Collapsed road causes chaos for businesses
RESORT road that collapsed on Friday has caused chaos for motorists and businesses in Birkdale.
Liverpool Road near the junction with Eastbourne Road was closed on Friday after the highway collapsed – leaving a large hole in the tarmac. The road remains closed while work is carried out to fix the problem.
Owner of Sitting Pretty Salon on Liverpool Road, Penny Bennett, said she and other businesses would love to see the problem get fixed as soon as possible
She told the Visiter: “It will be affecting all the businesses in the village.
“It has been so easy to find a parking space, which is usually not the case. That has got to mean there are less people driving through and stopping in the village.”
Sascha Rawlinson of Betsy Boo Creations in the trading estate said: “It stopped people being able to get through – we always direct them along that way.
“I was trying to direct them around, but there were not many signs out at that point – it did affect us, Friday’s are our busiest.”
Holes have also recently opened up in Hawkshead Street, Forest Road, Hulme Street, Westcliffe Road, Guildford Road, Union Street and Lulworth Road and now Liverpool Road.
Lib Dem Cllr Tony Dawson urged Sefton Council to ‘send a rocket’ to United Utilities – asking for steps to be taken to ensure that contractors carry out any road repairs in a proper manner.
A spokesperson for United Utilities said there are no cases where they have simply patched up the road surface and ignored the problem underneath.
They said: “Once we complete a thorough investigation and have confirmed the subsidence has been caused by a defect on our water or sewer pipes, we carry out a full repair to the pipe and then resurface the road to a high standard. The finished job is then inspected and approved by the local authority.
“Any temporary resurfacing is actually carried out by Sefton Council to make the highway safe for a short time while we complete our investigations and plan our repair, or wait for a quiet time on the roads to carry out the work. In some cases, the hole in the road is not linked to our pipes.”
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said they work hard within their available powers and resources to ensure utility companies meet their statutory duty and their repairs meet the required standard.