Largs road closure: Fears over lengthy traffic diversion

The closure between Brisbane Glen Cemetery and Tourgill Farm is due to start at 8am on Wednesday, November 8 until 6pm on Friday, November 17 for BT works.

The council roads department states that due to the nature of this event and existing road widths, legislation requires that in the interest of safety to both the road users and the work force, a restriction of use must be put in place for the duration of the works.

Diversion routes will be clearly signposted.

However, Jamie Black of Brisbane Glen in Largs has highlighted it is going to cause major disruption for the residents who live in the area affected.

Jamie Black (Image: Newsquest)

In a letter to roads chiefs, Jamie said: "The diversion route here is 23 miles, and this equates to a 50 minute journey one way to Largs.

"We take our two children to school each day, and this is an 8 (school) day closure. There are two other school children living in the upper part of the Brisbane Glen. 

"It is not acceptable to expect school children to travel one hour 40 minutes each day to get to their school, as an alternative to the normal nine minute travel time."

Jamie has called for the matter to be reviewed and measures put in place to ensure access to Largs at at the very least, start of day and for school finishing at 2.45pm.

He added: "There are other residents living in the glen who will be impacted by being unable to access doctors, pharmacies, shops or other facilities and for whom a long prolonged detour such as this would have a seriously detrimental impact. 

"I understand that access may be allowed - for example our property is within the closure area - but the order does not state that access will be permitted to property.

"Either access is permitted for residents, or the order is varied to be in place from something like 9.30am till 3pm."

A council officer responded: "This has been requested by BT Openreach to allow works on their apparatus, as the local authority we only facilitate the order to allow them to carry out said works and have no say in how they do this.

"If the closure were being put in place daily we would request that it is done so at off peak time to accommodate commuting traffic such as school children and people travelling to work, however they have requested the closure be in place for the duration of the works, and can only assume this is for safety reason for both the workforce and the public.

"Although access for residents within the closure has not been stipulated on the application, I would imagine they will make provision for this and allow access in and out of the closure."

Jamie said: "I do not accept that North Ayrshire Council as Traffic Authority has no role or responsibility in considering the impact of this closure on the residents, whether the order is appropriate or suitable and neither do I accept that a member of the public should require to engage BT to seek to persuade them to try vary their request to NAC. 

"I have requested that this be revisited with all due haste to avoid any delay to the works, and minimise the impact to the people and businesses affected."

Speaking to the News, Jamie pointed out that roadworks in the area in the past have always had direct access stipulated.

He commented: "I think there has been a cock-up. The council should resubmit the order with access as they should have done with previous road orders."

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We need to install critical new fibre links along a three kilometre stretch of the Brisbane Glen Road. This will provide more than 20 properties along the road with access to ultrafast full fibre broadband, and is a once-in-a-lifetime upgrade.
 
“We looked very carefully at all the options and whether this large civil project could go ahead without a full road closure. Unfortunately, we can’t complete the work with a lane closure, as the road is too narrow. We’ve worked closely with the council to agree the diversion, which is the only option available.
 
“We sympathise with the position of those residents affected and understand their concerns. Our build partners will do all they can to provide local access where it’s safely possible. They’ll also reopen sections of the road as work on those sections is completed, and they’ll get the build done as quickly as possible and seek to reduce the length of time the road is closed.
 
“We’re very sorry for the limited period of disruption which is inevitable for some residents while this important broadband upgrade takes place. We’d encourage people to plan ahead and allow some extra time for delays or longer journeys.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The works are being undertaken by a contractor on behalf of BT Openreach. They require the closure to facilitate their works. 

“We understand the concerns and will be meeting with BT’s contractor to see if there is any scope to accommodate the school traffic.”