface conditions, and inadequate infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users.

“This is compounded by the sustained and planned population growth in the area, increased traffic levels and the dense concentration of underlying utilities.”

Coun Jackson added that many are thinking of leaving the area as a result. This was made clear when the Local Democracy Reporting Service went down to the bank of Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough last month, to get an understanding of people’s views.

Pictured: Ann & Andrew Bowker with Rocco

Ann and Andrew Bowker were one couple that agreed with this point blank.

Ann said: “We’re lacking school places and it’s difficult to get doctors appointments.

“No matter what people say, the powers that be tend to override them. I feel we don’t get a say, we’re at the mercy of developers.

“This one they’re building currently at the old chemical works, people complained about that but they got it over the line in the end.

“If we didn’t have family here we’d probably move away because of the traffic.”

Speaking about the potential of a relief road, Andrew explained how the new houses coming first makes no sense – he wants to see the infrastructure brought in beforehand.

“There is only one road in and one road out,” Andrew explained, looking over the Lane Bank stretch of road. “The traffic is bad enough now and this will build things up even more.

“A lot of roadworks come on these roads and it jams up continuously. There is already a housing estate being built, and okay they’re nice, but you’re going to have one hell of an estate when they come together.

“This is Littleborough, it’s a beautiful place and I know they want to build houses, but my answer is no to these new homes.

“If there was another road, then okay maybe, but they’re not planning another road currently, so it’s just stupid.”

The major point of contention locally is clearly the traffic problem. Rich Oddy was walking Toby the black Labrador last month when he made his case.

Rich Oddy, 50, with Toby the black Labrador

The 50-year-old said: “Littleborough and the surrounding area have constant roadworks going on and the traffic is just murder. You’ve got Lake Bank road and Halifax Road coming from the other side, it is just murder.”

A relief road for the A58 has long been touted for the traffic blighted town, with Bloor Homes even making a financial contribution of £970,000 that would go towards the development of this.

Although there are no concrete plans to actually build the road that locals have been waiting two decades for, it is understood town hall bosses believe they now have enough financial contributions to start looking to develop a plan.

The problem has not just been something councillors have been looking into though, with Rochdale MP writing to utility companies about slow roadworks and raising the issue in Parliament this month. He stressed that new government laws should make it easier to fine companies that cause unnecessary delays.

Mr Waugh said: “Roadworks on the A58 have become a regular headache for people in and around Littleborough. Too often residents are left sitting in traffic because the works are poorly coordinated and done during weekdays rather than weekends, evenings or school holidays.

“The Government is going to change the law to stop utility firms starting work on a Friday and doing nothing all weekend until Monday. We are also working to force companies to face a serious financial cost of keeping a road lane closed per day.

“But the bigger issue is infrastructure. Without a relief road, a new secondary school and proper long-term planning, we will keep forcing an overstretched road to absorb pressure it simply cannot handle.”

Better traffic light signalling; new charges on companies to stamp out needless delays; and a new relief road to ease pressure on the A58 are all the MP’s priority list.

Plans highlighted by Paul Waugh include:

• New traffic light systems – £450,000 secured from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will upgrade outdated signal systems along the A58. Better phasing and modern coordination are expected to reduce congestion
• Lane rental powers – following the motion brought by Littleborough Labour councillors and sustained pressure for tougher regulation, new national legislation gives councils the ability to charge utilities £1,500–£2,500 per day for lane closures
• New relief road – the long-proposed link between Albert Royds Street and Smithy Bridge Road is now partly funded, with work expected to begin during this Parliament
• Further corridor improvements – informed by the council’s independent review, officers are sequencing additional measures to address unsafe junctions, poor pedestrian accessibility and chronic pinch-points