WELNEY: Complaints over road
Once again the closure and subsequent reopening of the A1101 has caused outrage with local residents.
There have been complaints about closure signs remaining on display and alerts about the road closure being issued by local media, despite the road being open.
Welney pub The Lamb and Flag has felt the brunt of the 46-day road closure, as it does every time the road shuts due to flooding.
Pub manager Paul Harvey said: “Sixty per cent of our trade comes from passing traffic. We have lost around £60,000 thanks to the road closure.”
Mr Harvey said the pub was still quiet this weekend, despite the A1101 reopening on Thursday, as signs were still up advising motorists of the road closure and the radio was still saying the road was closed on traffic reports.
“We had no end of phone calls asking if we were open,” he said.
But the closure does not just affect businesses – residents living in Welney who need to travel towards Ely are faced with a lengthy diversion that increases their fuel costs considerably.
Due to heavy rain in November and December, a flood warning was issued for the nearby Ouse Washes by the Environment Agency. Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways agency decided to close the road after the warning was issued.
It was removed on January 10 after the water had passed. On the same day, Cambridgeshire County Council decided to reopen the road and removed all diversion signs. And Norfolk County Council were out quickly to remove the closure signs at Welney.
But the spokesperson said the situation was not going to change in the foreseeable future as any changes to the road, such as a bridge, were “prohibitively expensive”.
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Weather for Wisbech
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 18 C
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