Traffic light plans at Wheatsheaf Crossroads move forward

Residents have been campaigning for safety measure for the past three decades

Work to improve a notorious road junction where there have been fatal crashes is due to begin next spring.

New traffic lights are to be installed at the Wheatsheaf Crossroads on the B1040 near St Ives in Huntingdonshire.

Cambridgeshire County Council said it would look for a contractor to oversee the work.

The new measure comes after three people died when a minibus overturned in 2019 and 27 people have been injured there since 2015.

Roy Fabb set up a petition in 2019 calling for changes at the junction

Residents have been campaigning for changes there for more than 30 years.

Roy Fabb, who lives in nearby Somersham, set up a petition calling for improvements, with his daughter.

After more than 10,000 people signed it, the council agreed to spend £6.8 million on traffic light installation.

The local authority said it would now hire a contractor and buy the land needed to alter the layout of the junction.

A decision to push ahead with the scheme was agreed at a meeting of the council's highways and transport committee this week.

Chair of the committee, Councillor Alex Beckett, said the authority "know all the benefits [the project] will bring".

'Take away that risk'

In total, 27 people have been injured in collisions at the junction between January 2015 and August this year.

Temporary warning signs will be put up next week ahead of the traffic lights being installed.

Mr Fabb, said: "After years of frustration, to get it finally resolved is good for people in this area. It is going to open up this crossroads to more people because they know it will be a safer road to cross.

"I think it will take the worry away from people. You are never really sure if somebody is going to pull out in front of you. It will take away that risk."