Anger as road remains shut 10 MONTHS after wall collapsed in storm
A BUSY road remains closed almost 10 months after a retaining wall collapsed and spewed rubble onto the carriageway.
Now residents of Burnlee Road in Holmfirth are calling for action to remove the rubble, reopen the route and ensure it is safe for the future.
One man said: “The wall collapsed at about four in the morning.
“It was fortunate that it came down when it did. It’s quite a busy road. If it had happened at 8.45am there could have been parents or kids under the wall.”
The collapse on January 20 was blamed on Storm Christophe as it battered the country bringing heavy rain, strong winds and even snow.
The incident led to an impasse between the owner of the wall and Kirklees Council, which said the owner “had previously been advised that they needed to take action to prevent the wall from failing, but this had not taken place.”
However, locals who have lived in the area for many years said a retaining wall had collapsed “taking the boundary wall with it”.
They said that retaining wall was built by the old Holmfirth Urban District Council and so the responsibility for its upkeep rests with Kirklees.
One resident said: “It’s a bloody nightmare. The rubble is still there. Other roads have become rat runs for parents taking children to school. And they’re the only routes until this road is reopened.
“People have been frustrated. Some were moving the barriers to get through in their cars so the council replaced the barriers with big concrete blocks.
“From a safety point of view there’s still a lot of stuff that is loose that will have to come down before they can start building again.
“This has been going on for ten months. It’s definitely been a hold-up for everyone. We have been told for months that repairs were coming but it hasn’t happened. We are waiting and hoping in anticipation.”
Clr Donald Firth (Con, Holme Valley South), who raised the issue with Kirklees Council, said: “The situation is getting dangerous.
“People living on Burnlee Road can’t get out onto the main Woodhead Road and so have to use other steep nearby roads.
“With retaining walls it is apparently is quite simple. If the wall falls down and it falls across the highway it is the council’s problem.
“Unless we have changed the rules and moved the goalposts then we need to get these problems sorted.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Kirklees Council for an update on how long Burnlee Road would remain closed – and whether the council would take action to repair the wall or compel residents to do the work. The council did not respond.