B5215

This article is about the current B5215 north of Leigh.
For the original B5215 in Stretford, see B5215 (Stretford).

Entering Atherton

The B5215 is a fairly short road that took over the course of the A579 when that road was diverted via the Atherleigh Way bypass route in 1985.

The road starts at the junction of the A572 and A578 next to Leigh Bus Station, where the former performs a TOTSO. Our road proceeds northwards through Leigh town centre, passing the town hall and Turnpike Centre - at this point, it becomes a dual carriageway for approximately a quarter of a mile (it was D2, but is now D1 plus bus lanes). The road then returns to single carriageway at The Avenue traffic lights.

From here, the B5215 continues on its northward trek, heading into Atherleigh and then Howe Bridge, where it widens out for a little way, becoming a wide S2 with intermittent bus lanes (the B5215 forms part of the Leigh to Bolton "Quality Bus Route"). The route then passes through the middle of a fairly recent housing development, which was built on the site of the former Lancashire United bus depot.

Once reaching Howe Bridge itself, the road meets the B5235 at a set of traffic lights, before snaking its way uphill past Atherton cemetery and into Atherton town centre. The road ends at the A577 outside the Punch Bowl pub in Atherton.

The B5215 also has a one-way branch in Leigh, heading east along Lord Street from the road's mainline to the A572 at the eastern end of Leigh Town Centre. This was part of that road (along with the parallel Bradshawgate) until the town centre diversion (Spinning Jenny Way) was built. DfT documentation shows this was originally meant to be allocated the number B5255.