We’re being forced into 11-mile detour to get to town 300 yards away as roadworks block our house
A FURIOUS couple have been forced to travel 11 miles into a town that is just 300 yards from their front door because of roadworks.
Drew Pearce and Katie Wilcox claim that their home just outside of Pocklington, East Yorkshire, has been cut off by the construction works.
The couple live just 300 yards away from the town centre, on Burnby Lane, and regularly travel into it for work and errands.
Residents claim that they haven’t been notified in advance about the disruption.
But they say the repairs to the road leading into the centre have resulted in it being closed off for two and a half months.
This means that they are forced to drive five and a half miles each way to get around the roadworks.
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Drew, 45, has calculated that he will rack up a whopping £1,200 in petrol expenses in the coming weeks to get around the block.
The credit-card company worker works partly from home, but regularly needs to make the short journey to visit elderly relatives, do errands and visit a property he manages.
He has hit out at the property developers over the issue, who are building a footpath for a housing development on the land opposite.
Drew told e: "What should be just going up the lane is now more than a 10-mile round trip.
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"What's really got my goat is that it was only published in the local paper on March 30 - the road was closed on April 4.
“We only found out we wouldn't have access because we happened to see that. We were never officially informed about it.
"One of my neighbours has just recovered from cancer so they can't just walk into town.
"The developers have told people to walk through the woods instead.
"But that's just not realistic for people who are disabled or just don't want to walk through dark woods after hours.
"Given that we're so close to town it's a huge irritation."
'HUGE IRRITATION'
Dozens of other residents are also claiming that their access to the town centre has been cut off, with one local business saying that it has badly affected her sales.
Locals are calling for the road to be re-opened on weekends and overnight in an attempt to solve the issue.
Denise Slights, who owns Willow Waters holiday homes, said the closure had impacted customers and caused huge inconvenience.
She said: "I understand what they're doing and why, but they could have paid more sympathy to the people who live here.
"It's not just a back lane, it's home for many people and it's really affected the residents here."
A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, who granted permission for the works, added: “The creation of the footpath, from the housing estate to the existing path, was a requirement of the planning application, so it needed to be done.
“A road closure was necessary at this site because the road was too narrow to allow for temporary traffic lights to be used and traffic to pass in order for motorists and the workforce to stay safe, according to our regulations.
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“Access for pedestrians and other non-motorised traffic is being maintained but keeping the road open for vehicular traffic wasn’t possible and therefore putting a diversion in place wasn’t considered undue in light of the need to keep people safe.
"This was agreed by the developer and the council.”