Green Lane West Derby Liverpool 13.

The current work being undertaken on behalf of Scottish Power on Green Lane has uncovered a large void under the carriageway. For reasons of safety and the extent of the void a decision has been taken to close Green Lane from midday today to allow investigative work to take place. It is not known at this stage what the length or extent of the work will be and the road will be re-opened at the earliest opportunity.

This closure is between the Bus depot and the Netto store at the corner of Prescot Road. Access to all adjoining roads and premises will be maintained however there will be no through traffic not even for emergency vehicles.

Signage will be placed out on Prescot Road and West Derby Road warning Traffic of the closure.

Alternative routes will be based on Prescot Road, Shiel Road, West Derby Road, Millbank and Queens Drive.

The following information has been released by Virgin Rail:

Following last Friday’s tragic accident in Cumbria, we would like to advise you of some changes to our services.

Services through the Preston to Carlisle area are operating on a revised timetable:

. Replacement coaches are operating direct between Preston and Carlisle (both directions) and between Lancaster and Carlisle serving Oxenholme and Penrith (both directions).

. Please click here for full details of our revised timetables

Services on other Virgin Trains routes are not affected.

If you bought a ticket before Saturday 24 February and no longer wish to travel you can get a full refund from where you bought it.

Customers holding Advance purchase tickets affected by the incident may travel earlier than their booked train on the day of departure thus enabling them to complete their journey on time. This will apply until further notice.

GNER, TransPennine and Northern will be accepting Virgin Trains tickets until further notice. If you have to take a different Virgin Trains route to complete your journey, your ticket will be valid on any of our services.  For any further information about your journey, contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 4950 or visit nationalrail.co.uk  Please keep checking our website for any future updates.

The thoughts of everyone at Virgin Trains are with the family of Margaret Masson who was tragically killed in the accident and those who remain in hospital.

We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has contacted us with messages of support.  We are committed to working closely with other train operating companies and all our partners in the industry, particularly Network Rail, to ensure that this never happens again.

Last night, city centre opticians, Blankstones opened their door for a business after hours event for Chamber members. Networking and nibbles followed the  free eye tests performed on the night. Proprietor, Mark Blankstone talked about the future for his business and showcased his range of frames and designer sunglasses ready for summer 2007.

That’s the question we’re asking in the quick poll on Liverpool Chamber’s main site.

This is a topic we’ve mentioned before here on the Chamber blog. We’d really like to find out what employers AND employees think of increased flexibility in working hours and conditions. Is flexitime a real boon? Does working from home really boost your productivity? And what about the work/life balance? Is yours off kilter?

Let us know, by leaving comments or taking the home page poll.