M65 safety review launched after spate of crashes

There have been at least four more crashes on the M65 in January

A safety review of the M65 in Lancashire has been announced following a further spate of crashes.

Several councillors have called for the assessment, as well as the reintroduction of lighting, after two people died and nine suffered serious injuries in collisions between Preston and Colne last year.

There have also been at least four more crashes this month between junctions 5 and 8 of the motorway.

In a letter to Hyndburn Council, National Highways said it would review the section of the M65 for which it was responsible, between junction 1a at Cuerden and junction 10 at Burnley.

Regional review

Executive director of operations Duncan Smith said: "Providing road lighting is not a legal requirement and some motorways, including much of the M65, have never been lit."

He said lighting which had been reaching the end of its life had been removed recently due to its structural condition.

Mr Smith said the decision about whether to replace it would depend upon the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis.

The M65 review will form part of a wider safety examination of all National Highways-administered routes in the north-west of England.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) is responsible for the section of the M65 between junction 10 and 14 at Colne.

The leader of Hyndburn Council, Munsif Dad, said he would join fellow councillors in continuing to "push the appropriate bodies for action on the M65 to make it safer".

Hyndburn Council was one of three local authorities, along with Burnley and Pendle, to pass motions in 2024 calling for a safety review.

Councillor Asjad Mahmood, leader of Pendle Council, said they were calling for LCC to undertake a similar assessment for their section of the motorway between junction 10 and 14 "to prevent any serious incidents in the future".