Close road to open tip

A BUSY route in Portishead may have to be closed off in a bid to partially re-open the town's civic amenity site.North Somerset Council has applied for a road closure order to seal off Valley Road at the top by the police headquarters and only allow access to the tip from the bottom at the junction with Clevedon Road.The move comes after police voiced concerns about potential traffic chaos in Valley Road if the civic amenity site should partially re-open. But council chiefs say the road closure-order is purely a precautionary measure and is only likely to come in force if the tip does partially reopen. North Somerset Council spokesman Zoe Briffitt said: "This is a precautionary measure only."Should the tip re-open in part, the road will be closed with access to the civic amenity site only allowed."Whether it does partly re-open depends on the work to the rockface being carried out."But we had to put the road order in place so it was ready to activate if necessary."The news of the possible closure of Valley Road has angered local councillors who say it is a major route in and out of the town.And they are concerned the move will force extra traffic through the town's already congested High Street and Cabstand traffic lights.Councillor David Jolley said: "Valley Road is the daily diversion route many residents use to avoid the lights at Cabstand to get to work via junction 19 or Clevedon."Its blanket closure for six weeks and up to a period of 18 months will lead to this traffic having to revert back through Cabstand and we know what that will mean."The civic amenity site closed in April after health and safety concerns about the rock face.Work had to be delayed because of nesting peregrine falcons in the rock face and the tip is now due to open fully again in mid December.