29.10.05: Heysham M6 Link - County Council even further up in the air.
Lancashire County Council received severe criticism after their last exhibition of the Heysham M6 Link Road. Residents were appalled to see the Torrisholme community split by a subway. Their outrageous response has been to increase the height of the road at Torrisholme by a further 3 metres (to around 26 ft in total). This would allow buses and lorries to pass underneath, but as a result traffic would be even higher in the sky, passing by people’s bedroom windows. This alarming fact was revealed at a low key exhibition in Torrisholme last Wednesday.
“No amount of fencing and shrubbery can disguise this monster dual carriageway powering its way through the centre of the community. 1,074 homes are situated less than 200 metres away from the road along its route. Thousands of people will suffer exhaust fumes, noise, vibration, and light pollution,” says David Gate chair of independent residents group TSLM. “It’s a shame the exhibition was focused only on Torrisholme. Affected people from Slyne, North Lancaster and Halton did not get a look in. The previously unseen computer simulations were stark, and didn’t show the many houses that will be close to the route. But you could see how destructive the road would be.”
Of those who attended the last exhibitions, 76% said they were against building the road. They know it won’t solve Lancaster’s congestion problems, because 80% of traffic is local, travelling between Lancaster & Morecambe. “I talked to people at the exhibition, and their views haven’t changed – they’re still against the road.”
TSLM has received well over 200 written protests to the road in the last few days and these will be passed onto our MP, who also objects to the project.