West Looe Hill closure: parked cars face towing from 9 November

Leave your car in the wrong spot on West Looe Hill next month and you may come back to an empty space and a phone call to make. A road closure starts on Monday 9 November, and for the hours the crews are working, the whole stretch becomes a Clearway zone.

The carriageway patching and resurfacing work is part of Cornwall Council’s highway maintenance programme, delivered by Cormac.

When the road is closed

The closure on West Looe Hill will be in place on weekdays only, between 7.30am and 5pm, starting on Monday 9 November. The works are expected to take up to three weeks to complete.

Crews will start at Princes Square, where the work is expected to take around four days, before moving uphill towards Tencreek.

The information was shared by Looe Town Council, which has made clear the works are not connected to the town council and that it has simply been asked to pass the details on. Questions should go to the contacts listed below.

📷Clearway, access and contact details for the works. Credit: Cornwall Council

Parked cars will be towed

During working hours, a Clearway Parking Zone will be in force along the full extent of the site. Any vehicles parked in the signed areas will be towed and charges will apply. Any designated parking bays within the area will also be suspended.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, Cormac declares nominated roads a Clearway zone, on behalf of the council, for as long as the works last. All households and businesses in the affected area will receive a letter before the work starts, and signs will be put up to tell road users about the parking restrictions.

The site team says it will make every effort to find the driver or owner of a parked car before asking for it to be removed. If a vehicle is towed away, an approved contractor will take it to a safe place, and the owner or keeper will need to phone 0300 1234 222 to arrange collection.

Access, marshals and diversions

Marshals will be on site to support residents and businesses needing local access. Access will be kept through gateways run by traffic marshals, but there will be significant delays. Residents will need to stop at the gateways, where staff will help them in or out of the works area safely.

If the teams need access or have to move machinery out of the way, there may be significant delays, or drivers may be asked to come in from the other end of the closure. Emergency access will be maintained at all times.

Signs will be placed at major junctions ahead of the closure to send non-through traffic away from it. Diversion routes have to suit the type of traffic that would normally use the road, so they can sometimes be quite lengthy.

Anyone walking through the area is asked to watch out for uneven road surface where the old surface has been removed, raised manholes, gullies and service boxes, and varying kerb heights when stepping off the footway, and to use any designated crossing points provided.

Dates could still change

The information is described as correct at the time of circulation but subject to change at short notice, especially in periods of poor weather. Resurfacing is weather dependent and can be held up by cold temperatures and heavy rain. If the works are postponed or cancelled, the advance notice boards on site will be updated.

For changes to bus services, check the provider’s website or Cornwall Council’s planned public transport service disruptions page. Up-to-date information about roadworks, closures and diversions across the network is on one.network, and you can keep up with other news from Looe on CornishStuff.

Who to contact

Questions about the resurfacing works can be emailed to [email protected]. Problems with a road, highway or footway can be reported on Cornwall Council’s report a road problem page.

Anything that poses a threat to public safety should be phoned through to 0300 1234 222, a 24-hour line, giving details of the location.

📷Looe carriageway repair works leaflet. Credit: Cornwall Council