Row over cobble repairs
CALLS have been made to ensure ‘poor’ quality road reinstatements of cobbles and flagstones with tarmac are rectified.
A hotpotch of ‘temporary’ repairs to cobbles and paving in and around Rawtenstall town centre has been slammed.
It came to light as electricity bosses are carrying out £1m works to replace underground electricity cables along Bacup Road.
County Coun David Foxcroft, who represents Mid Rossendale at county hall, said he has contacted highways officers and Electricity North West (ENW) to report concerns over repairs to cobble stones on Longholme Road, and also paving at the side of Longholme Methodist Church on the other side of Bacup Road.
ENW say they will reinstate the cobbles at the end of their works, but say they are not responsible for the flag stone repairs.
Regarding the cobbles, Coun Foxcroft said: “As soon as I saw the poor reinstatement I began working with officers to understand what was going on on the lower
cobbled section. We’ve been told this is a temporary reinstatement as further work is still to be carried out. Once this is completed I will again assess with our highways officers and challenge ENW where the work does not meet the standard it was at before.”
He added: “The flag stones are a longer running problem - this area doesn’t fall within my division so I didn’t become aware of that problem until a period after that work had been completed. I’ve raised it with ENWL and with our highways officers.”
Carol Ward, of Haslingden Road, Rawtenstall, said the area’s character must be preserved. Talking about the flag stones, she said: “They are part of the heritage, and the way they’ve been put back is a joke. I think a five-year-old child could have done a better job.”
ENW said they often temporarily reinstate areas to allow public use.
Area manager Michael Dawes said: “The two temporary reinstatements on Longholme Road are part of our £1m Bacup Road project which is due to be completed in October. We have instructed teams to spray paint ‘temporary’ on both areas.
“Once our work is complete, both areas will be reinstated to the standards we expect.”
He added: “The reinstatement next to Longholme Methodist Church is not part of our work. We want to apologise for any confusion with residents in regards to the temporary reinstatements.”
A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “Electricity North West have used temporary patching on this road as they will need to come back to make further cable improvements.
“We are contacting them to ensure they will return the road surface to its original state once this project is complete.
“Our inspectors will visit the site to ensure they are happy with the road surface once the work has been finished.”