From Dr Ellie Chowns (Green Party),
Bishop’s Frome & Cradley Ward
16 October 2017
Dear Councillor Johnson,
Re: Road closures for resurfacing work on the A4103
I will shortly be a candidate in the Herefordshire Council by-election at Bishop’s Frome & Cradley and I have been busy talking to residents about their concerns. Without a doubt the most urgent issue affecting residents and businesses in the ward are the current full closures of stretches of the A4103.
There is a great deal of local dissatisfaction and much criticism of the way Herefordshire Council and its contractor has managed this programme.
Residents have been forced to drive many extra miles on long detours making local road conditions dangerous and chaotic. Local businesses, frequently cut off and marooned, have suffered substantial loss of income.
Residents and businesses are baffled as to why total road closure was deemed necessary over so much of the programme. Haphazard and misleading signage has increased problems – one business owner counted 14 ‘road closed’ signs along the A4103 between the Worcester roundabout and her business at Cradley when resurfacing work had been completed on that section. There appears to have been a lack of real consultation with the communities affected.
In the wake of the Blueschool House overspend controversy, it is quite clear your council needs to keep a firmer grip on the way it oversees contracts. Councillor Johnson, I would respectfully ask you to use your authority to intervene in the way the A4103 resurfacing work is being handled and take steps with the contractors to implement fairer and less fraught traffic handling over the remaining weeks.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns
