VILLAGERS claim Bury Council is ignoring their concerns over traffic in the village.

Some residents in Summerseat say traffic has been a long standing issue but has worsened significantly during the past two years.

The village was badly affected by the 2015 Boxing Day floods, with Kay Street Bridge being completely wiped out.

The closure means that all traffic through the village must travel via Railway Street and Rowlands Road.

Peter Winsche, chairman of the Summerseat Village Community, says that the situation has now gotten so bad that the council must introduce traffic calming measures, although villagers are split on what form that should take.

He said: “The council are holding meetings to let the village air their views and have said all traffic concerns will be considered in a traffic survey after the bridge has reopened, which will probably be around two and a half years’ time.

“This is the council knocking this into the long grass and not tackling the issues.Why should we wait five years for the bridge to be fixed when the problem is here and now?

“If they are not prepared to do anything then there is going to be a bad accident. The behaviour of drivers is appalling and the vast majority are only passing through the village.”

Mayor of Bury, Cllr Dorothy Gunther, who lives in the village, shared similar concerns about traffic in the village.

She said: “We have a problem in Summerseat with traffic, there’s no question about it.

“We have struggled since the flooding and until the bridge is repaired I don’t see anything changing.

“We can’t manage with only one road. I would like to see some movement and something finally get done.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have worked very closely with Summerseat residents on a variety of local issues, especially those caused by the Boxing Day floods. This includes holding regular meetings with the local community, attended by senior councillors and officers, where residents can raise any matters of concern and receive feedback from the council on progress.

“As far as traffic is concerned: it is completely untrue to claim the council is doing nothing or delaying acting. We have been working for many months on these matters, but no one should be under the illusion that there are easy solutions.

“We will definitely be carrying out a comprehensive traffic survey in Summerseat. But in order to have reliable and comparative figures, this needs to be done once traffic in the village “returns to normal”.

“We are having meetings this week with contractors to start the design process for the rebuild of Kay Street Bridge, and a scheme will be worked up as soon as possible, subject to the limitations and restrictions of the site