Allowing construction until evening slammed by Valley's Lib Dem leader

Coun. Allan Knox, leader of the party group on Ribble Valley Borough Council, was alarmed at local government secretary Robert Jenrick’s decision to allow flexible working on sites which could mean construction continuing until 9pm in residential areas.

Mr Jenrick said the housing and construction industries must get up and running again after weeks of lockdown. However, in a statement released to the Clitheroe Advertiser, Coun. Knox fears residents will now have to put up with the disturbance of construction throughout the summer.

He explained: "It is important that as we come out of lockdown, industry starts to gets back on its feet. However, it seems outrageous that residents up and down the country, who have endured so much over the past seven weeks, will now have to put up with the background drone of construction throughout their summer evenings. Previously, local councils set limits on when construction had to start and finish. Now, at the swipe of a pen, a Tory minister in Whitehall has decided what he thinks is best for places like Clitheroe, Barrow, Langho and Whalley and has said that councils must implement his edict."

He added: "Many people talk about the 'new normal' and that after we come out of lockdown, being in a gentler, kinder, more community-spirited world. However, if this ministerial edict is anything to go by, the future is very bleak.”