West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has admitted to being ‘appalled’ by last-minute plans to implement overnight closures on the M50 bridges over Pendock. The closures, which were confirmed by Highways England last week, will start on October 1 together with speed restrictions while structural assessments are carried out on three bridges along the motorway. But Highways England has been slow to share the detail on the work, and the impact this will have on local communities who were also affected by major road closures in 2015 forcing drivers to make detours of over 24 miles. Harriett commented: “I was appalled by the short notice of this announcement, which I only received on Friday, with lane closures and diversions planned at the start of October. “Bearing in mind the over-running of the last bridge works on in this area, I am surprised at the short notice and lack of transparency by Highways England. “I have already written to the chief executive of Highways England expressing my disappointment but most of all, the agency needs to work closely with the community to reassure them. “The last M50 project over-ran severely, the Oldbury Viaduct project is running late and there is an obvious fear that this project will cause disruption to local drivers. “I will be once again trying to get explanations from Jim O’Sullivan at Highways England and I plan to raise my significant concerns with the Department for Transport.”