'Enough is enough' says MP of road shut for months

Robert Cloughley has been at the Swan Inn in Kettleshulme, Cheshire, for 19 years

The continued closure of a road linking two major towns is having a "massive impact" on life in a Cheshire village, according to residents and business owners.

The B5470 between Macclesfield and Whaley Bridge in neighbouring Derbyshire had to shut in January after part of the carriageway collapsed following heavy rain.

Declining footfall at the Swan Inn has resulted in its licensee reconsidering his investment plans for the pub in Kettleshulme.

Cheshire East Council said it understood the "frustrating" situation and was "prioritising the reopening" of the road as soon as possible.

The Swan Inn lies on the B4570

During his 19 years as licensee, Robert Cloughley said he had invested in the 18th Century pub by adding a new kitchen and accommodation.

Mr Cloughley said the inn had suffered significantly this year as a result of the road closure.

"I don't think anybody realises how busy a road it is, and what a thoroughfare it is," he said.

"Something needs doing because it's impacting us an awful lot, along with businesses on both sides of the works."

Mr Cloughley said it had really made him think about the financial aspects of his business.

"The challenges are there, obviously with the [recent rises in] national insurance, minimum wage [and] business rates," he said.

"Those are three elements that have gone up massively in the last two months, and obviously we've now got a downturn in trade because of these road closures [which] I find unreasonable and unacceptable.

"It makes us think about employing new people, trimming hours back to try and restrain costs.

"We've invested a lot in the business and we have got thoughts about doing other things, but we just can't do it anymore because the cash flow is not there."

Sue Jeffrey said the diversion signs around the road closure were "inadequate"

Opposite the pub is David G Ross Nurseries.

The business has been here for 60 years and is now occupies a four-and-a-half acre (1.8 hectare) site.

"It's having a massive impact on us, in terms of our customers getting to us and to actually get our deliveries here," said operations manager Sue Jeffrey.

She said some drivers were "just not attempting to come to us" and complained that diversion signs erected around the road closure were "inadequate".

"At Whaley Bridge where the road starts, it just says 'road ahead closed', said Ms Jeffrey.

"It doesn't say that local businesses are not affected, so it's very frustrating for us as customers will see the 'road ahead closed' sign and not even bother to come to us."

She said the road closure was also causing issues for staff who have to take their children to school in Macclesfield.

Communication from the councol had been "zero", added Ms Jeffrey.

Neelanga Uggalle has concerns about safety on the diversion route, which is a single-track road in places

People living in the village also said they were worried about the ongoing road closure.

IT worker Neelanga Uggalle, who lives in Kettleshulme, said he travels to his company's office, near Knutsford, two days a week.

He contacted BBC North West to voice his concerns about the lengthy road closure.

Mr Uggalle said he now avoided going into Macclesfield at weekends because he believes the diversion - a single track in many places - is simply not safe.

"A lot of people I've noticed are not familiar with how to deal with it," he said.

"You just have oncoming traffic without slowing down, even though there is a passing place they could've used," he explained.

"Occasionally you have an HGV going through even though there is a clear sign on both ends saying it's not suitable.

"I think they thought 'Maybe because it's a B road - nobody's using it'.

"While villages like this have a smaller number of people this [road] is actually used to connect two major towns. Because of that there's a lot of traffic."

MP Tim Roca raised the issue in a Parliamentary debate

Macclesfield MP Tim Roca raised the issue in Parliament and said the disruption to residents was "profound".

The Labour MP said a governor from a local primary school had told him the closure had caused major issues, with it being forced to cancel swimming lessons due to the longer round trip to the pool.

"The impact of the closure is widespread," said Roca, highlighting issues including the impact on the road being used as a diversion, extra carbon emissions from queueing traffic, and lost school and family time for residents.

After raising the issue, he said he was "grateful for the new sense of urgency" from the council's highways team.

Jon Pearce, Labour MP for the neighbouring High Peak constituency, said the road closure was "a nightmare" for many residents.

"Enough is enough," he said. "Cheshire East Council need to resolve this as we've been waiting for too long."

Future of Roads Minister Lillian Greenwood said she understood it was a difficult situation and urged more communication from the council.

"It is so important that local people understand the work that is being undertaken," she said.

"Sometimes things do take longer than expected, but [Cheshire East Council needs] to explain to local people what they are doing and how they will expedite these repairs."

The road links Macclesfield and Whaley Bridge

Mark Goldsmith, chair of Cheshire East's highways and transport committee, said: "Our teams have been working hard to get this road reopened following the large landslip. Unfortunately, we cannot simply repair the road.

"We have had to conduct extensive ecology and drainage surveys to understand how to create a secure platform for the new road to sit on.

"Other technical investigations will also take place over the coming weeks, which will then allow us to design the engineering solution needed to reinstate the road.

"Once we finalise this, we will then give the timescales for rebuilding and reopening the road."