Busy road near Corsham Primary School a 'tragedy waiting to happen'

The road currently has a 50mph speed limit, but parents are concerned over the safety of their children

Parents are campaigning for the speed limit on a main road near a school to be lowered to make it safer for children to cross.

The road outside Corsham Primary School currently has a 50mph speed limit but campaigners want it reduced to 30mph.

Chris Pole, a parent of a pupil at the school, said: "This is a tragedy waiting to happen."

Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, said they are consulting on a speed limit of 40mph at the site.

Parent, Chris Pole, said he believes the current speed limit is "a tragedy waiting to happen"

"I have heard of near-misses here, they happen relatively frequently," said Mr Pole, who is among the campaigners asking for the speed limit to be reduced on the Bradford Road B3109.

During the the pandemic, a new housing estate was built on Bradford Road and residents say crossing the road to get to the school now feels "unsafe".

James Collard said he does not feel safe walking along the busy road

James Collard, another parent of a child at the school, said he also had safety concerns about the road.

He said: "We've lived here for two-and-a-half years now and it is very difficult to walk along the road and feel safe because it's a very busy road.

"There are lorries, buses, lots of high-speed vehicles coming along and the pavements just aren't sufficient for the amount of pedestrian traffic.

"We've been teaching our four-year-old son to ride his bike, but this road is not a place I feel comfortable cycling down with him."

Councillor Derek Walters said he "will not give up" his campaign for a reduced speed limit on the road

Derek Walters, Wiltshire councillor for Corsham Without, said he will not give up his campaign for a reduced speed limit on the road.

He said: "There is not a single local person that thinks the current speed limit is acceptable.

"It's absolutely ridiculous and it needs to change.

"Local people are bearing all the risk as the result of a flawed process."

Corsham Primary School headteacher Kerry Parker said she is concerned an accident will happen on the road

Kerry Parker, headteacher of Corsham Primary School, has been in communication with Wiltshire Council for the past two years in an attempt change the speed limit.

She said: "We're frustrated at the lack of urgency to make this road safer.

"Our concern is that there is going to be an accident or a fatality and that we haven't been able to stop that from happening by reducing the speed limit."

Mr Clewer from Wiltshire Council said: "What we are consulting on doing is bringing down the speed limit to 40mph, that is the lowest that we can bring it down to at the location legally."