Is this the worst road in Kirklees? Thornhill campaigners told to wait

Residents sick of driving on poor quality roads in Thornhill have been told to wait after launching a campaign to have them repaired.
Eddie Orzechowski has led a campaign to improve roads in Thornhill.Eddie Orzechowski has led a campaign to improve roads in Thornhill.
Eddie Orzechowski has led a campaign to improve roads in Thornhill.

A Facebook group posing the question ‘Is this the worst road in Kirklees?’ has attracted a wave of stories of damaged cars and near-misses on Low Road and Edge Road.

It was started by retired accountant Eddie Orzechowski, who says that enough is enough after decades of what he describes as ‘low-budget patch-ups’.

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“The roads are simply not fit for purpose,” he said, “it seems to me that the roads have never been properly constructed and every time any repairs are done it’s just a case of patching the road up again.

The roads are badly damaged.The roads are badly damaged.
The roads are badly damaged.

“It’s not level and it causes so many problems. People’s cars have been damaged, cyclists have issues. We had friends up to stay and they said it was the worst residential road they’d ever seen.

“Everyone just puts up with it and that shouldn’t be the case.”

Eddie has leafleted surrounding areas and has enlisted the help of local councillors, but disgruntled residents shouldn’t expect an improvement anytime soon.

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A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said: “Whilst the council understands the frustration at the lack of action, there are 7000 unclassified roads serving our local communities within Kirklees.

"With current funding levels, we resurface on average 20 roads a year. In selecting roads for the resurfacing programme the council considers such factors as condition, the roads use and how busy it is, reactive visits, service requests received.

“Edge Road and Low Road are not in the current resurfacing programme but will continue to be a part of the safety inspection programme. They are subject to a safety inspection every three months, carried out by a team of trained highway engineers.”

Kirklees Council announced that repair work on two roads in nearby Mirfield - Hopton Hall Lane and Jackroyd Lane - will start on the 14th and 18th of January respectively.

The work on Hopton Hall Lane is scheduled to take four days, with Jackroyd Lane taking a single day. Diversion routes will be put in place and delays are expected.