Information from the Environment Agency
Work will begin this weekend to demolish Shade Chapel following significant damage to the culvert bed, walls and support beams during the flooding events earlier this year. We are currently aiming to carry out the demolition over the weekend of 27th – 30th of November.
A section of Rochdale Road near to the chapel will require a full road closure during the weekend whilst the building is taken down. The road will be closed from 8pm on Friday 27th until 6am on Monday 30th. Diversion signs and advanced warning signs for the road closure are in place. Details of the diversion route via Littleborough, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge can be found here
Knowlwood Road will also be closed to through traffic throughout the duration of the work and will only be accessible to pedestrians, resident vehicles and emergency services. Due to the narrow roadway, Knowlwood Road is not suitable to divert traffic from Rochdale Road and for safety reasons cannot be used as an alternative route. Barriers and signage will be in place at both ends of Knowlwood Road, a physical hard barrier half way down and marshals will be present to prevent unauthorised access. Residents will be asked to show proof of address to allow access to the road.
The demolition work itself will take a number of hours to complete over the weekend and we will make a time-lapsed video available for anyone that may be interested in seeing the progress of the work. We are asking the public not to come and watch the demolition in person due to the safety implications from both Coronavirus and the increased construction traffic during the demolition.
Once the building has been taken down, a number of activities will be continuing over the coming months. The remaining sections of culvert up to the school boundary will be removed to create a more free flowing and open channel, therefore removing the risk of a future collapse and flooding. This ongoing work will require a single road closure and associated traffic management in place along Rochdale Road.
In line with government advice regarding Coronavirus, we will continue to follow the latest guidance from Public Health England regarding safe working on construction sites.
We will keep you updated via this website and our Twitter account @EnvAgencyYNE about the progress of our work. If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact us by emailing FRRS2@environment-agency.gov.uk. Floodline: 0345 988 1188 (24 hour service) Report an incident: 0800 80 70 60 (Freephone, – 24 hour service) General enquiries: 03708 506 506 (Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm).