Town centre road closure goes ahead amid concern over Christmas trade - and consultation confusion

Lancashire County Council is installing a so-called ‘build out’ into the road on High Street, near Stoops Weind.

The authority says the aim is to deter "inappropriate parking” on the opposite side of the narrow road which can prevent buses from getting through - and has led to operator Stagecoach threatening to withdraw its services from the route.

The change will mean High Street is closed for a fortnight, until 25th November - although it is understood it will reopen when each day's work is complete.

However, Lancaster and Wyre MP Cat Smith says concerns from local businesses about the impact of the closure on trade in the town in the run-up to Christmas led to her making a last-ditch bid to persuade highway bosses to delay the project until the end of January - which proved unsuccessful.

There has also been confusion after the county council launched a consultation into the changes late last month, which remains open until 26th November - and so remains live even as the work begins.

However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been advised that the consultation relates not to the physical alterations to the street, but only to the proposed new parking rules that will be implemented in the wake of the revamp. That will involve the current no waiting restriction on the eastern side of the road - between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday - being extended further south, resulting in the loss of two 30-minute waiting bays.

The authority says it is “standard practice” for traffic regulation orders like the one now being consulted upon to follow the infrastructure works to which they are related.

Stagecoach last week welcomed the overhaul - which it is understood was spearheaded by the Greater Garstang Partnership Board, in conjunction with Garstang Council and Lancashire County Council - after what the firm said was “many years” of disruption affecting the reliability of its services through Garstang. .

The county authority suggested in its consultation documents that Wyre Council had also been involved in drawing up the planned solution to the problem, but Garstang area representatives on the district council have since told the LDRS: “ Lancashire County Council informed – not consulted with – Wyre Borough Council [to advise] that unless the congestion problems were resolved as soon as possible, buses would no longer use the High Street.

“Accordingly, the work, which should have been done by the county [council] during the spring/summer, has to go ahead now or not be done at all. Wyre Borough Council had no say in the matter other than to agree not to delay the work.

“The decision as to date and time were solely taken by Lancashire County Council to whom all complaints and questions should be addressed.”

According to Cat Smith, Lancashire County Council told her that pausing the work until early next year “would present a significant risk to the scheme proceeding at all, due to resource availability and the need to restart statutory processes”.

The authority added that both Wyre Council and Garstang Town Council had requested that the scheme be completed between the Remembrance Parade and the Victorian Festival in mid-November, “significantly narrowing the available window for us to complete the works”.