A RURAL Huddersfield pub landlord and restaurateur fears proposed roadworks will hit his trade.

Steve Kerr, landlord of the Rose and Crown at Cop Hill, claims that work on reinforcing the Holme Lane gas main, due to start on July 23, will decimate his summer trade.

The proposed work will mean that the only road between Slaithwaite and his pub restaurant will be closed for five weeks.

It will leave drivers with a diversion of several miles.

The work is to replace gas mains and Northern Gas Networks insist it can be delayed no longer.

They said the work should have started yesterday but was put back to later in the month because of school holidays.

There was a request by council officials to delay until September but this will not happen.

According to Mr Kerr, this is the third time that Holme Lane has been ripped up in the last three years.

The work will mean an extra nine-mile round trip via the moors of Bradshaw and Pole Moor to get from Cop Hill to the nearby village of Slaithwaite and back.

Mr Kerr said: “I am hoping that commonsense will prevail.

“A big problem is that there has been zero consultation, I only found out about it by word of mouth and then saw a notice on a post. The notices only appeared on June 25.

“If they close the road in July, it will really hit the pub and local farmers at our busiest time of year.

“For us, the school holidays are like Christmas, it is our peak period. If people can’t get here and I can’t get continuation of trade, there will be staff lay-offs.

“The road has only just been resurfaced and this will be the third closure in three years. It is chaotic.”

A Northern Gas Networks spokesman said the work had to be done. Gas mains running through the area need replacing to ensure continuity of supply.

“We were to start on July 9 but after comments from local people it was put back to July 23 to coincide with the holidays.

“We cannot delay it until September.

“The problem is that as the lanes there are so narrow, whichever method we choose to do the work will entail road closures.

“We agreed the diversion route with local highways officers”.