I want to inform people of the latest information I have received from the Council regarding the road surface of Scarr Lane.

A number of you have been in contact with me regarding the pot holes and the general condition of the road surface on Scarr Lane over the last couple of years or so. As some of you will already be aware, my colleagues (Councillors Blyth and Gloster) and I, have been trying to get some action to remedy the poor quality of the road surface. I have sent numerous communications to the Highways Department along with a significant number of meetings to try and progress this matter.

Whilst it has been a long battle I finally have some good news to share! I have received this following information from the Highways Department.

Thank you for your email, we can confirm the whole of Scarr Lane is programmed to be resurfaced, we can also confirm we will be using traditional Bitmac.

As I am sure you will agree this is a long overdue, the battle now is when as the above will happen as this commitment is for this financial year i.e. before the end of March 2017!

Whilst I have been chasing for a scheduled start date, unfortunately they do not appear to have set a date as yet.

With regards a start date for the carriageway surfacing works at Scarr Lane, I am afraid that I cannot provide this at present, the works will be completed on this year’s programme and as soon as I have a definite start date I will update you. Kind regards – Nigel Molden, Senior Engineer, Highways & Engineering

I will continue to pursue this matter on a regular basis until I have a confirmed start date, however, as Mr Molden has confirmed above, the works will be completed on this year’s programme. To clarify, ‘this year’s’ programme actually means by the end of March 2017 but rest assured I will be pressing for work to start in 2016.

The fight for similar action on other local roads like Linney Lane continues.

As soon as I have any further information regarding the start date I shall let people know.

Changes to the 408, 412 and 435 bus services from 5 Sept 16

Pleased to report some minor changes to these services which reflect some of the changes I have asked for following comments by local users.

Rossendale Transport have also proposed making some changes to Monday – Saturday tendered journeys, effective from Monday 5 September which we support and are as follows:

Service	Route	Notes
408	Shaw – Royton – Oldham	Route in Shaw revised to match the evening/Sunday route, operating from Rochdale Road, via Buckstones to terminate at Shaw, Wrens Nest.
412	Middleton – Royton – Oldham	Monday to Saturday off peak service increased to hourly (currently every 90 minutes)
435	Rochdale – Buckstones	Route extended beyond Hillside Avenue terminus to Shaw, Wrens Nest.