HIGHWAYS bosses say resurfacing work which will cause two months of motorway delays should help safeguard the future of barn owls living near the M65.

A £2.6 million resurfacing project began this week between the Huncoat and Burnley junctions.

Highways Agency bosses said work was necessary for road safety. But they also claim the new road surface, which halves tyre noise, will also help safeguard the future of barn owls.

Local landowner John Leitherd wrote to the agency to express his concern about the impact of noise from the motorway on the barn owl population.

Mr Leitherd wrote: "There seems to have been a marked increase in the tyre noise level over the last few years and we have witnessed a proportional reduction in wildlife, particularly owls which inhabit the Castle Clough biological heritage site at Hapton." Highways Agency project manager Roy Wood said: "The existing surface is badly cracked and needs to be renewed to maintain road safety. We decided it was justified to use a noise reducing material.

"The barn owl population wasn't our only consideration - the motorway also runs through a densely populated area."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.