Road misery for Calderdale drivers as 'hole' closes major route
Emergency road closure in place on A646 Halifax Road at Eastwood
Hello and welcome to a wet and windy edition of The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re having a good week so far and you’re getting ready to spoil your loved ones rotten this weekend for Valentines Day.
One thing that I’m sure no-one will love is the subject of our main story today - another hole has appeared on the Todmorden to Hebden Bridge route!
Yes, unfortunately it looks like the A646 Halifax Road will be closed for a while so that more repairs can take place. We’ve full details below.
Plus, to try and lighten the mood, we’ve a couple more positive nuggets in the Calderdale Digest.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
🚊 Calderdale planners have granted a certificate of lawful development confirming work on the new £25 million Elland Rail Station has legally started before expiry of a planning deadline.
Planning approval for the new station was granted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on February 28, 2023 but under its terms work must begin not later than three years from that date.
In other words, work must start on, or before, February 28, 2026.
The certificate confirms the planning permission work has lawfully commenced at Old Power Way, Lowfields, Elland.
Site clearance work to prepare for building the station’s car park was undertaken on December 10 last year.
This included excavating out and construction of the car park’s pavement foundation to the required level and laying of kerbs along a five metres by three metres stretch, and the laying of some granular material on the foundation, Calderdale Council planners were told by the combined authority.
⚽ Calderdale Council has said it will give consideration to issues raised in a pre-action legal letter sent by campaigners against proposals to dispose of a major sports stadium.
Campaigners against the authority’s plans to dispose of The Shay Stadium at Halifax have warned the authority they intend to seek a Judicial Review of the decision.
The Shay is home to Halifax’s professional sports teams, football’s FC Halifax Town and rugby league’s Halifax Panthers – but is council-owned.
The campaigners are calling on the council to halt the disposal process, indicating they will seek permission from the courts for a Judicial Review of the decision if this and other requests are not met.
Community group Friends of The Shay have sent a Pre-Action Protocol letter to the council’s Monitoring Officer – the first step of the Judicial Review process – calling for disposal of the stadium to be halted.
The letter sets out their reasons for the challenge, and nine proposed grounds for the challenge, including over consultation.
In response, a Calderdale Council spokesperson said on behalf of the authority: “We will, as required, consider the matters raised in the pre-action letter and respond.”
Road closure misery for motorists as hole appears on busy route
By Andrew Greaves
Motorists in Calderdale are facing yet more misery after another hole appeared on the busy Todmorden to Hebden Bridge route.
An emergency road closure has been put in place on the main A646 Halifax Road will be closed at Eastwood, Todmorden, from the junction with Stoodley Glen on the Todmorden side and the lay-by outside the property known as Rivendell on the Hebden Bridge side.
Cllr Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council Cabinet member for Regeneration and Transport, said the council was notified of a depression in the road yesterday morning.
The ‘hole’ is said to be a depression around four inches deep in the centre line of the carriageway.
Cllr Courtney said: “As the excavation depth has already exceeded safe working limits and works must extend further into the centre of the carriageway to identify the cause, it has been necessary to implement a full road closure.”
Cllr Courtney said teams will be working “on a 24/7” basis to locate the issue causing the depression.
“Once the cause has been identified, a further update will be issued detailing the anticipated duration of the repair works and the expected re-opening of the road,” she said.
Turning points for traffic will be available at the Todmorden roundabout and the Hebden Bridge turning circle, with advance warning signs in place to notify road users of the closure, said Coun Courtney.
“While we hope to resolve this matter as quickly as possible, the overall duration of the closure will depend on what is discovered beneath the carriageway,” she said.
Cllr Courtney says she has also asked for a temporary bus shuttle service to be put in place as soon as possible.
Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Strategic Infrastructure, Adrian Gill, said investigations have been ongoing throughout today, but further excavation is now necessary to identify the cause of the issue and determine the anticipated duration of repair works.
“The signed diversion route will be via the A6033 through Littleborough, Blackstone Edge, Cragg Road, and into Mytholmroyd.
“The council is urging people to follow the signed routes, to avoid additional problems for local communities, as the rural, narrow roads are not suitable for heavy volumes of traffic.
“We understand the disruption this closure will cause, and teams will be working 24/7 to locate the issue causing the depression.
“We will do all we can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, but the length of the closure will depend on the outcome of these ongoing investigations.
“We will continue to provide updates when more information is available.”
Last year, the road was closed for a period of time due to a void in the road caused by long-standing damage, involving a collapsed culvert and a damaged sewer, half a mile or so towards Hebden Bridge at Charlestown. Work on those was completed by Yorkshire Water.
That’s it for this edition of The Calderdale Lead.
We’ll be back with another edition on Sunday and, as ever, if there’s something you think we should be following up on, feel free to drop me a line on calderdale@thelead.uk.
Enjoy the rest of the week and we’ll be back in your inboxes on Sunday!
Andrew