A dangerous Fylde road must be made safe as soon as possible.
That’s the message from Fylde MP Mark Menzies and Coun Bobby Rigby after the duo walked the length of Cropper Road.
Mr Menzies said: “The state of this road is nothing short of dangerous. The potholes in the surface and lack of definition at its edges are clearly a danger for motorist, cyclists and pedestrians. The scrapes along the road surface show where cars hit the bottom as drivers attempt to negotiate holes and depressions along this busy road.
“We have a lot of development along Cropper Road at present and I am aware the plans show an improved road surface and pavements – but we need these now and not years down the line.”
Along the road are a popular garden centre and restaurant, a skatepark, and an award-winning campsite - all of which attract families.
Mr Menzies met with Coun Bobby Rigby to see first-hand the state of the road surface.
Coun Rigby said: “I have been speaking with residents and they are seriously concerned about the safety of the road. Now that we have a substantial number of people living in new homes along this road, it is vital we get the surface and pavement areas improved as soon as possible. It is not safe for anyone walking along the road and the lack of pavement in areas is a huge problem – including for drivers.
“Any cyclists attempting to travel down the road have to negotiate huge potholes – and cars doing the same.”
Mr Menzies and Coun Rigby walked the length of the road to catalogue the myriad problems and noted unfinished pavements, missing pavements, potholes, raised ironworks, and construction issues which all make the road unsafe.
Mr Menzies has written to Lancashire County Council as the highways authority to ask that works be carried out as soon as possible to make the road safe, and to Fylde Council as the local planning authority, to ask checks are made on the obligations on the developers building homes along the road.
Mr Menzies said: “I want to know if developers have fulfilled their obligations in the first instance. If they have, I would like to know why they have been allowed to continue building without completing the necessary infrastructure to make this road safe.
“I would like to see the road brought up to standard now and the matter of obligations sorted out afterwards – we must improve the safety of this road at once.”