Warrington Council changes road safety plan after complaints

A bollard restricting access to Reynolds Street will be removed

A council is set to make changes to a road safety plan after residents complained it had led to increased traffic and problems accessing homes.

The "low traffic neighbourhood" scheme was introduced in Westy, Warrington in June in a bid to reduce traffic and improve air quality.

A recent survey found traffic speed had increased on some roads and planters used to close streets were overgrown.

Warrington Council said it had revised plans in response to resident feedback.

The Westy scheme was first introduced in June despite local opposition, when over 5,000 people signed a petition against it and held a protest outside Warrington Town Hall.

Results of the council survey, which took place between July and September, found the scheme had increased traffic and traffic speeds on some residential streets, created challenges for people accessing some homes and planters, which were used to close traffic access to streets, had become overgrown and untidy.

The council said it would remove some planters and a bollard, restore some roads to two-way traffic and increase the maintenance of the remaining planters.

Campaigners held a protest against the plans outside Warrington Town Hall in June

Councillor Hans Mundry, said the local authority had "pledged to listen to views of residents" and public feedback would help to "shape the proposals".

"We've carefully reviewed the feedback from our extensive survey, along with our own monitoring data, and we are making changes which respond to a number of the concerns raised," he said.

"We will keep engaging with our communities about the revised scheme - with further consultation to take place in the new year."

Warrington South MP Andy Carter said the majority of people in the area wanted the scheme to be scrapped.

He said there was a "strength of feeling" that the "scheme isn't working in Westy".