Families fear match day road closures will leave them 'isolated'

Residents living near Burnley football club fear proposed changes to stop traffic on surrounding roads on match days will leave them unable to leave their homes.

Lancashire County Council is consulting on possible plans to close some streets from two hours before matches start until an hour after full time.

But people who live and work nearby said traffic in the area was already "horrendous" and they fear they would be unable to go out shopping or accept deliveries if the roads were closed.

The council said crowd safety was of "paramount importance" and a traffic management representative would "work with the local community to prioritise safety, while maintaining access to properties".

Residents in Holcombe Drive said if Belvedere Road - the street at the end of theirs - was closed, it would mean they would be unable to leave the street for hours on match days as it is "literally one road in and one road out".

"We've no other way of getting out," Gill Thornton said.

"There isn't another escape route."

She said her daughter, husband, grandchildren and son all travel to the ground to watch the football and "if they close that road, they've got nowhere to park".

"They would have to walk but my granddaughter's only three, it's not ideal."

Alaster Hirst said closing the road would leave him feeling "locked in" and "isolated".

"But it's not just that. What if there's an accident?," he said.

"What happens with all the food deliveries? The parcels?"

He said other streets have "many access points" but his does not.

David Morley said: "If I have to go out for an emergency, I can't.

"They should have tickets for people who live here to stop people parking up."

Kerry Robinson said: "I think it is a problem for people who need to be out and about on a Saturday, they can't leave the car park where they park usually because there's no spaces left.

"And if you are leaving, the traffic's ridiculous, you can't get through.

"There are changes needed, there must be somewhere, some pots of land they can open up for parking for football fans."

The proposed closures, which are under consultation until 3 July, would be:

• Belvedere Road from its junction with Yorkshire Street/Harry Potts Way to its junction with Ormerod Road
• Brunshaw Road from its junction with Harry Potts Way to its junction with Mitella Street
• Harry Potts Way for its entire length
• Higgin Street from its junction with Harry Potts Way/Brunshaw Road to its junction with Prescott Street
• Todmorden Road from its junction with Yorkshire Street/Harry Potts Way to its junction with Lyndhurst Road
• Yorkshire Street from its junction with Harry Potts way to its junction with Church Street/Centenary Way

Matt Townsend, director of Highways and Transport at Lancashire County Council, said crowd safety was of "paramount importance", adding there were plans for a potential additional road closure at the end of matches, at the junction of Brunshaw Road, Higgin Street and Mitella Street.

"An authorised traffic management representative for the club, authorised by our highways team, has the remit of making road closure decisions according to the conditions on the day," he said.

""They will work with the local community to prioritise safety, while maintaining access to properties and minimising disruption wherever possible."

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