Campaigners say an accident which forced the closure of the A591 alongside Thirlmere once again brought into sharp focus the urgency of opening up the minor road on the west side of the reservoir.
A motorcyclist lost control at around 3.30pm on Sunday August 27 and sustained a number of injuries which required him to be taken to the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, for treatment.
Mark Hatton, who is heading up a campaign to get the U7003 open again to traffic after it was closed by United Utilities and Cumbria County Council, following Storm Arwen when trees and debris found their way onto the road from Rough Crag, said: “Yet another serious accident and prolonged road closure along the A591 on the east side of Thirlmere provides further evidence, if any were needed, that this section of the A591 is a particularly dangerous, accident prone road.
“For highly vulnerable road users like cyclists it is essential that there is a safe alternative route open along the west side of Thirlmere.
“And for local residents, emergency vehicles and public service vehicles the west road also serves as a lifeline that has been cut off for far too long. This shameful and intolerable situation is a disgrace that reflects very poorly on Cumberland Council and United Utilities (UU).
“Rather than hanging their heads in shame, these two should be putting their heads together and working on re-opening the Thirlmere west road.”
Mr Hatton met with representatives from UU on Tuesday and said that he came away further dismayed about how the U7003 road has been allowed to be closed for so long and without any sense that it will ever fully reopen again.
“What was really clear yesterday was that United Utilities do not want to re-open the Thirlmere west road to vehicles,” said Mr Hatton. “They believe that Cumberland Council also do not want the road to re-open to vehicles and they both believe that the Lake District National Park Authority also do not want the road to re-open to vehicles.
“But the problem they face is how to justify closing the road to vehicles on the grounds of safety, whilst re-opening it to cyclists and walkers.
“This conundrum has conspired to see a complete lack of action on addressing the perceived safety risks for the last 21 months. There appears to have been zero progress on assessing potential risk mitigation measures along the road beneath Rough Crag.
“This provides clear evidence that United Utilities, Cumberland Council and the LDNPA have completely and continuously failed walkers, cyclists and motorists by denying them the option to use the west road along Thirlmere as a safe, enjoyable and valuable through route.”
A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “As part of our efforts to reopen the road, we have brought in independent engineering specialists to carry out investigations as to how Rough Crag can be made safe. They have carried out a number of thorough assessments as part of this exercise. They have highlighted that there is currently an unacceptably high risk of rock and tree falls to road users at the section directly below the crag and that this risk is also likely to increase over time. That assessment is being reviewed by Cumberland Council.
“As Rough Crag is part of the Launchy Gill SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), it means we must comply with legislation around preservation as set out by Natural England.
“We continue to explore options for how the road could potentially be reopened safely and will continue to support the council as it carries out its statutory consultation on the permanent Traffic Regulation Order.”
