Slaithwaite people have been left perplexed as to why a road was redressed despite planned gas works.
Vicky Townend said she and others living on New North Road cannot understand why Kirklees Council undertook the task to re-surface their street three weeks ago, despite knowing that Northern Gas Networks intend to replace gas mains on it this month which would involve digging up the street.
Vicky 43, who received a letter from the company on April 30, believes the council has unnecessarily wasted public money on the road.
“A team from the council came out to redress it and did a good job of making it look smart,” she said. “But then to be told that gas mains work is to be carried out on it has made me question why the council ever bothered to do it in the first place.
“They must have spent a fair amount of money redressing it so to me it has just been a complete waste of public money which, at a time when the council is saying they haven’t any money and are making cuts to our services, is an insult to those who have been affected by them.”
Since her complaint Northern Gas Network, who initially informed the council of its intended May plans, has decided to postpone the works until October due to “operational issues”.
Meanwhile, the council has insisted that the gas works will only impact on a small portion of the road.
A council spokeswoman said: “The impact of the gas works on New North Road will be very limited and we believe we were right to undertake the preventative highway maintenance process of surface dressing when we did.
“Northern Gas Networks plan to carry out works to their gas main principally on Fieldhouse Drive. This will only affect a very small section of New North Road where it joins Radcliffe Road.
“We always make every effort to work with utility companies, sharing forward works programmes and encouraging them to carry out their repairs beforehand.
“As the impact of these gas works on New North Road are very limited, we took the decision to continue with surfacing dressing as it is important the road surface is sealed to provide protection against future deterioration.
“Furthermore, surface dressing can only be carried out during the spring/summer season, so any delays in undertaking this would have meant the road remained in need of repair for up to a year.
“Surface dressing is a recognised and essential highway maintenance process and will reduce the number of defects and ensure the correct surface texture to provide adequate skid resistance.
“It will increase the life of the road before more substantial resurfacing and reconstruction is required by up to 10 years.”
