A borough’s councillors, including a fireman who has attended motorway crashes, have joined other boroughs in calling for an urgent safety review of the M65, including the return of lighting, after a number of fatal incidents in 2024.
Liberal Democrat councillors Brian Newman and Mick Strickland, who works for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and has attended M65 incidents, put forward a motion calling for action at the latest full Pendle Council meeting.
Pendle is the latest borough to call for action on East Lancashire’s motorway, after Burnley and Hyndburn councils also approved motions calling for increased safety measures on the stretch, which have included the re-installation of lighting and a night-time speed limit reduction.
Cllrs Newman and Strickland said the M65 handles around 75,000 journeys each day, which has risen by 15 per cent over the past 10 years.
They said there has been a ‘spate ‘of major incidents in 2024 which included two deaths, including a 17-year-old girl from Darwen who died in a horror early hours crash.
They said Highways England is considering the removal of all remaining lighting on the M65 and that flooding is also a significant concern, particularly on the section that passes through Pendle.
In a vote, councillors from all parties backed their call for Pendle Council to write to National Highways, Lancashire County Council, the Secretary of State for Transport and local MPs about the issues.
Cllr Newman said: “The M65 conjures an image of disaster for people who use it. We have flooding. No lights. It ends abruptly at Colne.
“We have had a number of fatalities in recent times. The road is not fit for purpose.
“We need to get the authorities and MPs looking at the situation to bring some changes. We need to look at the concrete central barrier, which appears to be creating flooding, and perhaps look at the speed limits.”
Their motion called for:
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An urgent review of the general safety of the M65, ‘given the frequency of accidents’.
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Safety improvement assessments including, but not limited to, lighting.
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Opposition to any plan that would remove any remaining M65 lighting.
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Funding for a feasibility study and investment to bring
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back lighting to sections of the M65 where it has been removed
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Lancashire County Council to take effective action to mitigate the risk to road- users from flooding.
Cllr Strickland added: “Sadly, I have had to deal with accidents on the M65 with the fire service.
“All the accidents I have attended have included flooding or lights as contributing factors. I think we really need to look at everything.
“In recent weeks I have driven from West Sussex to Lancashire. I cannot find any other stretch of motorway along that route where the same things have been done as has been done along the M65.
“We need to look at this again before we have more fatalities on the M65.”