Cheshire West: Concerns as drivers use roads to bypass closure

A resident has written to the council concerned about drivers using small roads in Barnton as ‘rat runs’ and damaging the road surfaces, as they bypass the Soot Hill road closure.

The Anderton road has been closed in both directions since December 2021 after a landslip, causing serious disruption for nearby residents and people travelling between Warrington and Northwich.

According to Cheshire West and Chester Council’s (CWAC) current timeline for the work, repairs will not be completed until December this year, two years after the landslide occurred.

Mark Woolley, a Barnton resident, is concerned about the amount of heavy traffic – including buses and coaches – using small roads such as Elmwood Road, Beech Road, Crocus Street and Laurel Close, as alternative routes for such a long period of time.

Damage to Elmwood Road (Image: Mark Woolley)

He said: “Another 10 months of this is not just ‘an inconvenience’, it’s extremely damaging to roads not built for this level of traffic and very dangerous for residents and pedestrians in these areas.

“The cost of resurfacing the affected roads in the Barnton area is frankly going to just go up and up.”

Mark wants the council to put signage at the top of Laurel Close and the junction of Elmwood and Lydyett Lane to stop large vehicles and prevent the roads from further damage.

“We used to drive on the left-hand side of the road around Barnton, now we have to drive on what's left of the road and it’s just not acceptable,” he added.

“Elmwood Road was never built to take the weight and frequency of these vehicles.

“It is a small residential road that serves the people who live on the Locke estate.

“There are four bends on Elmwood that are almost 90 degrees in angle.

“When meeting large double and single decker buses, it’s extremely dangerous.

“They are mounting pavements and wrecking the grass verges of the estate.

“The road is also breaking up significantly from Laurel Close all the way to where Elmwood meets Lydyett Lane.

“Elmwood Road has never had a complete re-surfacing in 20 years, but I have never seen it deteriorate so much as it has since Soot Hill has been closed.”

Damage to Elmwood Road since the Soot Hill closure (Image: Mark Woolley)

A spokesperson for Cheshire West and Chester Council said: "The road at Soot Hill remains closed for safety reasons due to a land slip involving a substantial retaining wall that supported the highway in December 2021.

“Work has now started on the repairs and the council will do it’s best to manage any potential disruption in the meantime.

“This is a complex project involving a number of partners, including Scottish Power, British Gas, BT and United Utilities.

“We appreciate the concerns of residents regarding traffic using residential roads as an alternative route and would encourage drivers not to use these roads where possible.

“The signed diversion for Soot Hill closure is via the 'A' road network but it is appreciated and understood that traffic will use the local roads to get to their chosen locations.

“The condition of local roads including Elmwood Road, Crocus Street, Laurel Close and Beech Road will continue to be reviewed as part of our Highway safety inspection programme.

“Any identified defects during these inspections will be repaired.”

Specific concerns can be reported at cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/transport-and-roads/highways/potholes-and-road-faults.

The latest information on the Soot Hill scheme is updated regularly on the council website.