Road works cause chaos in Honley

Jun 19 2009 by Joanne Douglas, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Road works cause chaos in Honley

ROADWORKS by two utility companies have brought Honley to a virtual standstill.

United Utilities have been digging up roads around the village centre for six weeks.

Access to homes, shops and the Post Office has been disrupted for weeks.

And to make it worse BT started work on Southgate on Monday without shopkeepers being informed.

Brenda Bodenham, of Honley Post Office on Church Street, said she has seen customers drive away because they can’t get near to her shop.

She said: “They turned up on Monday without any of us being informed and started digging the road.

“I haven’t received a note or a leaflet or anything, the first I knew was when I saw them.

“We’re putting up with the other works and then we get even more.

“The noise from the equipment is just horrendous, we’re in the Post Office 150m away and can’t escape it.

“It’s tough enough running a business now as it is without all of this making it difficult for people to get to us.”

A spokeswoman for United Utilities apologised for the disruption and inconvenience caused.

She said: “This is a programme of essential work to upgrade the gas supply to the area by replacing 487m of old metal pipe with modern plastic pipe which is safer and more reliable.