Vow to residents over M55 road link

Fylde MP Mark Menzies at the Moss Road near Peel

Homeowners across Ansdell and Park Ward have received letters from Mark Menzies to inform them about the progress for what he called “one of the biggest issues  locally for many years”.

The closure of Wild Lane, in August last year, left two main routes between south Fylde and Blackpool – Clifton Drive North and the Queensway.

But Mr Menzies said he hoped the building of the new link road would start in 2015 and improve the situation for motorists.

He added: “When the current route was closed last year it became even more important to get a new road in place as quickly as possible, as the closure increased the pressure on the surrounding highways networks.

“As well as creating employment opportunities at Whitehills Business Park and into Blackpool, improved infrastructure would provide a huge boost to the tourism industry in Fylde, as well as our ability to host major events such as the Open Golf Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes.”

Earlier this summer it was confirmed £2m of Government cash would go towards the M55 link – funds Mr Menzies welcomed.

He said: “After working on this scheme for many years, I am delighted we now appear to have got to the stage where everything is in place for the road to be built and I will continue to push Lancashire County Council (LCC) and the local developers to ensure building work begins as soon as possible.”

Following the closure of Wild Lane commuters had been driving onto Division Lane, on to Midgeland Road, before completing the diversion on School Road.

Earlier this month transport bosses revealed plans to close the route for six weeks following concerns about the safety of the road surface and complaints from neighbours, who felt drivers were using the route as a rat-run.

On Friday the long-running saga took another twist as transport bosses performed a U-turn, revealing work would not start on the route as planned after talks with neighbours.

It was suggested to The Gazette that Division Lane would remain open, but yesterday, teams from LCC’s highways department pressed on with closure order plans, with the route blocked.