THE BOSS of the Rock shopping complex has apologised to motorists caught up in launch-day queues and has vowed to solve the problem.

Centre director David Laycock said 70,000 people attended the July 16 unveiling — 20,000 more than expected.

The bumper crowd, combined with teething problems with car parks and traffic lights, meant some drivers were stuck in traffic queues for up to an hour.

One of them was Alison Morris, who said: “I visited the car park on Friday.

“I was trying to exit from the 5th floor of the multi-storey car park, where three lanes of queuing traffic were very slowly merging into one.

“In all my years, I have never had to queue for this long and am outraged at the bad planning of this new modern design.”

More than 150,000 shoppers descended on the Bury town centre shopping and retail hub throughout the weekend to get a glimpse of the Vue Cinema, AMF Bowling alley and shops such as Debenhams, Marks and Spencer and Primark.

Mr Laycock said: “I would like to apologise to anyone who was caught up in the problems we had with access and parking on Friday and Saturday.

“We reacted by sending 12 members of staff to the car park to explain what was happening, give them free drinks from Costa and direct them on and off the car park where necessary.

“On Sunday, we were able to change the sequencing of traffic on to Rochdale Road, which has made the situation much better.

“For the next three weeks, we will have members of staff directing motorists on and off the car park.

“We have coned off certain areas to make the car park easier to navigate.

“We will be installing colour-coded signs on the car park to aid drivers.

“As of July 19 — three days after the opening — we have had no problems with parking.

“But we know we have to get parking right and we will do everything we can to do so.”