Gurdwara members fear crashes as main road remains closed months after Wolverhampton factory fire

The Guru Teg Bahadur Gurdwara sits on Upper Villiers Street, directly opposite the factory unit which was destroyed by a fire which started in a unit on Sunbeam Street on January 14.

Since that day, Upper Villiers Street has remained closed to traffic from the junction of Sunbeam Street and Moor Street South to the junction of Cross Street South and Moorfield Road due to concerns around the safety of the fire-damaged site.

It has meant traffic for the road being diverted along Moor Street South, Park Street South and Cross Street South; the main car park for the gurdwara is on Park Street South and, according to former Wolverhampton South West MP and gurdwara trustee Paul Uppal, the road closure is having a huge knock-on effect.

He said: “This has been closed for quite a few months now and what we’re finding is the knock-on effect of traffic congestion, particularly at weekends, which is getting really bad on Park Street South.

“We’ve had incidents there, such as cars getting scratched, and it’s causing a lot of stress to the congregation, as well as someone being knocked over.

“I understand that there have been discussions ongoing and I’m not privy to all of the conversations, but I’m here to represent the congregation and what they want is to be able to expedite it, even if it’s just a one-way system, as that would take the pressure off of Park Street South.”

Mr Uppal said he feared someone being seriously injured, or even killed, because of the situation.

He said: “We’ve had the situation where someone has been knocked over, as well as people getting frustrated and aggressive, and when you’re coming to a gurdwara, that’s the last frame of mind you want to be in when you arrive or when you leave.

“It’s not just us as well, it’s the businesses at the top of the road as well that are suffering, as are residents because buses aren’t coming down here as well.

“As a throughfare, it’s quite a significant road, so this has had so many knock-on effects to the entirety of Upper Villiers Street.”

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Wolverhampton Council cabinet member for city transport, said the council was doing everything it could.

He said: “The road is closed because a fire-damaged building next to it is not yet safe.

“The closure is there to protect the public including residents, motorists and pedestrians.

“Reopening the road before the site is made safe would be irresponsible and would put people at serious risk.

“We fully recognise the disruption the closure is causing, but public safety must come first.

“Please be assured that the council is doing all it can within its legal powers to enable the safe reopening of the road as soon as possible.

“It is for the owners of the fire-damaged building to undertake the necessary works and put in place measures that specialists are satisfied will allow the road to reopen safely.

“They have recently submitted new plans to do this which are being assessed. All legal options are currently being considered.

“In the meantime, traffic on surrounding roads continues to be monitored. Park Street South, Cross Street and Moor Street South are within a 20mph zone with traffic-calming measures in place, and we urge all drivers to obey speed limits and drive responsibly at all times.”