Call for investigation into ‘huge’ delays caused by road closures

There have been calls for an investigation into the temporary road closure, which remains in place a year later and is causing “enormous inconvenience” to residents and businesses.

Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Dobson wants Cumberland City Council to investigate the “failure” to repair the C1026 road between Heads Nook and Faugh in his Corby and Hayton ward, near Brampton.

Mr Dobson said residents had been told the road would be closed for seven weeks to allow subsidence to be repaired, ending the one-way system that had been in place for three years. But a year later, the road is still closed.

He put a request to Councillor Denise Rollo, who is responsible for linked places on the Labour-led Cumberland Council, and is due to hear the request at a meeting on Tuesday.

In his question tabled ahead of the meeting, Mr Dobson said that on July 24 the road would have been closed for “exactly one year, causing enormous inconvenience to residents and significant cost to local businesses”.

He wanted to know when the road could be reopened, adding that the authority had so far been “surprisingly reluctant to provide explanations for the delays”.

“Investigate failures”

Mr Dobson called on Ms Rollo to “launch a thorough investigation” to uncover any failings so that other communities are not “unnecessarily subjected to a similar experience”.

He added that he also doubted the accuracy of the estimated cost of the roadworks, at £187,000, and called for a “revised estimate”.

The authority’s full council is expected to address the issue at its meeting on Tuesday.

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