Extension plan bites the dust

The county council has agreed the draft Lancashire Structure Plan which put the final nail in the coffin of the proposed trans-Pennine route.

"After all these years this comes as something of an anti-climax," said Liberal County Councillor Tony Greaves, who represents Colne. Nevertheless, it is a massive victory for Pendle Council, for local Liberals and for commonsense.

"We always knew that this plan for a six-lane motorway through the South Valley of Colne and over to Keighley would never come about. It was always too expensive, it never had anywhere to go on the Yorkshire side, and as time has gone on, more and more people have come to agree with us."

The brakes were put on the road several months ago in the report of the public examination of the new structure plan. The agreed draft plan will now go out for six weeks public consultation before its final version is rubber-stamped.

But there is still uncertainty over the future of homes on the proposed motorway extension route.

County officials have been told to look into the idea of a Colne southerly by-pass along a similar route.

"I am very worried that this is another hopeless pie-in-the-sky idea which the county council will nevertheless adopt as policy," said Councillor Greaves.

"I am concerned it may blight different areas since the design would be less ambitious and, instead of massive fly-overs, it would link in far more with existing roads."

Colne's Liberal county councillors will be urging the council to drop the by-pass scheme, lift the "protected line" and the blight it has caused, and allow tenants of houses on the proposed M65 line in areas such as Bunkers Hill, the South Valley and Winewall to buy their homes if they want.

"There is still a battle to be fought but at least the crazy motorway plan seems to have gone for ever," added Councillor Greaves.

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