The Leader of West Lancashire Conservatives has launched a scathing attack on the long awaited County Council Highways and Transport Masterplan.
Cllr David Westley slammed it as all smoke and mirrors, contained very little in the way of firm plans and instead was just a series of vague promises dressed to hide the fact that the minority Labour administration was neglecting West Lancashire.
The Labour cabinet member for transport at Lancashire County Council is John Fillis, who is a West Lancashire borough and county councillor.
Cllr Westley said: "This plan is a catalogue of broken promises. The Ormskirk Bypass has been cancelled by the Labour administration and they will no longer protect the designated route. As justification they cite a consultant's report but this was received 2 years ago and they have failed to come up with any alternative proposals to relieve the congestion in Ormskirk, which they themselves agree is severe. Instead they now propose to take a further 4 years to develop what they term is a Movement Strategy and then a further 5 years to get this implemented."
The funding for the Tarleton & Hesketh Bank Relief Road known as the Green Lane Link has been withdrawn and the project has been deferred for a further 4 years. The previous Conservative administration had planned to have the road completed in 2016 and had allocated the necessary funding in the County's Medium Term Capital Programme. Labour have cancelled the funding and deferred completion of the project to 2020.
Labour have no proposals in the Masterplan about the urgent need to address the problem of the crumbling Moss Roads that link the Borough and Southport & Formby nor the inadequate roads and shrinking bus services that connect our rural communities.
Labour have no plans to improve the inadequate train service between Ormskirk and Preston or the reinstatement of the Burscough Curves.
Paul Greenall, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for West Lancashire, said: "Labour are starving West Lancashire of investment in favour of other parts of the county. A clear example is their plan to invest only £2.75m in West Lancashire in the 5 years to 2019 yet in the same period they are investing £90m in Preston and South Ribble.
"Once again, Labour is taking the people of West Lancashire for granted - the very same people who will be very disappointed by this series of broken promises."