Burnley MP criticises football road closure plan

Plans to close several major roads near Burnley FC's stadium on match days have been criticised by the town's MP.

Oliver Ryan said the proposal to shut some roads surrounding Turf Moor would cause "utter carnage".

The traffic regulation order being proposed by Lancashire County Council would see the ad hoc closure of Yorkshire Street, Todmorden Road and half a mile of Belvedere Road.

This would extend from the traffic light junction with Harry Potts Way, which has previously seen its pavements widened to encourage more fans to walk from the town centre to the stadium.

Labour MP Ryan connected the Reform UK-run county council's latest plans with the £6m walking route that was designed to make pedestrians' journey to the stadium safer.

Several of the changes have frustrated motorists, however.

Ryan said: "From the brains behind Town to Turf – more traffic chaos!

"Lancashire County Council (LCC) have come up with another cracking idea to block up our town and cause utter carnage (and I'm not even talking about the temporary traffic lights on Westgate… or the project that must not be named I've objected to for two years [Manchester Road].)"

Ryan, who was elected at the 2024 general election, also pointed to concerns raised about the match day traffic scheme that had been raised by religious leaders both in the town and across Lancashire.

Bishop of Blackburn Philip North called the plans "incomprehensible" and warned the closures could leave two churches on the affected roads "struggling to function".

Residents living near Turf Moor have told the BBC the proposed changes would leave them unable to leave their homes on match days.

Matt Townsend, director of highways and transport at Lancashire County Council, previously said crowd safety was of "paramount importance".

"However, operational changes to match day management have required the existing arrangement to be updated with minimal changes to what has been in place since 2012," he added.

Burnley FC have not provided a response to questions about the proposed traffic order from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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