A petition demanding a bypass for Flockton has gained more than 4,000 signatures meaning Kirklees Council will be forced to debate the issue.
Incensed villagers say enough is enough after a spate of near misses, HGVs flouting the rules by using the main road through the village as a short cut, plus a major spurt in building houses that will lead to more vehicles on the winding road through the village.
There’s a ban on HGVs using Flockton as a short cut to the M1 – but it’s often ignored.
Plans for a bypass were floated as long ago as the 1930s says Flockton resident Kath Middleton of Barnsley Road, who has been busy obtaining signatures.
However, despite many false dawns, she remains hopeful that one day her dream will come true.
She said: “I’ve lived here for 18 years and feel very strongly about this issue. Fortunately we have got the support of Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff and most of the local community.
“Thanks to the new housing development, Hazlemere, on Barnsley Road, which means I live in the middle of a chicane, there will be an extra 300 cars going to hit this read which is already gridlocked.
“We need a link road that will connect Wakefield Road via Hardcastle Lane to join Barnsley Road.”
Proposals for a Flockton Link, a motorway between the M62 Junction 25 near Brighouse, and M1 junction 38 near Haigh were given the go-ahead as long ago as 1970 and would have meant motorists could take a 10 mile trip along a motorway rather than the 24 miles via the M1 and M62.
Since then there have been sporadic attempts to do something but a combination of opposition from residents and a lack of money has seen them scuppered.
Earlier this year Ms Sherriff said: “Residents in the area deserve to feel safe.
“There have been multiple ‘near-misses’ and there is genuine, understandable concern that further accidents could occur.
“Many are using this road as a ‘rat-run’ and there are frequent episodes of dangerous driving which is particularly concerning as the road, which is poorly served by pavement space, is used by young children on their way to the village school.
“The village has a population of around 1,000 people and continues to grow and the current road is simply not sufficient nor safe to deal with the volume of traffic using it.”
Mrs Middleton says no date has been fixed fas yet or a debate at Huddersfield Town Hall by Kirklees councillors.
