CREWE councillors say they are working with Bentley Motors to "minimise" problems caused by the luxury car maker closing off parts of Pyms Lane and Sunnybank Road.

Sections of the two roads were shut off permanently last week, heralding Bentley's enclosure of its growing campus on the west side of Crewe.

The firm was granted a "stopping-up" order by the Department of Transport towards the end of last year.

Access gates have been erected on Pyms Lane near Bentley's main offices and another on the same road near to its showroom close to Cheshire East Council's waste recycling centre.

There are two gates in place on Sunnybank Road too, but Bentley's sports and leisure complex Legends remains open to the public and is accessible during the day through Sunnybank's southern-most gate.

Cheshire East Labour councillor Sally Handley - whose Crewe St. Barnabas ward Bentley's campus is located in – claims the decision to incorporate Sunnybank Road into the Bentley site was a "done deal" made under the authority's previous Conservative administration.

She says that Labour councillors helped reduce the impact by pressing Bentley to delay introducing the road closures until after work at Boulderstones bridge was completed. Although, that scheme's planned diversions aimed to send motorists in a circle around Crewe most, in fact, used Pyms Lane to circumnavigate the part closure of Middlewich Road.

Bentley were planning to close off Pyms Lane and Sunnybank Road in May.

Cllr Handley added: "Labour councillors have been very aware of the inconvenience these works and changes will cause to local residents and road users.

"With this in mind at our request Bentley agreed to delay these works until after the Boulderstones Bridge work was completed by Network Rail.

"We have continued to work closely with Bentley to minimise the disruption that will be caused by this decision."

Bentley has said it is "sensitive" to how its road stops will impact on the surrounding area. After consulting it says it felt the impact would be both "positive and negative" with some residents glad not to have works traffic coming past their homes.

The company has told local residents in a letter that it has made "modifications" to staff car park entrances to improve the flow of traffic, while it will investigate any problems caused by on-street parking by staff.

Bentley Head of Site Planning Andrew Robertson said: "We do not condone or accept this behaviour and we apologise for the continued inconvenience this causes."