Frustration over continued ‘traffic chaos’ on North Valley Road and M65 in Colne

Mr Hugh Simpson contacted the Burnley Express to express his frustration at the volumes of traffic coming off the end of the M65 into Colne onto North Valley Road and Albert Road, which he described as “huge”, and expressed his frustration that plans to alleviate this have still not come to pass.

Various options have been explored to ease congestion, the latest being a Local Transport Plan being considered by Lancashire County Council.

The Department of Transport also commissioned a study of the possibility of a new nationally strategic route from the M65 over to Yorkshire, but Mr Simpson says this seems to have “disappeared into a black hole.”

He said: “The pollution that results from the congestion these volumes create, especially on Albert Road, through the heart of Colne town centre, is very concerning but also on North Valley Road of course.

“The volumes are so large that significant numbers heading for Barnoldswick, Foulridge, Earby and probably beyond deviate off the M65 at Junction 13 via Barrowford and Higherford, the latter being a narrow residential road.

“On days when there is an accident, road works, bicycle races or seasonal celebrations in Colne absolute gridlock reigns.

“Given the seriousness of this issue at one time the county council as Highway Authority rated it as their number one priority in the county. They produced alternative routes from just before the end of the motorway to Foulridge but then I believe agreed that they did not address the problems.

“Although the county council has made some investment around the first junction on North Valley Road off the M65 it is very limited and seems to have focused on stopping queue jumpers and seems to have had no impact on the levels of congestion.”

Mr Simpson added that he had sought discussions with the local MP, county councillor and Pendle councillors to find out what was happening and what was planned but had received “total silence.”

He added: “You would have thought that Pendle Council would have been extremely concerned about this dreadful congestion and pollution and its impact on Colne residents and shoppers.

“You would also have thought that they would be vigorously lobbying the county council and the government for some progress and action. And yet we have been unable to find out anything at all.”

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “Responsibility for the M65 motorway itself lies with National Highways, and the authority is responsible for managing traffic once vehicles leave the motorway and enter the local road network. We have already delivered some junction improvements to help traffic flow and will continue to monitor the network.

“A new Local Transport Plan strategy is currently being developed by Lancashire Combined County Authority, which will help to inform future priority areas for investment.

"We will continue to work closely with National Highways, the Department for Transport and Pendle Borough Council to explore whether further intervention is needed and to secure funding where opportunities arise.”

The National Highways study which concluded in 2022 presented a number of high-level options at an early stage in the design process, however further assessment is required to develop these options further.