Lancashire County Council provides update on dust plagued Plungington Road in Preston

Lancashire City Council has provided a fresh update on a road in Preston currently plagued by dust.

Earlier this week we shared the complaints of residents on Plungington Road who say their street, cars and homes have been covered in dust for over a week.

Plungington Road was resurfaced by Lancashire County Council earlier this month and in the aftermath, loose chippings, which are designed to be swept away gradually by passing cars, have been causing havoc.

Rather unusually, the chippings are creating mountains of dust whenever any vehicle drives down the road, with one resident telling the Post: “It’s getting beyond a joke. The bulk of drivers drive at normal speed, 30 miles an hour down there, and our main concern is all the crap that then gets sprayed across the street. You’re walking dust into your house, your windows are covered, your car is covered. The stone chips are also hitting other cars, damaging them. It’s a safety issue. People are walking down the street with face coverings, same again with cyclists."

When approached, Lancashire County Council expressed empathy for residents but explained it was all part of the usual process.

A spokesperson said: “We are currently carrying out vital surface dressing work to stop roads deteriorating by waterproofing them and making them resilient in the run up to winter.

"This involves putting loose chippings on a layer of hot bitumen and allowing traffic to embed it for a couple of days afterwards as part of the process.

"However, we do totally understand people's concerns regarding debris, and to mitigate the short term effects of the work, a temporary reduced speed limit has been put in place while the process completes.

"We anticipate the whole scheme should be complete by early September, weather permitting."

Following our discussion with the council, it appears the authority has stepped in again to tackle the problem, as residents reported seeing a heavy vehicle driving down Plungington Road, compacting the loose gravel and sucking up any loose pieces.

The council did not confirm this when initially asked.

In a update newly issued, however, Lancashire County Council has now confirmed that they had begun some work to rectify the issue.

They also provided more context for residents, explaining that further steps to improve the road have had to be halted due to the weather.

A spokesperson told the Post: “Further to our earlier response, we can confirm that resources revisited Plungington Road on Monday and carried out additional sweeping work. The contractor delivering the scheme also sent an operative to sweep the footpaths.

“Unfortunately, the recent wet weather is affecting progress as the next stage of the surface dressing process cannot be applied when there is moisture on the road surface. Once this next stage has been completed, dust and chipping loss should reduce significantly.”

When we shared Plungington Road’s plight with Lancashire Post readers, we learnt the state of the road had been noticed by more than just the residents.

One reader, named April Dwyer, said: “They really aren’t exaggerating. The contractors have really done a poor job so far.

“I had to travel down that stretch just yesterday and the volume of loose gravel and chippings is far more than you see used on other roads that have been surface dressed.It just looks like they dumped a job lot and ran!

“There are piles up against the kerbs and the dust kicked up is horrendous.

“I feel really sorry for the residents and businesses down that stretch of Plungington Rd.”

Kelsey Topping also said “It was like a sandstorm the other day. Couldn't even see a bus a little ahead of me” whilst Judith Rodger replied: “I drove down last Friday and it was the same. Could hardly see in front of me it was that bad. Feel sorry for those that live on that road.”

Elsewhere, another reader suggested that their road could at least do with the resurfacing in the first place.

Ian Duffy wrote: “Jesus Christ, I wish our house was suffering dust following Street/Road refurbishment. Need a Off road vehicle to safely navigate our street at present.”

Other than Plungington Road’s surface dressing, only three more roads in Preston were revealed as being due resurfacing work by spring 2027.

These were:

• A6, Garstang Road - sections from Blackpool Road to Broughton roundabout
• Greaves Town Lane/Larches Lane/Larches Avenue, Ashton
• Silk Mill Lane, Inglewhite - from Inglewhite Road to Langley Rd