Golf club upgrade prompts nine weeks of roadworks

People posting in social media have complained of "gridlock"

Nine weeks of road works are scheduled for a major road on Merseyside as work starts on a £20m development scheme at a golf club.

Cones and signage have already been put up on Valley Road in Kirkby as part of the scheme at Kirkby Golf Club, which will create a temporary access road to the construction site.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported the plans' approval by Knowsley Council in October 2024, which include provision for a new driving range, a clubhouse and an 18-hole "adventure" golf course.

A council spokeswoman said the "exciting scheme" would create new jobs and "deliver economic benefits to Kirkby and the wider borough and attract new members as well as visitors from far and wide".

The council website has live information for all road users about roadworks currently underway and planned in the area.

There are currently two listed notifications for Valley Road in Kirkby.

Swift reaction

The first lane closure has begun and lasts until 31 September with the construction of a temporary construction site entrance and the provision of a dedicated left turn lane off Valley Road westbound at the junction with Field Lane, off Valley Road West Bound at the junction with Field Lane.

The second, which begins on 15 September, details highway repair and maintenance works with sweeping, grass cutting, street lighting repairs, gully cleansing and weed spraying between M57 Junction six roundabout to Aintree Lane.

Reaction has been swift on social media, with one driver describing the area as "just gridlocked with cones and barriers".

Another added: "Absolutely ridiculous isn't it. Who on earth gave it the OK for major works to be ongoing at the same time on the two biggest routes into Kirkby?"

A third user posted: "It is going to be a nightmare when it's school rush hour."