Safety works start at crash junction

Residents have called for changes at the A521 junction with Draycott Cross Road in Cheadle

Safety improvement work is under way at a crossroads where there was a series of crashes in 2024.

The Draycott Cross Road junction in Cheadle is having its "give way" markings replaced with "stop" markings and signs.

Staffordshire County Council said the £25,000 scheme, starting on Monday, also included advance warning signs to alert drivers to the junction ahead, as well as general road repairs.

Next year, the speed limit could be reduced to 30mph on both Draycott Cross Road and Brookhouse Road, with the existing 30mph zone on the A521 Delphouse Road being tweaked to cover a longer stretch, the authority said.

The first phase of work to change the signage was being carried out under temporary traffic lights and was expected to take a week, the council said.

The aim was to make the junction safer and reassure the local community, it added.

In August 2024, the landlord of the Huntsman pub on the junction started using an A-board to highlight the number of days since the last crash.

"We've listened to residents who have told us that safety at the Draycott Cross Road junction needs to improve," said councillor Patrick Allen.

The council had been "working hard behind the scenes to identify both short-term and long-term measures", he said.

Reducing speed limits and adding 40 mph "buffer zones" between 30mph areas and national speed limit sections on Brookhouse Road, Draycott Cross Road and A521 Delphouse Road is planned for next year.

"This process involves public consultation so we can get a traffic regulation order, which will take some months, but we'll share updates as soon as we can. In the meantime, we're getting on with the safety improvements we can deliver now," said Allen.