FOUR Tory councillors have written to council bosses alarmed at the lack of preparation for extensive new housing developments in west Blackburn.

They are deeply concerned at the proposed closure of Brokenstone Road and diversion of traffic - including heavy good vehicles - along Gib Lane.

The four - Livesey with Pleasington ward's Cllrs Derek Hardman, Paul Marrow and Mark Russell and Ewood's Cllr John Baldwin - have sent the letter to Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Cllr Phil Riley, borough chief executive Denise Park, and the authority's regeneration boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood.

It tells them: "We are writing to express our deep concerns over planned works in the Brokenstone Road area and the council’s failure to provide sufficient infrastructure improvements alongside its approved or planned housing developments.

"Brokenstone Road is to be closed for an estimated five months from July 18 with traffic diverted along Gib Lane. This includes heavy construction traffic for the Pleasington Lakes housing development. The current 7.5 tonne weight restriction on Gib Lane is to be removed to accommodate this.

"Diverting construction traffic along Gib Lane is unacceptable for the following reasons: the top end is too narrow; there is no continuous footpath on either side; the 7.5 tonne limit was imposed years ago because heavy vehicles depositing sub-soil on the Pleasington Lakes site were damaging the highway; and the residents of Gib Lane have already had to endure six years of construction traffic for nearby development sites.

"Brokenstone Road is a country lane and too narrow to safely accommodate all the additional traffic new developments will generate.

"Gib Lane and Bog Height Road are already used as a rat-run to avoid congestion in Ewood.

"Traffic in the Ewood area is already gridlocked at peak times and this will only get worse as developments progress.

"The council’s draft Local Plan includes more large-scale future developments in the areas surrounding Brokenstone Road and Bog Height Road which will further add to congestion problems.

"Housing targets in Blackburn with Darwen are vastly inflated above government targets.

"We would like the council to commit to retain the 7.5t weight restriction on Gib Lane; find an alternative access route; widen Brokenstone Road; commission an independent Infrastructure Review of the surrounding area; commission an air quality survey; investigate measures to properly alleviate traffic congestion in Ewood; and re-think the volume of housing planned for the area.

"These are country lanes that were not intended to service the volume of traffic they will be required to if the council pushes ahead with its plans.

"There is no need to saturate the area with the volume of housing currently planned when adequate infrastructure improvements are not being provided alongside it."

A spokeswoman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: “We understand that there is a significant amount of change happening in the west Blackburn area.

“This is part of our ambitious plans to grow the borough and deliver quality new homes.

“We have undertaken extensive work to ensure that the plans are robust and that the right infrastructure is in place."