Villagers voice anger at public meeting on upcoming A606 closure

Works for the North East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road on the A606 south of Melton where the road is due to be closed for three weeks
IMAGE GEORGE ICKE — Works for the North East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road on the A606 south of Melton where the road is due to be closed for three weeks IMAGE GEORGE ICKE

Around 100 villagers attended the event at Burton Lazars village hall to hear more about the roadworks, which are needed to install utilities for the North East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road.

Representatives from contractors, Galliford Try, and Leicestershire County Council were also present to explain why the closure is needed, from 6am on January 8 to 8pm on January 28.

Resident Nick Vaughan told the Melton Times that many villagers had not received any prior information on the works, despite the contractor stating it would send out 2,500 leaflets to locals.

He said: “The mood was a mixture of anger and worry at how this is being handled. The county council treated the people with contempt.”

Another villager, Paul Vissani, said: “The residents are very angry but the county council unfortunately came to the meeting with the attitude of ‘this is happening regardless of what is said during the meeting’.

"They also let slip that there will be a further closure in the summer that will likely be around six weeks in duration, so you can imagine that went down really well.

"The lack of communication and lack of consideration for residents is simply shocking.”

Villagers are also concerned about the impact of the diversion routes for when the road is closed – they fear many motorists, including lorries, will take quicker routes through local villages and on narrow countryside lanes.

Burton and Dalby Parish Council has written to the county council to flag up these concerns and to ask the council to think again.

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire County Council said the authority was in the process of sending out leaflets to residents in the Burton Lazars area but that not all of them had been delivered so far.

She said all villagers would have one before the work begins next month.

Click HERE for more details about the closure of the A606 and infomation about all the diversion routes.

The planned closure of the A606 is close to where roundabout six will be on the distributor road.