Road works fury in Mossley as images show child in range of digger

Local residents have been left in shock as images from a road works site show a child several feet away from an active digger.

The images were released on Tuesday (8th July) on Mossley Town Council's Facebook page, featuring a site at the top of Stamford Road. 

The area had been earmarked by the council since December to build seven terraced homes next to the San Giorgio restaurant in Mossley, despite outrage from residents. 

The proposals, tabled by Wickens Estates, received 47 objections, and followed a fatal collision in the area in September involving a woman in her seventies.

Stamford Road is the only road that connects Top Mossley and Bottom Mossley, with the town being otherwise cut in half by a train line. 

Neighbours said the plans would effectively 'split the town in two', and feared the roadworks would bring the town to a standstill. 

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the decision, butcher Andy Taylor warned the area was already suffering from issues stemming from overpopulation. 

“The roads weren’t built for this amount of people or homes,” he said. “When they were built, cars didn’t exist.

“I don’t agree with the new homes off Stamford Road. It could cause an issue. Whoever lives in them, good luck to them getting in and out."

With work to remove the roughly 2,000 tonnes of soil needed to build the site seemingly underway, Mossley Town Council have slammed the works after images revealed a young child sitting 'five to ten feet' away from an active digger. 

The council also criticised the lack of road signage alerting motorists and pedestrians to the construction. 

In their post, the council said: "This is totally unacceptable. We were told by planning that all work would be safe and that there was no risk from this development to the public.

"Mossley is not having this.

"We have moved urgently to bring this to the attention of senior TMBC Enforcement Officers."

The Tameside Reporter has reached out to Tameside Council for comment.