Safety plea over speeding traffic

Alan Roughley outside Denshaw Village Hall.

Plans to convert a shabby old toilet block into a shop in a Saddleworth village have been given a boost by a former local resident.

Denshaw lost its only shop when the post office closed earlier this year and since then a councillor Alan Roughley has been campaigning to have a disused toilet in the village centre restored and operated as a ‘co-op’ by locals.

Campaigners in Saddleworth’s most isolated village are mustering a petition in a bid to protect their tiny community from speeding traffic.


The petition, backed by Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, is aimed at highlighting Denshaw’s burgeoning traffic problems.

Villagers are pressing for action to curb excessive speed on narrow, A-roads which converge on the village centre — the major eastern gateway to the Manchester city region.

The A672 to Ripponden also intersects with the M62, A672 to Oldham, A640 to Newhey, A640 to Outlane, Huddersfield, and the A6052 Denshaw-Uppermill.

The A640 and A672 descend from a height of 1,100 and 1,500 ft to the village crossroads, with long steep gradients on the approach.

The fifth road, the A6052, has a steep descent from the crossroads towards Delph. And the petition to Oldham Council, Highways England, GMP and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, says bluntly: “It is time a crossroads built in the 1820s is made fit for 21st century traffic.”

It adds: “Our children need protecting from traffic when going to or leaving the primary school.

“Pedestrians feel they are at risk when crossing any of these roads.

“The present crossroads layout cannot cope with motorway traffic diverted through the village every time the M62 has an incident between junctions 21, 22 and 23. Complete gridlock and long delays are all too common.”

And it urges the agencies to work together to prepare an effective traffic-calming and crossroads improvement scheme.

Alan Roughley, chairman of Denshaw Community Association, said: “Ever since the M62 opened, Denshaw has been split in two by fast moving traffic.

“Cars, heavy trucks and vans all seem to ignore speed limits and warning signs.

“We also have the notorious five A-road junction at the centre of the village, which badly needs a complete rethink.

“We see this campaign in two phases. First, talk with the Highways Engineers and traffic experts to see what is technically possible.

Indications

“They should be able to give us broad indications as to how much each option might cost and how effective any changes might be.

“Then we have to try and persuade some public body, whether at national or city region level, to come up with the funding to make such improvements happen.”

MP, Debbie Abrahams, who met local residents before Christmas, has set up a meeting with Highways England and Oldham council this month.

“Local campaigners have agreed to meet on March 11 to discuss the next course of action to take,” she added.