Cul-de-sac residents fuming over 'dangerous' road changes
Residents in a Tiverton cul-de-sac are up in arms over what they describe as the council's failure to consult them about dangerous changes to their road.
Complaints were made at the September meeting of Tiverton Town Council, particularly regarding the developments in St George's Court and Ham Place.
Councillor Sophia Beard, representing concerned residents, highlighted a blind spot created by recent construction work, raising fears for children's safety.
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"What you have now is people coming down St Andrew Street North, and they can't see the car parked to one side, and those coming out of St George's Court have no onus on them to stop driving. There is the potential for collision here."
Cllr Beard lambasted the council, saying they had failed to communicate with the residents of St Andrew Street.
“Not a single resident had any opportunity to review it and object to it,” she claimed, adding that had residents been consulted, they would have undoubtedly raised safety concerns about the project.
She pointed out a puzzling decision to widen the pavement only to place a signpost in the middle, rendering the improvement useless for those with mobility issues.
"Anna, who spoke to the council this time last year, has had two near-misses," Cllr Beard continued, recalling the experiences of a disabled resident navigating the hazardous conditions in her wheelchair. "At some point, a serious accident will occur due to the measures taken."
Councillor Becket Fish supported Beard’s concerns, saying that these issues needed proper attention. "I think the challenge is to ensure it gets looked into properly," he said.
Councillor David Wulff attempted to explain the situation, noting that the original application dated back to 2017, and what residents were witnessing now was part of a Section 278 agreement between the developer and the Highways Authority.
"The planning application was in 2017, and it had a full visibility assessment," Cllr Wulff said. However, he admitted that public consultation was often inadequate, agreeing that more should have been done to engage the community.
"The public consultation on planning applications is not good enough," Cllr Wulff said. "We've fed that back to the national planners many times." He acknowledged that the current processes don't give residents enough time to voice their concerns before making decisions.
The situation at Ham Place further fuelled the outrage. Cllr Beard said that residents were not informed about a meeting room development adjacent to their homes, leading to "alarm, fear, and unnecessary disquiet."
She accused Mid Devon District Council of missing an opportunity for positive public relations by neglecting to inform or consult with affected residents.
Cllr Beard closed her speech by urging the council to address the growing sense of unease and frustration within the community, saying: “No resident on the street feels that they have been consulted, and no resident on the street that I have spoken to feels that these are adequate measures,” she said.