Villagers are stepping up a bid to get a bypass for Flockton.
They say enough is enough after a spate of near misses, HGVs flouting the rules by using the main road through Flockton as a short cut, plus an increase in housing will lead to more vehicles on the road.
Residents are now collecting signatures and hope to top 3,500 to force a debate at Kirklees Council. The petition can be signed HERE
There’s a ban on HGVs using Flockton as a short cut to the M1 – but it’s often ignored.
Kath Middleton, a Flockton resident and campaigner, said: “Last week we spent one hour every day counting HGVs coming past and in one hour there were 34.
“We have HGVs coming down from Grange Moor and we get the number plates but the police can’t charge them.
“Plus we have new housing being built, 180 big family homes that will bring hundreds of more cars.
“I saw that Chris Grayling (Transport Minister) announced £100m for councils to improve A-roads and bypasses and I thought ‘this is our chance.’”
Sterling efforts so far have seen them garner support from over 700 people in Flockton – and with a population of 1,400, which includes children, a bid for a bypass is overwhelming.
But Kath added: “We want it to go further because it affects more than just us.
“If we can get 3,500 signatures we can ask for a proper debate.
“We have the support of local councillors, the MP Paula Sherriff and also the police are understanding.”
Calls for a bypass were stepped up last November after a four-vehicle smash in which the driver of a VW Golf was airlifted to hospital.
Ms Sherriff, the MP for the area, signed the petition and has contacted the roads minister of behalf of the villagers.
She 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 continues to grow and the current road is simply not sufficient, nor safe to deal with the volume of traffic using it.”
In the coming weeks the Action Group will be handing leaflets out, developing a website and a Steering Group of local professionals will explore the idea in more detail.
They say there needs to be a bypass that offers HGVs and commuters the shortest link up to the M1, which previously was considered for fields between the mining museum and New Hall Prison.
