It’s a good job Chris Rea doesn’t live in Fleetwood, otherwise he’d have to set off now to get over Shard Bridge to make it home for Christmas!

I’m keenly aware that the ongoing disruption by the Windy Harbour works is causing a lot of dismay for residents and commuters, but this week’s roll-out of the new Skippool junction to replace the roundabout has seen immense delays across the area.

I’ve been caught up in this today and have missed meetings, and so I won’t shy away from highlighting my personal interest on this.

Seemingly the issue this week has been exacerbated by the new light timings and signalling on the junction, though I know that the deconstruction of the roundabout and has created regular delays over the past weeks and months.

I have written to National Highways asking them to fix this, and keep the disruption to acceptable levels. Residents and commuters are pragmatic, and we can all appreciate that the long-term ambitions to increase capacity on the roads into Fleetwood can boost its possibilities and opportunities.

Representing an area built on a peninsula, transport options in and out of Fleetwood are limited, and so along with my longstanding successful campaign over the years to get Fleetwood back on track by reinstating the rail link, I welcome initiatives to increase the long-term accessibility and infrastructure capacity to encourage financial growth and jobs into the town.

We accept that disruption and delays are an inevitable part of huge road upgrades, but naturally there comes a point where the 90 minute delays over Shard Bridge and 45 minutes on the stretch from the Norcross roundabout to Skippool (even in non-rush hour times) becomes intolerable.

People risk being put off making trips to the town, turning around, and businesses losing out – not to mention the daily misery of queues all the way through Hambleton and the impact on rural villages like Preesall and Knott End. We trust that there is a greater good at the end of the process, but the expected disruption must be manageable – and National Highways need to be open and up front about the impact in order to bring people’s understanding along with them.

I’ll keep standing up for residents to make sure the daily commute is manageable, but I know right now it seems more difficult than ever.

Full updates on the roadworks can be found here: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/north-west/a585-windy-harbour-to-skippool/#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20any%20questions,123%205000%20(24%20hour).

To raise your concerns, contact the Highways Agency directly to make the strength of feeling known, by emailing a585windyharbourtoskippool@kier.co.uk or call 0300 123 5000.