Tim Roca

I agree with my hon. Friend. She is more than welcome to move to Cheshire, but I suspect her residents will not let her, because I know she is a really good champion for these issues in her constituency. The impact of the closure is widespread. The consequences of the disruption are wear and tear on roads that are not meant to be main arterial routes; the increased emissions from sitting traffic; and the loss of time in school and with family, of time in town with friends, of productivity through decreased trading, or of time spent caring for loved ones. I could go on and on—certainly, my inbox is full of stories like these. Before I wrap up, I want to spare a thought for one constituent who represents many others who have to navigate both of these disruptions every day. She lives in Disley and works in Tytherington—both in my constituency—which means she has to go around this closure and over the Mill House bridge, which I mentioned at the beginning of my speech. Like others, she is being hit by a double whammy of roadworks. Her 20-minute commute has doubled, and given that she drops her child off in Macclesfield three days a week at set times, she has had to remove the first appointment of her day from her diary. She is a physio, so she is losing money. When the things we rely on every day go wrong, the impact is huge. That is why I have been working closely with the council, feeding back these stories. I am grateful for the new sense of urgency that the highways team has—particularly since last week, when I called this debate—and I appreciate that things have to be made safe. In fairness to the council, it inherited a £100 million backlog of highway maintenance from the previous Conservative council, and we know that the austerity of the past 14 years has really impacted councils. I also appreciate that the contractor, Ringway Jacobs, used to get away with marking its own homework under a 15-year contract that was given to it recklessly by the Conservatives. However, these roadworks need to close. We need real progress for my constituents, and I am grateful that the Minister is present and will take the time to respond to the debate.