PEOPLE in Guiseley are being urged to bear with the disruption while essential repairs are carried out on a high voltage electricity cable.

The work, on Park Road, was due to begin last week and could take up to six weeks to complete.

Ward councillor Paul Wadsworth is stressing that although the closure of the road will be disruptive, it is unavoidable.

He said the road will need to be closed, one way, from Silverdale Avenue to Victoria Road. Diversions will be in place and Cllr Wadsworth urged local people to bear with the disruption as the vital repair are undertaken.

He said: “No one enjoys the prospect of road closures, but in this case the disruption is unavoidable. These repair works are vital and because of the size and location of the site, the only way to carry them out is to close the road.

“Diversions will be in place. Traffic wishing to travel towards Bradford will be diverted onto Otley Road up to the White Cross roundabout and onto Bradford Road. Traffic travelling into Guiseley will be unaffected. Access will be maintained to the Morrisons supermarket, and access will also be maintained for residents of Silverdale Avenue.”

He added: “I understand this will be disruptive but hope people will understand the very real need for this repair work.”

At the beginning of the year Northern Powergrid announced it would be undertaking essential repairs to the 33,000 volt underground cable in the Park Road area.

The work will repair vital infrastructure which normally supplies part of the network that powers homes and businesses in the Leeds Metropolitan borough.

The company says the cable also acts as an important connection to nearby towns to provide flexibility to move electricity around the network if required.

Ian Stewart, restoration and repairs manager at Northern Powergrid, said: “The essential repairs on Park Road are expected to take around six weeks, as long as there are no complications.

“Our contractors, Balfour Beatty, will be working seven days a week with extended working hours to help reduce disruption to the local community and motorists.”

He added:”We appreciate the inconvenience this essential work to the network that powers the local community may cause and would like to reassure our customers that we will do everything possible to keep disruption to a minimum.”