CV victim: You don’t realise how bad it really is
Rossendale council leader
ADIGITAL exhibition offers a virtual glimpse into a sixyear long project to refurbish a 109km pipeline.
A consultation with affected residents in Rossendale and elsewhere into United Utilities’ (UU) Haweswater Aqueduct proposals closed last month.
The information can be seen online, after Covid lockdown called a halt to planned public exhibitions.
To carry out the mammoth engineering project and subsequent land reinstatement - expected to take six years - several working areas will need to be set up across the route of the pipe, stretching from Huncoat, through Haslingden and into Bury. United Utilities say a tunnelling machine will be working to dig the way for the new pipe, and once it sets off it will run 24 hours a day.
Potential impacts of works include noise and tree/hedgerow removal, both of which the firm says they will try to minimise.
One of the project’s main surface features will be the creation of compound areas - to store equipment and provide offices for the project team during construction. A major compound off Haslingden Road, between Haslingden and Rawtenstall, will see works in the area for approximately six years.
Vehicles will vary from light vehicles such as transit vans, to 20-tonne trucks and abnormal loads of cranes and tunnel boring machines.
Smaller compounds will be sited at New Hall Hey and Townsend Fold Water Treatment Works.
UU say the works will secure fresh drinking water for 2.5 million people, and wider benefits will include a “huge investment” in the local and regional economy, and the creation of new jobs.
They add that vehicle movements to and from compounds will be limited to 7am to 7pm on weekdays, and 7am to 1pm at weekends and they are working closely with Lancashire County Council to reduce the impact on traffic.
To do this they may need some temporary traffic management.
Jemma Parkinson, stakeholder manager for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), said: “We’re committed to working with and supporting the communities we serve and have developed a comprehensive public consultation programme.
“In March 2020 we held several public exhibitions and received some valuable feedback from these events. Unfortunately, social distancing guidelines, introduced as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, meant that we had to cancel the final five face-to-face exhibitions.
“We’re determined to continue with our public consultation which is why we’ve created virtual exhibitions instead.”
The company is also planning to host online video meetings with councillors, MPs and other stakeholders.
Planning applications - along with environmental surveys - are expected to be published early next year. If planning is approved, construction is currently planned to begin from 2023.
You can view the plans at www.harpconsultation.co. uk or call 0800 298 7040.
HASLINGDEN Road Compound
A tunnelling compound where the Tunnel Boring Machine will start constructing the route of the new pipeline. From here the route runs north to Huncoat, Hyndburn and south to Bury. There will also be a new small pipeline to Townsend Fold WTW. We will be working in this area for approximately six years. Access to the Haslingden Road Compound will be from the A680 Manchester Road and some of our traffic may leave the site onto Haslingden Road.
The typical number of vehicle movements to and from the Haslingden Road compound will be between five and 15 per hour, though during the four years that tunnelling is underway this may peak at 25 per hour.
NEW Hall Hey Compound
A tunnelling compound which a new pipe will pass through between Haslingden Road Compound and Townsend Fold WTW Compound. UU will be working in this area for approximately six months. Access to the New Hall Hey construction site will be from the A682 and New Hall Hey Road. The typical vehicle movements to and from the New Hall Hey compound will be between two and five per hour.
TOWNSEND Fold WTW Compound
A compound at UU’s existing Water Treatment Works called Townsend Fold for the new small pipe from the Haslingden Road Compound. They will be working in this area for approximately one year.
Access to the Townsend Fold WTW construction site will be from Holme Lane. The typical number of vehicle movements to and from the Townsend Fold WTW compound will be between two and five per hour.
ANOTHER month and another set of COVID regulations and guidelines we must all get used to.
There’s no doubt that the sharp increase in positive cases needs addressing, I just wish government would give us a little more notice before making big announcements.
Residents quite rightly look to us - the local council to help them understand the detail that sits behind many of the government’s actions, sadly all too often we do not get to know about changes in advance and are then left playing catch up in trying to understand who can do what, when and where.
Many of our businesses are going to extraordinary lengths in this ever changing landscape, to ensure that the public remain safe during this time.
I would like to offer my thanks to them for all their hard work.
It is only by working together that we will be able to bring this virus under control.
For the latest information go to the council’s website rossendale.gov.uk/ info/210167/ emergencies_and_ safety/10860/ coronavirus_update
I welcome the announcement from government to extend the job retention scheme for another six months.
The scheme announced last week, will top up the wages of workers whose companies can’t employ them on full time hours.
However, I am concerned that the new scheme will fail to provide employers with sufficient incentives to keep workers on and leave them facing really tough decisions about who to lay off instead. That risks putting all the pressure on the employers to decide who stays and who goes.
A better alternative would have been a job recovery scheme that would let businesses in key sectors allow staff to work reduced hours, backed by subsidies, to pay for a proportion of wages for the rest of the week.
This would have protected many part-time workers whereas the new scheme encourages companies to retain some staff full-time and let others go.
The lack of support for the self-employed is also woefully inadequate and will leave many with extremely difficult decisions to make over the coming months.
Finally, I’d like to thank all those that took the time to complete the Haslingden 2040 survey.
The consultation period has now ended, and we’re pleased with the response we got in such a short space of time.
It was important for us to be able to demonstrate local support for the project in order to gain the necessary funding for the next stage.
Haslingden 2040 is just one of the town centre initiatives that the council has worked on over the past 10 years, which is helping to change and shape the face of our local high streets.
Together we’ve achieved a lot in the last decade, and as a borough we have a lot to be proud of.
But we can’t stand still. We want to make sure that Rossendale residents, businesses and visitors really benefit from these improvements, support and input from local people is crucial.
If you would like to raise an issue with me directly please do not hesitate in getting in touch, email me at alysonbarnes@ rossendalebc.gov.uk or ring me on 01706 217819 or 07817 414248.