Shoppers and business owners say the town has become a ‘war zone’Amy Fenton Senior reporter and Bethan Finighan Science and Innovation Writer
09:58, 03 Jan 2026
Residents and business owners in Haslingden have faced months of road closures (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
In June 2025, Rossendale Borough council launched an ambitious scheme in a bid to “revitalise Haslingden’s historic town centre”. But for both shoppers and business owners, the £2.5m in heritage funding to transform Deardengate has wreaked havoc on the high street during what should have been the peak trading period of the year.
“It’ll be the death of Haslingden,” declares Charles Clarke as he battled to navigate his way through the barrier-encased, makeshift pavement that winds past the town centre retailers, relying heavily on his walking stick.
Dubbed the Big Lamp Project, the initiative will see Higher Deardengate converted to a one-way northbound route from Pleasant Street, with traffic redirected onto Bury Road via Bank Street. Yet those who ventured into what they described as a “war zone” this week remain baffled as to why the works were necessary in the first place.
Most crucially, the project’s anticipated completion date has been pushed back on multiple occasions. The Deardengate works, which commenced in June 2025, were originally due for completion in September but have now been rescheduled to finish at the end of January, reports Lancs Live.
Charles Clarke(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
On an almost daily basis, individual shop access varies, forcing customers to cross the “trenches” using yellow walkways. From a distance, visitors would be forgiven for thinking the high street is completely closed. Indeed, many shop owners have chosen to do exactly that.
Pam, a resident of Helmshore, isn’t shocked by the decrease in footfall. “You wouldn’t dare try and get round here in a wheelchair,” she said. “It’s an obstacle course, it’s horrendous and it’s downright dangerous.
“The shops will be lucky to survive,” adds fellow shopper Paul. “It’s absolutely dreadful what they’ve done.”
The work was due to finish at the beginning of December(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)The impact on usinesses has been ‘devastating’
Lynn, who has worked at Haslingden’s iconic Cissy Greens bakery for over 25 years, is forthright about the effects of the roadworks on local business owners. “One shop’s takings are down 40 per cent,” she says. “The ironic thing is that they’ve used heritage funding to pay for this. We’ve been here more than 200 years but they’re putting our future at risk. We had to put out a plea on social media asking people to support us.”
Selene Bridge, who opened her clothing shop Unscripted six years ago, experienced a “99 per cent” drop in earnings during the first two weeks of the Blue Lamp Project works. “I was literally sat here all day with no customers,” Selene recalls. “It was heart-breaking.”
Lynn who works at Cissy Green’s
Selene keeps track of her income on her phone. Since the start of the roadworks, she has witnessed a 70 per cent decline in takings.
While some establishments, such as the vet’s, a dentist’s and hair salons, have managed to stay afloat due to the essential needs of their clientele amidst the chaos of the past six months, others, like Selene’s, “rely on footfall”.
Selene reveals she attended “every single consultation meeting” and has repeatedly voiced her concerns about the roadworks. “I fought and fought,” she says. “For weeks I’ve been asking for proper signage to let shoppers know how to get to each store but they’ve only just gone up now. Now, though, it might be too late.”
The ever-shifting temporary access routes to certain shops are confusing at best. Multiple pathways lead to just one business before hitting a dead end, whilst some customers have resorted to shifting the metal barriers to squeeze through.
Shop owner Selene Bridge(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)‘No compensation’
The son of one retailer reveals that, despite ongoing complaints to Rossendale Borough Council, they have been informed there will be no compensation for lost earnings.
“We were informed that, unless the council force us to close, we’re not gonna get anything,” he says. “They could have paused business rates or whatever, but they haven’t. They’ve abandoned us.”
Selene, from Unscripted, highlights that poor communication has been amongst her primary frustrations. “Sometimes we’ve turned up in the morning to find the route to the shop has changed, with no warning,” she says.
Selene is now considering shutting down for multiple weeks in January when the pavement outside her premises is scheduled to be torn up. “It’s costing us more to open than to stay closed,” she adds.
Shoppers have taken to moving the metal barriers to pass through(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
During the ongoing construction, numerous customers have discovered there’s simply no parking available, including spaces designated for blue badge holders. “You’d think that they’d relax things given that it’s nigh on impossible to park but, no, I’ve seen them slapping parking tickets on cars,” says Lynn from Cissy Greens.
Council apology
Shortly before Christmas, when the works had initially been scheduled to conclude, Councillor Samara Barnes confirmed that the completion date had been pushed back even further.
In a Facebook post titled ‘Sometimes being a councillor is about delivering bad news’ she said: “The roadworks on Deardengate are going to be ongoing until at least the 30th of January. The road closure notice has been extended until then and it’s just not going to open before then, no way.
“It’s devastating for the businesses, it’s devastating for us as residents and customers, it’s just really hard work and really disappointing. But we’ve got a job to do now, we really need to dig in and support these businesses, we need to spend our money there, we need to go and check in on them and see if they’re alright.”
The council states in one of their most recent updates: “Previously we have shared that we have been working hard with the contractor, to open some of the carriageway before Christmas, however, they have confirmed that they are not able to.
“The temporary permit to close the road is until the 30th of January 2026 and we are pushing the contractor hard to meet this date and our expectations.”
‘Too little, too late’
The council has since refreshed its website with further dates and contact information for project managers. However, for many, it’s a case of “too little, too late”.
“The contractors had two weeks off over Christmas,” Selene from Unscripted said. “I’ve not had that luxury. I’ve had to work my socks off trying to survive this disaster. “If it weren’t for the loyalty of our customers, and the support of other businesses, I don’t know how we would have all got through this. The council has just abandoned us.”