09/10/2026
Road Closure Frustration
If you don’t already know, you’ll be pleased to hear that Yorkshire Water has finally begun work to repair the leak on Stephen Hill, which had been running continuously for what seems like months.
The repair work has understandably required the closure of Stephen Hill between its junction with Marsh Lane. However, this meant that when residents drove out from the top of Stephen Drive this morning, they could only turn left. Unfortunately, no access to Manchester Road.
Under normal circumstances, residents would simply have travelled via Long Lane and Hagg Lane, but as we all know, Hagg Lane is currently closed as well. That leaves just two practical alternatives: either down Hagg Hill, along Rivelin Valley Road and onto the A57, or via Bole Hill Road towards Crookes, from where there are various routes into the city. Whichever diversion is chosen, it adds roughly two miles to the journey and considerably more time during this morning’s busy periods.
What is particularly remarkable is that the two organisations responsible for these closures appear not to have coordinated their activities. Those organisations being Yorkshire Water… and Yorkshire Water!
You might have expected that a company closing two key routes in the same area at the same time would have considered the wider impact on local residents and motorists. Instead, residents seem to have been treated to a masterclass in organisational self-communication, or perhaps the lack of it.
Still, after months of water pouring down the road, it is good to see the leak finally being addressed. It is just a pity that fixing one problem seems to have created another. The whole situation rather beggars belief.
