ONE of Huddersfield's busiest roads is heading for gridlock.

That was the warning from a councillor who is calling for action to tackle a traffic overload on Wakefield Road.

Kirkburton councillor Mark Hemingway said Kirklees Council must stop giving planning permission to new housing developments near Wakefield Road, until it is known how the major route will cope with the extra traffic from existing sites where new housing is being built.

Wakefield Road is the main route into Huddersfield from Waterloo, Moldgreen, Kirkburton, Highburton, Flockton and Grange Moor.

He said: "At the moment it takes me 45 minutes to get to work and I live six miles away.

"During the day, traffic is not so bad, but at peak times it is awful. The average speed is about 5mph."

Clr Hemingway said the situation was due to get worse once work was finished on current housing developments.

Around 500 houses will be built at sites including Lepton, Shepley and Highburton and further homes are under construction at Greenside.

Clr Hemingway said council officer had to consider the hundreds of extra cars created by developments currently underway, which currently are not being taken into account.

Clr Hemingway said: "We are expecting all those people who buy those houses to use Wakefield Road.

"We are going to have a big problem in future.

"I don't think it is clever for officers to stick their heads in the sand, hoping the problem will go away."

Clr Hemingway is calling for a full assessment of what effect all the potential housing developments will have on Wakefield Road and what can be done to solve the problem.

He has sent the req- uest to Keith Faragher, head of planning, Ken Gillespie, regeneration officer, and Clr Andrew Pinnock, cabinet member for regeneration.

Clr Hemingway said there were many ways to alleviate the traffic problems in the meantime.

He said: "I'm not a highways officer, but there is a lot we could do.

"Changing the timing of traffic lights for one thing. It can make everything move quicker."

A Kirklees Council spokesman said:

"We have been contacted by Clr Hemingway and will be responding to the issues that he has raised."

Recent major developments had, as normal, included traffic impact assessments including the cumulative effects of other planned developments on access.