DARWEN MP Jake Berry has renewed calls for the new traffic lights at Hollins Grove to be switched off.

Mr Berry, who launched a petition urging the council to ‘stop the chaos on the A666’ earlier this year, has written to Blackburn with Darwen Council director of regeneration Brian Bailey after receiving complaints.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The lights were installed as part of the £42million Pennine Reach transport improvement scheme across East Lancashire and are intended to communicate with more lights that had been planned for Birch Hall.

But as revealed earlier this month by the Lancashire Telegraph, council bosses are considering scrapping the proposed second set of lights.

In his letter to Mr Bailey, Mr Berry said: “After receiving a further flurry of complaints from residents this weekend, I am writing to ask you to reconsider turning off the new lights at Hollins Grove until the rest of the new road traffic scheme is ready to go live.

“I know that you said that turning the lights off was a last resort, however I think we have now reached the stage where that last resort needs to be considered.

“I appreciate that Capita and Blackburn with Darwen Council have undertaken a lot of work to try to remedy this situation.

However, the plain and simple truth is that the lights simply aren’t working properly.

“The majority of my constituents in Darwen tell me that they have created a problem which simply wasn’t there before.

“I am also worried about the effect this is having on both Darwen town centre and the traders who have businesses along the A666.

“In the run-up to Christmas we should be doing everything we can to encourage people to visit Darwen, not putting them off.”

Blackburn with Darwen Council declined to comment.