Let there be light!

LOOKING brighter . . . the new subway lights

WORK is finally under way to upgrade the lighting at a gloomy subway that has been crime-ridden for years.

Following stories and comments in the Chronicle, Highways England has been sparked into action on a £33,000 project to clean up and improve the notorious Burnley Lane subway.

The Chronicle reported how attacks, assaults and thefts are among the list of crimes committed at the Chadderton underpass with fresh calls made for action to make it safer.

A total of 11 new LED lighting units will be fitted and four new street lights will also be installed at the entrances to the subway below the A663 Broadway. Graffiti is also being removed and the underpass is being repainted.

John Lyssejko, service delivery team leader at Highways England, said: "We're committed to making our road network as safe as possible for everyone who uses it, including motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, which is why we are upgrading the lighting in the Burnley Lane subway.

"Our contractor has already started work to fit the new, brighter LED lighting units and street lights to help improve safety in the subway. We will also be repainting the underpass as part of the upgrade.

"We will continue to listen to feedback we receive from residents and subway users, and take action where we need to."

The new LED lighting units will replace the existing fluorescent lighting in the subway. The scheme is due to be completed by the end of August.

Flaws with the thoroughfare were first brought to light in 2004 by former Councillor Jeremy Sutcliffe.

His renewed cry for action in 2007 branded the Highway Agency, now Highways England's, "neglect of lighting" in the subway as "nothing short of scandalous."

In 2014, campaigners thought they had won their battle for better lighting in the subway after a woman was mugged and it was revealed that six out of ten lights didn't work. The Highways Agency pledged to repair them.

But those appeals were echoed yet again by the family of a 12-year-old boy who was "jumped" from behind and punched in the face as he cycled along the route to buy sweets from a corner shop.

Police have had to close Harrison Dale's case because the offence, carried out by a group of three youths, took place in a CCTV blind spot.

Mum Barbara Dale appealed for tighter security, improved lighting, CCTV cameras inside the subway rather than just outside, and for the smell of urine to be addressed. Further suggestions included building an overpass.

Barbara said: "These works that Highways England are carrying out sound like a good start. The graffiti has always been a problem because once it's done it appears again. The lighting will hopefully be much better and improve the visibility.

"I still feel cameras which can see the entrances to the subway, or even inside, would be more of a deterrent and would make people feel safer, with plenty of signage around to make the culprits more aware that there will be consequences for assaults, anti-social behaviour and other crimes."