A WEST Craven county councillor has welcomed a start on a major resurfacing scheme on Coates Avenue in Barnoldswick.

Work began on Monday morning to plane off the old surface on the full length of the route through Coates Estate from Skipton Road to Rainhall Crescent. The road will be fully resurfaced in the next two weeks.

“This resurfacing is very welcome,” said Councillor David Whipp. “Parts of the road have been broken up and in a very bad way for a number of years. I’m very pleased that we got it included in the county council’s resurfacing programme.”

Local diversions are in place whilst work is carried out on Coates Avenue, with a road closure in place until July 11. Drivers are advised to use Wellhouse Road and Valley Road instead of Coates Avenue.

Cllr Whipp has also welcomed Lancashire receiving almost £5 million for pothole repairs.

“The county council has been awarded just over £4.9 million for repairing highway defects on top of previous allocations,” he said. “With a £200m backlog in Lancashire alone, the money is desperately needed to repair our roads and pavements. It’s a welcome boost to help stopping the rot on our roads.”