Councillors 'burying their heads' over roundabout

California Cross roundabout has been the subject of controversy since its redesign in 2024

Council executives have "their heads in the sand" over a controversial redesign of a roundabout junction, a councillor has said.

Peter Harper has called upon Wokingham Borough Council to make changes to California Cross, between Finchampstead Road and Nine Mile Ride.

He said councillors were "waving the flag about how wonderful the scheme is" despite safety concerns being raised, including a 1,600-signature petition.

Leader of the council, Stephen Conway, said the project, dating back to 2015, had been treated with "incredible care and thoroughness".

The redesign was part of a wider project to revamp the junction

Mr Harper said: "I get a feeling of this as a sort of discussion the Post Office were having when the Horizon scheme was being discussed – everyone was raising concerns, we have the executive members waving the flag about how wonderful the scheme is, with their heads in the sand.

"I think we should be listening to the people who are using that scheme, we should be listening to the safety experts.

"We should make the change now."

The Post Office Horizon scandal involved thousands of innocent sub-postmasters being blamed for financial shortfalls caused by faults in the IT system.

At an overview and scrutiny management committee meeting on Tuesday, he asked highway officers why certain recommendations made in a safety audit, carried out in September 2024, were rejected by the council.

He also presented the committee with the petition calling for safety improvements to the junction.

Residents have previously voiced concerns that motorists do not know who has priority at the junction

The £5.5m revamp resulted in a unique colourful leaf design replacing the junction's double roundabout, with the aim of making it more pedestrian-friendly.

Instead of zebra crossings, there are white painted leaves showing where people should cross via foot.

Highways officer Chris Easton said his team was monitoring the junction, and there was "nothing factual to demonstrate it's not safe".

Mr Easton said there had been no recorded accidents on the junction since it reopened six months ago but if any accidents did happen appropriate action would be taken.