East of England Liberal Democrats

Hertfordshire: Conservatives slammed for putting on hold road safety works for a second time

Residents in Nascot and North Watford have reacted with horror and disgust this week when told that the County Council has, for a second time, put on hold major road safety works for Nascot Wood Road and Goodwood Parade. These schemes together with several others are not now going ahead because the County Council budget on adult care is being overspent. Some £3million of highways projects are affected. The Nascot Wood scheme was due to cost around £450,000.

Residents in Nascot Wood Road were particularly incensed by the decision to defer any expenditure on the long awaited road safety scheme until the 2007/2008 financial year. Works for the road were first promised in 2001! The current works which had been agreed, traffic orders published and the contractor was due to start on site in January. The scheme was set to bring relief to residents who have suffered for years through speeding traffic and accidents in the area.

Leading Highways campaigner, Liberal Democrat County Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who got the scheme put in this years budget, said, "Residents have been let down yet again. Four years ago residents voted for a scheme which the Conservatives vetoed. Only at the start of this year did we force the Conservatives at County Hall to agree a well supported revised scheme and even showed them how it could be funded. We had all party agreement to the funding and now they have pulled the rug from under residents feet. And the person who has done this is the Conservative County Councillor for the area, Robert Gordon; he is in charge of the County Budget and has obviously failed to keep it under control or to plan it properly so Watford residents have to suffer."

Local resident John Bacon of Nascot Wood (Lingfield Close) said, "This is an appalling situation as the original scheme was approved and budgeted for in 2001 and was subsequently halted by the intervention of Councillor Robert Gordon. After much pressure and two subsequent surveys Mr Gordon agreed that the majority should have their say. At a subsequent and further public presentation held by the council and their officers an amended scheme was put forward and after all the many and varied opinions had been analysed clearly showed that the local residents demands for action to be taken by the installation of traffic calming measures was indeed required. This was approved and the present scheme was set to be installed. Why Councillor Gordon has once again interfered one cannot understand, other than to presume he has a hidden agenda. The Conservative management of the County Funds is also shown to be a total mess, perhaps this cancellation is another way of hiding the excesses of the Conservatives. Nascot Wood Road needs traffic calming URGENTLY as it is now being used more and more as a rat-run and the speed of vehicles using this road is getting worse and worse. Hertfordshire County Council has recognised this yet now they want to cancel it. Surely councillors should be listening to the local residents for after all they are there to do as is requested or in this case demanded by residents."

Liberal Democrat Nascot councillor Mark Watkins commented, "This is all a kick in the teeth for local residents and shows how bad the Conservatives are at managing a large budget. The delay to both schemes could result in extra accidents and that is just not acceptable. Indeed the Conservatives are yet to guarantee that the scheme will go ahead in May - at the start of the new financial year."

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CONTACTS: Cllr Stephen Giles- Medhurst tel: 07702 975502

Mark Watkin tel: 01923 442242

Editors notes:

Nascot Wood Road safety scheme is designed to introduce safer crossing points, particularly near Nascot Wood School, to slow traffic down and reduce accidents in the road. The road suffers from in excess of 17,000 cars using it each day.

The Goodwood Parade Scheme is designed to reduce accidents at the junction of Goodwood Avenue and Courtlands Drive and improve parking by the Goodwood shops.

The consultation in December 2004 followed an earlier consultation carried out as part of the North Watford Transport Plan review in July 2003. Residents who attended the first exhibition were asked to highlight the transport problems that exist in the area and comment on measures they would like to see introduced. The feedback received was used as the basis of a 'suggested' set of proposals developed by local councillors and officers from Hertfordshire Highways. The 'suggested' proposals were then consulted upon as the Nascot Traffic Management Scheme (December 2004). There were 3,200 leaflets distributed (including a questionnaire asking for peoples responses on all proposals) in 2004 to residents in the vicinity.

In addition a public exhibition was held at St.Thomas Church on Langley Road from the 9th to 11th December 2004. Based on majority support for the proposals, and a reallocation of funds a proposal was made by the Chair of the Watford Highways Joint Member Panel, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, and in January 2006 the county agreed to proceed with the proposals.