District Council overruling Parish Council over dangerous road

[Tom87]

Just wondering if anything can be done about this problem in my village.

 

A couple of years ago the District Council built one of those chicanes with a flowerbed in the middle of the single-carriageway (one lane each way) road, to "increase safety". It has been constructed on the summit of a hill on a blind bend with high hedges surrounding - so about the most stupid place you could ever build one. It is generally agreed across the village and parish that it is extremely dangerous. There are near-misses on an almost daily basis but as yet thankfully there has not been an accident. I and many others avoid it when we can, even if it results in a 2-mile detour just to get around the corner.

 

All the members of the Parish Council, as well as the population of the village as a whole, are completely unanimous in agreeing that this chicane is thoroughly dangerous and should be removed. But the district council, who are wholly responsible for road matters, are not listening and are refusing to get rid of it. They state that it "must be fine" if there has not been an accident there, but it is only a matter of time. The villagers find it unacceptable that the DC is effectively waiting for there to be an accident before removing it - waiting for someone to be injured or lose their life just for the sake of argument, how awful is that? The PC has complained to the County Council but they just insist that the decision lies with the DC and there's nothing they can do.

 

Any advice? Thanks.

[68904]

Having been on the Parish and Chairman as well, also on the mbc for 4 years and on the highways.

The PC is a talking shop with no real powers, although you can call yourself a Cllr, you are only playing at it.

In 1990 I was elected to the MBC in the next year I was Chair of the PC.

PC's can write to the MBC, but only as a pressure grounp

On the PC we had a planning committee and we could examine plans and make comments, but on the MBC you could ignore the comments of the PC.

If did not always work like that cos half the PC were on the MBC.

I liked the Highways committtee, rather than Education cos I knew what a hole in the road looked like, but on Education you got Education speak which baffled me.

Till I did a lot of Educational subjects with the OU, then I could speak educational speak. Good init?